Barista Box Little Taster review

Regular readers will know that we enjoy a cup or two (or three!) of real coffee every day. That’s why we were really up for trying the subscription service from the newly formed company, Barista Box.

The Brighton-based brand teamed up with their favourite local coffee shop, Blend & Brew, who supply their coffee. In addition, Barista Box also donate to local causes:

Barista Box has formed a charity partnership with two The Trussell Trust Foodbanks. Our pledge is to donate a 1-litre carton of long-life milk, or non-dairy equivalent, for every order that we fulfil. So for every monthly coffee subscription order, every coffee gift box and any other products we might sell in the future we shall donate long-life milk to one of these foodbanks

They have a number of different options on offer; tasting boxes, gift sets, regular subscriptions and one off purchases. Our ‘Little Taster’ box comprised 2 resealable pouches of coffee (1 x Libertine + 1 x Blend & Brew), blue plastic coffee scoop, glass espresso measure and battery-operated milk frother.

As we have a bean-to-cup coffee machine, we requested bags of beans in our bundle. However if you have a filter coffee machine, moka pot or cafetière (the latter which they can supply), you can choose from their 3 textures of ready-ground coffee.

Usually, I like a flat white with soya milk. However, as I was trying out a new coffee, I made a double espresso with the medium-roast Libertine beans so I could enjoy it in its pure form. The taste was very smooth and mellow – no bitterness at all – very enjoyable with a couple of chocolate digestives!

The espresso measure that was supplied is just the right height and width for fitting under the portafilter of our coffee machine.

The second pouch of beans, the Blend & Brew type, were also medium-roast. It has a little more earthy flavour with a touch of chocolate flavour. This time, I enjoyed my soya flat white with a late-afternoon croissant.

Many thanks to Alexandra from Barista Box for supplying us with our Little Taster coffee box.

**Use our special discount code H4H12 for 12% off any gift box, (valid until 4th September 2021)**

Win a £100 gift card to spend at Black Insomnia Coffee Company

The Black Insomnia Coffee Company produces the world’s strongest coffee, packing a minimum of 1105mg of caffeine in each 12 fl oz cup. That’s over four times the average strength of other typical high-street brands.

Are you curious to sample it? Well you’re in luck! We’ve teamed up with them for this month’s competition to offer one of our buzz-loving readers a £100 gift card to spend in their web-shop.

You can choose bags of roasted beans or tins of ready ground. If you prefer your coffee to come in capsules, Insomnia does those too. Their pods work with Nespresso© machines and are completely compostible – being made from 100% cornstarch. When they’ve been used, simply dispose of them on your compost heap or put them in your food waste recycling caddy.

In business since 1932, Black Insomnia small-batch roast their beans using a traditional Italian method. They describe their coffee – a blend of the finest Robusta and Arabica beans – as having:

Caramel, hazelnut, and macadamia aromas, on top of a luxurious dark chocolate flavour.

They’ve recently added drip bag coffee to their range; all the rage in China and Japan, pour-over coffee is gaining in popularity over here. Because of their eco-ethos, their bags are made from paper, so are biodegradable and easy to recycle.

As well as fine, real coffee in all its forms, Black Insomnia sells giftware including branded coffee mugs, hoodies and t-shirts for super-strong coffee fanatics.

To win the £100 gift card, tell us in the comments section below how you like your coffee best. Me, it’s a soya flat white alongside a fresh, buttery croissant. Good luck!

£100 gift card to spend at Black Insomnia Coffee Company

This coffee is something to rave about!

We’ve been sent the Espresso Lover Taster Pack from Rave Coffee to review. Regular readers will know that we’re big coffee lovers, so we were really looking forward to the task.

The trio of beans arrived swiftly after we placed our order. They’re packaged in oxo-biodegradable bags to ensure they’re delivered as fresh as possible, in an eco-conscious way.

We love really strong, rich roast coffee, hence the reason we chose their espresso assortment. I must say, ‘The Italian Job’ is my favourite of the three. It’s the strongest, yet has a smoothness and nuttiness that works in a classic espresso, doppio or macchiato.

Not that the other offerings weren’t enjoyable too! The ‘Signature Blend’ is their popular all-rounder; so if you like your coffee a different way each time, this is the one for you. The Chatsworth is big on chocolatey flavours, so suits a caffè latte, espressino or caffè mocha.

Don’t worry if you don’t own a coffee grinder, Rave also supplies all their coffees as ready-ground beans (in a choice of five different grinds) as well as compostable Nespresso compatible pods. Whether you prefer to make a one off purchase or have a regular subscription deal, Rave has a coffee option for you. Single origin for the connoisseur, decaf for the insomniac, green beans for the home roaster and taster packs for the inquisitive.

What better way to start today’s lazy Sunday than with warm croissants straight from the oven and delicious, freshly-brewed coffee… especially with the extra hour in bed?!

A welcome coffee delivery

We love trying new kinds of food, new types of wine – and now we’ve been given the opportunity to try some new varieties of coffee.

This was made possible thanks to the people over at The Roast Club – a speciality coffee delivery company.

They offer a flexible subscription service whereby you sign up on their website and they send you a month’s supply of beans through the post – in a box that easily fits through an average-sized letter box so you won’t miss delivery. Each month, you’re sent a selection of four premium beans.

They only sell beans, so you’ll need your own grinder. Once roasted coffee beans have been ground, they begin to oxidise and deteriorate – The Roast Club advises (and so do we) that you should try to grind your beans mere minutes before you’re going to use them.

Each 100g bag of their single-origin beans come with explanatory notes about the region, grower, roaster, process and taste – just like you’d get with a case of wine… they and we take our coffee very seriously!

Since our box arrived, we’ve downed tools for an espresso tasting session each afternoon. This consists of cutting open one of the pouches, doing a quick stick-of-the-nose-in-the-bag and inhaling deeply (everyone does this, right?), spooning out a couple of scoops, grinding, pouring, tamping, brewing, tasting, enjoying.

Our selection of four coffees were all medium roasts and very mellow. The Roast Club opt for these mellow varieties over rich roasts as they feel the subtleties of the beans can shine through more easily. As for those subtle flavours – caramel, chocolate, jasmine, lemon… even pineapple and strawberry can all come through as you sip. My favourite of this month’s offering is #30, Kochere from Fortitude Coffee.

If you like the sound of discovering and learning about new coffees each month, The Roast Club makes it easy. Place a one-off order or a recurring 1/3/6/12-month subscription that you can pause or cancel at any time (with free P&P for UK customers).

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Tag: coffee beans

Barista Box Little Taster review

Win a £100 gift card to spend at Black Insomnia Coffee Company

This coffee is something to rave about!

A welcome coffee delivery