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 Smart Screen antibacterial cleaning cloth to wipe away 2020!

This month, we were kindly send a Smart Screen®️ antibacterial cleaning cloth to review. I’ve been using it multiple times per day ever since it arrived – it’s indispensable!

The Smart Screen is the world’s first antibacterial microfibre cloth dedicated to cleaning your smartphone. During the weave process, the microfibre fabric has a Silver Ion antibacterial agent injected into it. The antibacterial properties will last for up to fifteen 30°C washing cycles (Don’t use stain removers such as Vanish in the wash. Washing at higher temperatures may result in colour loss).

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, we’ve been much more conscious of cross-contamination, especially when we have to go out & about. At the moment, we only really go out to the post office and the supermarket. It’s while we’re at the latter that I’ve begun to notice how often I take my reading glasses off & on when I pick up items to read labels and see prices. I do the same when I get to the checkout and use the payment machine.

Now that I have my Smart Screen cloth, I wipe my glasses frequently and my debit card each time I use it. Not to mention my mobile phone, the keypad on my laptop and screen on the iPad. Each cloth comes with its own handy little pouch – available in yellow, brown, grey, light blue and dark blue.

We have 5 to give away to our readers; for your chance to win one of them, simply tell us for what you’d use the Smart Screen®️ antibacterial cleaning cloth.

A Smart Screen®️ antibacterial cleaning cloth

Review: Crozier Drinks

Crozier Drinks is a brand new company, launching only last week. They offer a home delivery service of pre-mixed, luxury cocktails using the best-quality fresh ingredients. You can make one off purchases or set up a regular subscription. It makes a lovely treat for yourself or an amazing gift for someone else.

All the packaging is recyclable – we’ve kept the box to send items sold on our web shop and the inner cardboard filler has gone on to our compost heap. The very nice aluminium bottle is totally re-usable for storing & carrying other liquids – or displaying a few cut flowers, perhaps.

We opted to try the Mango Lime & Cayenne Pepper Margarita. The beautifully labelled bottle contains gold tequila, mango juice, lime juice, sugar syrup and cayenne pepper – suitable for vegetarians and vegans. This mixture 14% ABV.

Some of the other mixes in their range include marmalade & ginger daiquiri, kiwi & lime mojito, bakewell sour and apple pie martini.

The margarita is very quaffable; the delicious fruitiness of the sweet mango is balanced with a tangy sourness of lime. The cayenne pepper adds a depth of flavour & spicy warmth. Truly delicious!!

Included in the package is an info sheet containing useful garnish ideas and serving suggestions for their whole range of cocktails.

Each Crozier Drinks bottle holds a 500ml amount of cocktail. The number of cocktails you get will depend on the size of your glass. Somewhere between two and four… or one whopping big one if you’re feeling particularly thirsty!!

Towels with a twist

We were sent a bale of grey towels from the Zero Twist Towels range from The Towel Shop. We’d collaborated with them previously and were really impressed with the quality of their products.

They’re made from 100% cotton and include face cloths, hand towels, bath towels and bath sheets; all available in a range of 5 colours. The ‘zero twist’ feature gives the towels an added layer of softness.

As well as the towels, we received a super-soft bathrobe and absorbent bath mat in tonal grey shades.

There’s pretty piping detail on the sleeves and patch pockets and you can choose to have a shawl or hooded collar. The bathrobe is available in 3 sizes and 4 colours.

The colour is perfect for our spare bedroom, so we’re keeping them for when guests come to stay.

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: review

Barista Box Little Taster review

Win a Smart Screen antibacterial cleaning cloth to wipe away 2020!

Review: Crozier Drinks

Towels with a twist