Abuela Mami ships out boxes of assorted Cuban goodies monthly. They have a coffee subscription, and a more general subscription that includes assorted items. This is a review of the Surprise box.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: Abuela Mami Surprise Box
The Cost: $25.95 monthly, free shipping
COUPON: Save 10% off your first box with code MSA16!
The Products: Assorted Cuban goodies including coffee, food, snacks, kitchen tools, mugs, and other Cuban memorabilia
Check out the Food Subscription Box Directory for more snack boxes!
A brief information card was included, illustrating one of the items in the box, and listing the items included. They also included a serving suggestion for two of the food items in the box!
Chifles Plantain Soup Mix - $0.99
This is a dehydrated plantain soup mix. Chifles recommends using it as soup, breading for fish or poultry, or a thickener. The ingredients are very straightforward: plantains and vegetable oil! I can see this being really versatile if you enjoy the flavor of plantains. They suggest using beef, chicken, or fish stock, but I used vegetable stock and it came out great! Just make sure you use a low sodium broth and add salt as needed - some broths are too salty for me!
Badia Complete Seasoning - $0.94
This seasoning contains dehydrated vegetables, salt, pepper, cumin, and some other spices and herbs that are not listed fully on the ingredients. There were no suggestions for using this from Abuela Mami, but the link above indicates that it quite similar to a seasoning salt in use. They suggest it on fries, soups, salad, meats, vegetables, etc. The package is resealable, which I love - and the flavor is excellent. I can definitely see how this would work on all sorts of foods.
Cafe LaLlave Espresso - $2.89
This is a very strongly flavored espresso. The roast is pretty dark, and the flavor is robust. I made this Cuban style (like the Abuela Mami Coffee box recommended - review to come!) and I enjoyed it!
Aluminum Cup with Lid - $7.00?
I can't find this exact item online, so I'm guessing regarding the price. It's a very basic, thin sided aluminum cup with a fitted lid. It has a handle for drinking. This would be perfect for soup!
Conchita Guava Paste - $2.20
Abuela Mami recommends eating this with white cheese or cream cheese. I had some Dubliner Cheddar laying around in my fridge, so I decided to eat that with crackers and some of this on top. It was delicious! I also found this recipe that I might try out with the remainder of the paste (This block of paste is huge!). I have a feeling those will be absolutely divine. This would be an excellent, and unique, addition to a cheese plate!
Ancel Fruta Bomba - $2.99
They also recommended eating this with white cheese or cream cheese. I enjoyed it plain and with the cheese. The fruit was very sweet since it is in syrup, but the cheese counteracts that! These would also be a unique addition to a cheese plate!
Cuban Flag Domino Keychain - $1.99
This keychain is a domino that has been made into a cuban flag on the backside. I think this is a fun addition to the box.
Verdict: I really enjoyed this box. I thought the curation was great, though it is certainly heavy on the food items. Since I love to try new foods from other countries, this was right up my alley. The value of this box in particular comes out to approximately $19.00. Of course, since I estimated the cost of the tin cup it could be higher or lower.
This is a relatively new box, and I'm looking forward to see what subsequent months bring. While I enjoyed the curation of the box, I would love to see the value at least meet what the cost of the box is. With that said, I tend to extend a little grace to smaller subscription box companies because many of them offer free shipping, and shipping can be a huge expense! This was definitely a fun box to get, and the sizes of the products are great - which means I'll be using them for quite a while!
What do you think of Abuela Mami so far? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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