In December, Try the World sent me their limited edtion Holiday Box for review and I was really impressed. The presentation and packaging were top notch, as were the gourmet goodies inside. Naturally, when they asked if I wanted to review their new Venice box, I happily agreed.
If you haven’t heard, Try the World is a subscription service that invites your taste buds to explore a new city every sixty days. Each box will include 7-10 locally made/grown gourmet goodies as well as cultural finds — such as music playlists and movie recommendations — produced in the city being featured. Subscriptions are $39 every 2 months, or less with longer commitments.
With their newest offering, Try the World brings you to Venice, Italy. February marks the beginning of the Venice Carnival, which as been a tradition since the Middle Ages. The goodies in this box are a nod to this age-old celebration.
Let’s see what’s inside!
Once again, the presentation was super professional and totally gift-worthy. I love the sturdy, reusable boxes they use. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of the actual box because I was too excited to see what was inside. Oops!
(Imagine one of my standard “first look” photos here. Go on, imagine it. 😉 )
The box was packed full of goodies. The lid could barely contain everything inside and was nearly overflowing with red squigglies.
I didn’t receive an info card or culture guide in the holiday box, so I was relieved to see them this time around. The culture guide included facts about the Venice Carnival as well as recipes, a music playlist, and a list of movies set in Venice.
Pastificio dei Campi Egoista di Gragnano – I thought for sure this pasta would have egg in it, but luckily for me, it doesn’t! YAY! It actually contains only 2 ingredients: durum wheat semolina and water. This pasta takes its name (Gragnano) from an ancient village outside of Naples that was famous for making the best dried pastas in the region. The little box is enough for one hearty serving and is best when cooked al dente (just how I like it!).
Mogi Caffe – A month ago, I wouldn’t have been too excited about ground coffee since I mainly used K-cups… BUT now that my husband got me an Aeropress for Christmas, I’m more than happy to try any form of coffee I’m offered. The info card says that coffee is the second most enjoyed drink in Italy (water being first). This particular coffee has a nice, full-bodied taste, but with a lower level of caffeine.
Leone Lemon Pastille Candies – How adorable is this little vintage-inspired package? I almost don’t want to open it. Almost. These little candies have been produced in northeast Italy since 1857 using traditional bronze molds and real essential oils & extracts.
Perugina Dark Chocolate Limoncello Bar – I’ve never had chocolate with lemon, though I do like orange chocolate so I’m guessing this bar will be pretty dang good. Oh, and you KNOW I was super excited when I read the ingredients and saw that it’s vegan. Woo!
Urbani Tartufi Red Pesto & Truffles – This pesto & truffle sauce can be used as a spread on toast, a sauce for pasta, or as an addition to meat or fish. I was surprised to see that this is the only non-vegan item in the entire box, which is just plain awesome. I’ll probably pass this along to my mother-in-law, who loves trying new recipes and is the only family member who’s brave enough to experiment with new ingredients.
The info card also lists 2 other items — a nougat candy and a mystery treat — that weren’t in my box. Since I received the box for review, I’m not too bummed. (Plus, I’m not sure how they could even fit two more items into that little box!)
I gotta say, I was beyond impressed with Try the World‘s Venice box. There was a great mix of different products that offered a nice peek into traditional Italian food, drink, and treats. Of course, the fact that the majority of the products were vegan didn’t hurt either. 😉
If you’d like to sign up for Try the World, you can save 30% off your first box with coupon code “ROSEBUDTRAVELS“!
Disclosure: I received this box for review purposes. I was not compensated in any way. All opinions are my own. Post may contain affiliate and/or referral links.
Is the sauce vegetarian? Pesto can be hit or miss depending on the cheese. 🙁
I waited 35 days for a box from them. Rude replies from the company and all I got was the runaround. Run far away from this company. You will regret it if you don’t.
My daughter ordered me a 3 month subscription as a Christmas gift. I was a little disappointed that it took over a month to get my 1st box(ordered on Jan 6th and received on Feb 13th) however the company did seem polite and apologetic about the delay( they under anticipated demand and had to wait for customs to clear items that go in the boxes which seemed a little weird since my box is the first box in the series-Paris, so you’d figure they’d have already have gotten somewhat routine product items to go past customs.) The first box was decent- I really enjoyed the caramels, was disappointed that the Fleur de Sal was missing, my family enjoyed the biscuits and chestnut spread. The mustard was meh. The fruit jellies were tasty. They put a huge raspberry chocolate bar in the box that was pretty nice even if I enjoy Godiva’s version a little better. I’m still waiting to try the fig jelly. I was thinking I’d maybe try it with some prosciutto. The culture guide was interesting although I would have loved to see some recipes for something like the mustard or the jam.