Review - Dude Coffee and Smoke

 

We were recently sent a fantastic little box of goodies from the team over at Dude, Coffee and Smoke and I am so pleased that they did!

Dude, Coffee and smoke are a small independent company that create some fantastic gift boxes for coffee, chocolate, cooking and BBQ lovers.

Admittedly I wish I could be coffee snob and a connoisseur but I am not and it literally comes down to the cost of good quality coffee. That being said I can taste the difference between the instant stuff to the pure quality.

I am sure the fact that I drink instant probably lowers my standing in society but I am hoping this review will help raise me back up again!

So, what did I get sent?

The Purple Box

Dude, Coffee and Smoke offer 3 gift boxes a “Aqua” coffee set with a nutty twist, “Purple” with a fruity twist and “Red” which is decafe.

We received the purple box which includes Sumatra Jagong coffee suitable for cafetiere but had a few other gifts as well!

The box contains:

• 250g of cafetiere ground Sumatra Jagong Village single origin coffee
• 100g of amazing small batch artisan 70% dark chocolate topped with cherries, blueberries and raspberries
• 40g pouch of Dude Coffee and Smoke BBQ rub. Give your BBQ or kitchen cooking an extra BBQ style depth with this rub seasoning featuring single origin coffee
• 60g bag of cherry and hickory smoking wood to give your BBQ cooking an authentic smoke flavour
• Coffee tasting notes card
• BBQ ribs recipe card to make great use of the BBQ rub (on the ribs and in the sauce)

The Coffee!

 

Well, when you go from being someone who drinks instant and with that quite poor quality you could taste and smell the difference so much so the boys actually came through from the other room to find out what I was doing!

You could smell the rich coffee instantly but then subtle fruity flavours coming through. I usually have a white and sweetened coffee but I wanted to try it with and without to get to grips with its purest form!

In both cases you could taste the quality but the fruity flavour, particularly cherry coming through. Admittedly more so without milk than with and like with any good coffee the more you left it to brew the more it came through.

I LOVE that with each pack the information cards add that extra detail to you coffee drinking experience.

The Chocolate

What is a good sign of chocolate? The fact that there is no photo of it! (Well apart from the one in the box!) The second it was opened you could instantly smell the dark chocolate to the point that it didn’t take long until it was devoured! The different fruit (Cherry, Raspberries and Blueberry) were quite large and with that you could visibly see them sticking out. The bitter flavour in combination with the sweet fruit was perfectly balanced and made it much more enjoyable! William, like me, enjoyed it but James didn’t but I believe that is just the personal taste of dark chocolate and the added texture of the fruit. That aside, it was a perfectly designed piece of chocolate! I just wish I had more than the 100gs!

Chocolate Brownie mix

We were sent this as an extra and who wouldn’t enjoy being sent cake mix as well!

William, as my little chef, loved the fact that he got a chance to baking. The mix is quite similar to most brownie recipes apart from the added ingredient of BBQ run mix.

Now, both William and I raised our eyebrows when the recipe says to had two teaspoons of the mix. I mean, seriously, BBQ mix with chocolate? We were suspicious but, for the sakes of this review, we gave it ago. William actually added 4 teaspoons to really get the taste of it to come through!

We followed the recipe and added it to the mix. Once the brownie was ready it was time to taste.

Wow! Who would have thought that a simple mix would make a difference. So much so that we could really taste it as an extra component to the rich, gooey chocolatey taste! I think the fact that we doubled the amount might have made it less subtle but I trusted the recipe and Williams instinct and so glad that I did!

 

Looks yummy right?

 

BBQ Mix

Now, I have just mentioned this in the brownie but it, of course, comes separately and is used as seasoning. We used it to cook some fish in a frying pan but I can see that this could be used for most meat! It gave the added feature of a smokey depth of flavour that you would really hope for!

The only thing we haven’t tried is the smoke wood. Now, I am sure that it makes BBQ’s brilliant and I can see how using it even in your kitchen would be fantastic. I would be more than happy to try this if I had someone around to help but am, admittedly, a little fearful to use it in the kitchen by myself and with the boys.

With specific wood chips personally designed to match both the coffee and the chocolate it is sure to make that extra addition to flavour and taste.

Overall

Dude Coffee and Smoke makes a perfect little gift box for anyone who is a fan of good quality coffee, chocolate and is a cooking fan! Even on the independent elements I would highly recommend them but combined makes a great present for anyone.

I also love a company that goes that extra mile and this one has done that! They have taken the time to match and design everything perfectly and with that you will find that everything in the box is made by local and by independent producers!

At Dude Coffee and smoke they really do plan, test and make the best gift boxes for coffee, chocolate and BBQ lovers.

Add them now to send someone a unique present this Christmas and at £20 per box it is really worth it!

You can find their site here or on Twitter here!

 

(I was given these products for free to review. My opinions are my own and I am under no obligations to give a positive review! Please see my full disclosure at the bottom of my blog)