Recently, I've become slightly addicted to monthly subscription services. I actually receive three of them at this point, although the
Orange Glad Dessert Subscription is really on a trial basis at this point, this is the first month I've received it.
Orange Glad is an organization that just recently began. September is only their third month that they've been in business. Orange Glad is a company that had a brilliant idea to deliver delicious confections to people's doorsteps. The idea of home delivery, while not revolutionary (tons of companies deliver stuff to people's houses all the time), has been taken to the next level when they brought about the idea of delectable treats being delivered without having to get up off the couch to pick them up. Absolutely brilliant in my opinion.
Anyways, as I stated before, September is sort of a trial month for me with this new confectionery treat box thing. I thought I would give it a whirl, since I love sweets. This month's theme was "cookies."
The box arrived within a day or two of receiving the email from Orange Glad indicating it had shipped. It came in a Priority Mail package that was stamped "Fragile: I'm Perishable Keep Me in Shade."
Once opened, the goods were wrapped in tissue paper and confetti, as well as it had an ice pack in there to keep the items that could melt (chocolate) from doing just that.
Here's what arrived in the box:
Kelly's Kookies: Chocolate Dipped Macadamia Shortbread
This was honestly probably the tastiest shortbread cookie I have ever eaten. It was melt in your mouth good. It had butter overtones with just the right amount of chopped macadamia nuts. The chocolate just completed the cookie. This was definitely my favorite item out of the box. This is an item I would purchase again.
Cinderella Cakes: Oreo Cookie Cake Push Pop
While I love the idea of a push pop with cake and frosting type fillings in it (completely could eat and do other stuff without sticky cake fingers...), I was not so impressed by the execution of this particular item. The chocolate cake portion of it was okay, the cake was moist and tasted like your basic run of the mill chocolate cake. The Oreo buttercream was not my cup of tea though. It had a strong smell, sort of like fake vanilla extract? It also had a slightly off flavor, compared to what I would expect an Oreo buttercream to taste like. I was not impressed with this particular item.
Cinderella Cakes: Lemon Sugar Cookie
This is another item I was not incredibly impressed with. While the item itself had okay flavor, it wouldn't be what I would expect if I was purchasing an item from a bakery. Neither the cookie or the frosting had a tart lemony taste. It was a very neutral lemon flavor. The outside of the cookie was touted as being slightly crispy with a chewy middle. I found that the cookie wasn't particularly chewy, regardless of whether it was the middle or outside of the treat. This item wasn't bad, it just wasn't something I would go out of my way to purchase on it's own either.
Modern Bite: Designer Chai and Almond Spice Cookies
The Designer Chai and Almond Spice Cookies were a pleasant addition to the box. Per the information card that came with the box, they can be custom designed or have a logo added to the top of the cookie to match whatever occasion you are celebrating. The flavor on these were perfect. The chai and almond spice flavors had just the right amount of presence in the cookies to make them a delicious addition to any cookie platter. This is an item I would purchase again.
JJ Bakery: Almond Nougat
While the fifth item that was supposed to be in the box was an almond nougat, this particular item was missing from the box. I did contact the customer support from Orange Glad and I was pleased to see that they were very quick about responding to the issue. They have emailed me already and indicated that they would be mailing the missing nougat to me promptly. As I am writing this, I haven't received the lost nougat yet, but I have confidence that it is going to be arriving any day now.
Overall at this point, I am not overly impressed with the Orange Glad box. While I very much enjoyed receiving sweets in the mail, I really was only impressed by one of the four I actually received. The box is normally $15/month plus shipping, so I'm not sure each item in the box was worth, flavor wise, about $4 (taking into account the shipping, and the item I did not receive).
I'm thinking maybe I'll give them one more chance to impress me. They did have great customer service (Thanks Angela from Orange Glad Support...heehee she had the same name as me), and sometimes these subscription type services have a down month. The first two months they've been around, the snacks looked delicious...so possibly month four will be better than month three.
Here's hoping October is more impressive than September.
