It’s a stressful time for us all, because 2020, and I’m still in my burnout recovery phase after the final semester of my masters this past spring. So this BeanieBox arrived at the perfect time for me to methodically try each type of coffee as a coping mechanism. My allergies don’t allow me to have a furry friend, but my plushie was happy to be of service. Say hello to Allama Iqbal. (If you’re South Asian, you’ll probably get the pun on the famous poet’s name.)
This box came with a much larger selection (and volume) of coffee than I was expecting, along with a very cute Dramabeans insulated tumbler, three kinds of cookies, and some chocolate. (Llama not included.) I took the tumbler on a road trip and despite its lightness and small size, it kept my coffee very hot for hours—I had to leave the lid open for a bit so it could cool down enough for me to comfortably drink it. And it doesn’t leak!
I’ll be honest: although being a coffee addict is an indelible part of my identity by this point, I’m not usually an instant/mix coffee drinker. I was mostly looking forward to indulging myself by imagining I was a poor K-drama heroine, surviving on coffee stolen from the office, or perhaps using mix coffee to defeat an intruder like Louis. But these varieties of coffee were all surprisingly smooth, flavorful and distinct from each other in delicious ways. They included a latte, a mocha, a classic french roast (all including milk and sugar), plus some mini sized Americano packets, which had a smaller quantity of just coffee.
There was also iced coffee, which was fine enough to mix into cold water, and contained only sugar and no milk powder. I also appreciated that none of the sweetened coffee mixes had as much sugar as some of the three-in-ones I’ve tried in the past; as someone who normally doesn’t take sugar in my coffee, the sweetness was subtle enough that I enjoyed them.
My favorite was the mocha; my mom and grandma liked the latte; above you see Iqbal enjoying a shot of the mini Americano. (We do what we can to survive a the emotional stress of a pandemic, okay. He actually makes a very comforting partner in K-drama binge-watching.)
I also really enjoyed the strawberry sandwich cookies and the Buttering butter cookies, which were delicious, light, and not overly sweet. I didn’t love the chocolate-fulled cookies though, and the Ghana chocolate was just okay, but it was still a good selection, and they went well with the coffee. The strawberry cookies especially finished so quickly in my house I barely got to eat one. *side-eyes Iqbal*
We asked Laica to review our new Coffee Lover BeanieBox. Each box is full of different brands of coffee sticks and tasty Korean treats so make sure to subscribe by October 16th to get this month’s box. Shipping is free to the United States, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
-DB Staff