People are actively exploring ways to save money and make their budgets stretch further during the cost-of-living crisis. The Too Good To Go (TGTG) app is one of the ways you could save money whilst helping alleviate food waste.
TGTG works by connecting customers to restaurants and stores that have surplus unsold food. I had the app downloaded for a few months and it was something I kept meaning to try.
After hearing rave reviews of TGTG and people managing to save money and rescue food - bagged up by the store in Magic Bags - that would otherwise be headed for the bin, I couldn't wait to try it out. As I checked the app, I could see there were several Magic Bags from Costa and Starbucks available.
In less than a few clicks and under 60 seconds, I had placed two orders from the respective coffee shops. Collection was as simple as placing the order - seamless and fast.
You don't actually get to choose or see what is in your Magic Bag, which I guess is part of 'the magic'. I got home and discovered I had a selection of items including pastries and sandwiches.
I paid £3 for the Costa Magic Mag and £3.59 for the Starbucks Magic Bag. Here are the items each bag contained. and what I thought of them.
Magic Bag items from Costa and marks I gave out of 5
- All Day Breakfast Box 0/5
- Chicken Chorizo Panini 3/5
- Egg Custard 2/5
- Chocolate Twist 1/5
Magic Bag items from Starbucks and marks I gave out of 5
Spinach & Pea Falafel Wrap (Plant Based) 5/5
Apple & Blackberry Overnight Oats (Plant Based) 3/5
Sea Salted Caramel Swirl 4/5
- Toffee Apple Muffin 5/5
Costa taste test: total 6/20
All Day Breakfast Box
I couldn't take a photo of the breakfast box after I had taken it out of the oven (10 minutes, 180°C) because the whole house reeked of egg. I am not sure what Costa were thinking when this breakfast box was in product development because it was one of the worst things I have ever eaten.
For the record, I do love Costa. It is an easy place to pop in, enjoy decent coffee and sweet treats.
Their breakfast box definitely needs some improvement. The description on the box said it consisted of 'British pork sausages, smoked bacon, free range scrambled egg, Heinz baked beanz, roasted mushrooms & fresh cherry tomatoes.'
I bit into the sausage which had an odd elastic quality. The beans were congealed, the mushrooms a little slimy and the bacon leathery.
I'm not a fan of cooked egg, which is why I got my husband to try the scrambled egg. He managed half a forkful and simply said: "Awful".
The rest of the box unfortunately, went in the bin because it was, in my opinion, inedible. So much for rescuing food and avoiding food waste.
Costa's All Day Breakfast Box could be used in military operations - offer it to opponents and they would run away in the opposite direction.
Chocolate Twist
The other items weren't very clever either. The chocolate pastry twist seemed stale and limp, like it had been sitting out in the open air, uncovered for hours. Costa's description is 'All butter pastry twist with dark chocolate.'
It felt as if there was a smear of glutinous paste, almost custard-like in quality and look. When I checked the ingredients for the pastry twist on the Costa website, there were no ingredients listed.
Instead there was a note saying 'Check with your barista for more details' which left me a little confused why Costa cannot list the ingredients in the first place.
Chicken Chorizo Panini
This was OK but a little on the dry side. The filling was sparse and nothing like the bulging sandwich advertised on the Costa website.
If there was a little more filling, that would have made the sandwich more palatable.
Pastel de Nata
The pastry was on the chewy side. My husband tasted the filling and said: "It's OK but I can't taste the cinnamon, it's just like a regular egg custard."
Starbucks taste test: total 17/20
Spinach & Pea Falafel Wrap
I would never have realised this was plant-based. The tortilla wrap itself had pretty flecks of spinach through it which I thought was a nice twist from a usual plain tortilla.
Falafal can sometimes be dry but this was definitely not the case here. The pickled slaw delivered a good tang whilst onion chutney brought a hint of sweetness in every bite.
This is of significance because the even distribution of ingredients in a sandwich is I find, a rarity. It was also very generously filled and turned out to be one of the best wraps I have eaten in a while.
Apple & Blackberry Overnight Oats
I'm not a fan of overnight oats so I ate a few tablespoons and found Starbucks' take on this popular breakfast item to be good. I especially liked the blackberry and apple sauce combination, which is a nod to autumnal flavours.
I don't eat overnight oats but appreciated Starbucks' offering which used a creamy yoghurt base. I could not tell this was a plant-based breakfast, which is good to see a big coffee chain like Starbucks catering for diverse dietary requirements without compromising on flavour.
Sea Salted Caramel Swirl
The enriched dough was very good, although a little on the dry side. Having a more substantial caramel filling would have alleviated this.
I enjoyed the pecan and caramel topping and would be keen to try a more fresher version of this from Starbucks.
Toffee Apple Muffin
Soft sponge, apple compôte, buttery crumble and caramel drizzle was delightful to eat. Easily the best item from both Magic Bags.
I think TGTG's mission to alleviate food waste - 'to make sure good food gets eaten, not wasted' is valiant. I will be keeping an eye on the app for other food offers, but for now, Costa is off my list.
