in 11 hours, the boxes leave – #121

And welcome to the many new people who joined us this week.

Before the five products, I usually write a little about whatever is going on here. At the moment, that mostly means boxes.

Last Sunday I wrote about 80 of them.

The Sunday before that, I wrote about quitting my job.

Tomorrow, the boxes leave. We follow in a few weeks.

So this one is short. Longer intro again next week.

And thank you, I've read every message you sent over the last few days. I just haven't managed to answer them yet, but I will. Give me a few more days.

If you’re new around here: Every week, I share 5 of the nicest products from Europe I’ve discovered in the past 7 days.

I scout, you explore.

With love 🌞
Jakob

P.S.: Last week's most-clicked was the Ranger by Lume Traveler. The Microduck by Pollen Robotics came second.

P.P.S.: If you find something that belongs here, send it.

Virunga 77% by Rózsavölgyi Csokoládé is made with organic cocoa beans grown near Virunga, Africa's oldest national park, home to mountain gorillas. The 70 g bar has chocolate and tea aromas, with notes of cinnamon, passion fruit and fig.

I rarely feature food here, because taste doesn't survive an email. But I've been running on plain dark chocolate through the whole packing (the supermarket kind), and this one I'm saving for when it gets quiet again.

The Albertina by Belgian brand Collenti is made to order, with a choice of vase colour, finish and shade fabric. Founder Sara Callens named it after her grandmother, a woman who never entered a room without changing it.

I am glad I do not have to pack a 2.20-metre lamp tonight.

The Beer Glass Storytellers Dots Large by Rückl is a hand-cut, 400 ml glass in lead-free crystal, designed by Kristýna Venturová. Oktoberfest has started, I am Bavarian, and I do not much like drinking from a one-litre Maß. Four hundred millilitres (or less) is my case.

The Chalet Awaits by Stella Soomlais is made to order from vegetable-tanned leather in the brand's Tallinn studio. Every bag is marked inside with the names of the artisans who made it, and the studio takes used bags back for credit depending on their condition. The product page puts it well: “Heavy is the weight on a philosopher king's shoulders. This solid travel duffel feels light in comparison.”

Datum by datum.coffee combines an espresso machine, grinder and open recipe platform: scan a bag of coffee once and the machine brews it to the roaster's recipe. It pairs 64 mm flat burrs with automatic tamping, heating while it grinds and an automatic milk steamer. It is not available yet but pre-orders are starting soon.