May 3 - Products

Well, hmm, I'm slacking again.  As I keep putting off writing I keep piling up products I want to comment on.  It's gotten to the point where I'm better off just dumping everything of that sort into a post of their own.  So here goes...

A while back I blogged about Sprechers gourmet sodas.  We had tried their Puma Kola and Orange Dream at that time.  We have since tried a few more.

Sprecher Cherry Cola is a masterful blend of Wisconsin’s own Door County cherry juice, raw honey, the finest cola extract, and a handful of select spices cooked to perfection in our gas-fired brew kettles then lightly carbonated for refreshment that tickles the taste buds with an array of pleasing flavors. One sip and we’re sure you’ll agree – cherry cola has never tasted this good! 

I really liked this one.  Hubby was kinda neutral, feeling that one cherry cola is like any other.  I will buy this one again.

 We have searched Wisconsin far and wide for the finest all-natural ingredients, brewed them in our gas-fired kettle and bottled this gourmet soda just for you. Pure cherry juice is skillfully combined with the natural essence of real cranberries and blended with honey and ginseng for a high-energy soft drink that is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. 

We did not like this one.  I thought it was ok in small amounts but to drink the way we tend to chug soda, bleah.  Not even the boys liked it.  They were all into it when they heard it was an energy drink but nope, they didn't like it and ended up either dumping their bottle or nursing it for a long long time.  It's been a while since we had it but I think it was an aftertaste issue that turned me off.



I found several other Wisconsin sodas at Pick N Save, and decided to try Point.  Yes, Point, as in the beer.  Like Sprechers, they also do gourmet soda.  Who knew?

Point Premium Black Cherry Cream Soda has a refreshing smooth creamy taste that comes from a balance of the purest water, finest sugars, all-natural Vanilla, and generaous amounts of fresh black cherry flavor.  Hand-crafted in small batches, Point Premium Black Cherry Cream Soda is a true gourmet soda -- rich, sweet, dark and delicious.Ingredients:  Pure cane sugar, and fresh black cherry flavor. 

I really reeeeally like this one!  (Hubby did not try it.)  I've bought it twice already.  The only downfall is that the bottle is so dark you can't tell how much you have left...lol

I don't know if I like this or Sprecher's cherry cola better.  Then again, this is cherry cream.  I don't know if the Sprecher one has cream involved.  I should buy both and conduct a blind taste test.  Hmmm.



Somewhere along the line I stopped eating yogurt.  Remember how I forced myself to start eating it, and to start liking it?  Recently I realized how long it had been since I'd had any.  I heard something on the radio (probably John Tesh, heh) about the benefits of yogurt and I decided I needed to start eating it again.  Imagine my yummy surprise on my next grocery shopping trip when I stopped to grab my usual favorite flavors and saw Yoplait Delights Parfait!  There are four flavors: Chocolate Raspberry, Creme Caramel, Triple Berry Creme, and Lemon Torte.

I've only had the Creme Caramel so far and it's super yumilicious!

Who says 100 calories can’t be rich and delicious? Yoplait Delights Crème Caramel Parfait gives you two luscious layers of yogurt that you can feel good about. With rich caramel yogurt on the bottom, and creamy vanilla yogurt on top, the perfect pick-me-up is 100-calories.

The cups are a little smaller, about 4oz compared to the usual 6oz but I hardly noticed while eating.  Good stuff!  I can't wait to try the other flavors.

I *love* the smell of coffee.  However, I can't stand to drink actual coffee.  I've tried several times over the years and it's just always so gross tasting to me.  I want to like coffee just like I wanted to like yogurt.  I don't know why I get these ideas in my head.  Doesn't help that John Tesh was telling me recently (after yelling at me for not eating enough yogurt) about the newly found perks to drinking coffee in moderation.  Whether it's the coffee or the caffeine, I'm not sure, but hey it's one more reason I need to try to like coffee.  LOL

The morning we were coming home from Iowa we stopped for gas and hubby got himself a big thing of coffee.  As we were driving he asked if I wanted to try it.  I shuddered and curled my nose at it because he likes his coffee black and strong.  He said this one was 'a vanilla something or other.'  I was intrigued.  I took a sip, totally prepared for the bitter icky coffee taste but that never came.  I was like, what is this wonderful tasting thing?  And sipped some more.  I was amazed.  Hubby said it was 'a cappuccino or something.'  A while later, still driving, I was stealing more sips.  I was thrilled!  Was there really a coffee out there I would like??

A week or so later I'm standing in the breakroom at work, barely listening to our very important pre-shift meeting, and my gaze happens to fall on the coffee machine next to me.  I've never had any interest in this machine before and have never had reason to look at what drinks it offers.  On this morning though I notice it says something about French Vanilla and I'm all 'Reeeeally??'  Browsing the rest of the list I see the last drink is chai latte or something.  REALLY????  I'm reading the description and it's something about traditional spices, cinnamon, honey....  I'm excited now.  My sister had forced me to try a chai latte when she came to visit at Christmas and I was surprised that I had liked it.  And now I'm realizing the vending machine at work has had this all along?  Madness!  

Later on one of my breaks I went ahead and got a chai latte out of that wonderful machine.  I'm such a coffee newb though....  First I dang near burned my fingers trying to get the cup out of the machine.  How do people carry those scalding hot little buggers?!  I had to grab a napkin and fumble to get it around the cup.  Then I totally burned my tongue and mouth when I took a small sip, even after letting it sit a while.  And in the shock of that, while trying to set the cup back down, I slopped some over the edge and practically burned my fingers off!  Thankfully no one else was in the breakroom at the time to witness this Dork Drinks Coffee event!  Eventually it cooled off enough for me to drink it but I had to take an extended break (shhh, don't tell!) to do it.  How do people drink those in just ten minutes??  I was shocked by how GOOD it was!  I wouldn't have thought a cheap vending machine version would be better than the Starbucks version, but since those were the only two I'd ever had, that's all I have to compare.  I've had the weekend off but in a really dumb way, I can't wait to get back to work because I want to have another vending machine chai latte!


Well because of all this I was looking more closely at what the coffee aisle in the grocery store has to offer.  I found a whole world of instant coffee mixes.  I mean, I suppose I knew they existed but never really realized they were instant mixes like hot chocolate?!  So when I spotted this......

I was excited!!  Ha, yeah, until I tried it.  No way can I drink this one.  It screams of that horrible coffee taste that has kept me away from so long.  I even put an extra teaspoon in after I saw it said 'more or less to suit taste.'  Didn't help.  It's like there is a blah nothingness to the taste and then that icky coffee aftertaste hits.  Bleah!  What a bummer.  The rest of this can will be going to hubby's work for them to enjoy.


I'll continue in another products post....