Must Try Food: Publix Low Fat Yogurt (Cuban Edition)

Publix has launched a few new and exiting flavors of low fat yogurt. It seems that it may be  a limited edition release, however, one cannot be sure if these exotic new flavors of yogurt are here to stay. At roughly $0.40 to $0.50 per 6oz container, you can pick and choose from a wide range of Hispanic influenced flavors like Coco Rico (Rich Coconut), Mango, Passion Fruit, Churro, Spicy Pineapple, Prickly Pear,Limonida Fresca (lemon and lime-which I have not tried) and Guava Pastry (Guava Pastelitos). I got excited, because as a child of Miami, Florida, I remember growing up eating hot, fresh, chewy churros from vendors who sold them in brown paper bags on the sides of the busy streets. I also remember going to Cuban bakeries in my town, and getting fresh, flaky pastelitos (little pastries)  in a variety of flavors. I knew I had to try this.

Pictured from (l) to (r): Passion Fruit, Spicy Pineapple and Mango

The containers have a festive and fun band of orange around the top of the container that makes one think about summertime in Miami. The fact that it was low fat didn’t stop me at all.

The First one I tried was Coco Rico, or Rich Coconut in English.  I was expecting a standard yogurt experience coconut flavoring, coconut flakes, and that tangy undertone of active bacteria (probably not, but I always think that,lol!) that’s so typical. Well, firstly, the texture itself seemed is thicker and creamier. There were no coconut flakes, but a strong,smooth coconut taste that tasted rich, and satisfying. This was not like any yogurt I’ve had before. And I loved it!

• Coco Rico Yumfactor- 5 tongues (5 out of 5 stars). The flavor was fun, full and fierce! No coconut flakes, not that it’s a problem, but the lack there of adds to the richness of the yogurt. Sweet enough for me, and low in fat!

Next, I tried Churro. I was not sure if there were going to be pieces of churros, or just a plain old cinnamon and sugar thing going on. Again, the texture was rich and delicate, and did nothing to remind me it was low in fat. The exotic, and warm spices of cinnamon, and the sweetness of the sugar dances blissfully as I found myself satisfied with this one.

•  Churro Yumactor- 3 tongues and a tastebud (3.5 stars out of 5).   Although it’s great, I usually tend to prefer yogurt with a light and fruity flavor. I like it, but probably would not get it again, as it’s warm and doesn’t contain any fun fruit. Better than I expected, though.

I am currently eating the mango, and I have had Publix’s mango “Fruit on the bottom” before, so I had an expectation. This mango flavor was explosive, bold and more strong than the fruit on the bottom variety. There are chunks of mangoes and the color is vibrant. I love mango!

• Mango Yogurt Yumfactor- 5 tongues!  (5 out of 5 stars) I love anything mango, and though some of these flavors may be too sweet for a diabetic, or not sweet enough, I must say this one and the coconut are my favorite.

***UPDATE!! I have also tried “Guava Pastry” and “Passion Fruit” since my last post.

Guava Pastry seemed pretty straight forward, based on my experience with trying pastelitos in Miami. Although i didn’t expect to get much of the flaky crust from the yogurt, the guava flavoring was sure to be strong. I ended up tasting a cinnamon and guava interpretation of the pastry, and was somewhat disappointed. I don’t recall tasting much or any cinnamon for that matter in the pastelitos I frequently ate. There were small pieces of guava fruit, which tasted good, but not in combination with the cinnamon.

• Guava Pastry Yumfactor: 2 tongues and a tastebud (2.5 out of 5 stars) It was all because of the strong cinnamon flavor, which I felt overpowered the sweet guava. This was more warm, and spicy. Not my favorite.

And then there is passion fruit. I knew this would be good as it’s pretty straight forward. Not much to say here, outside of the flavors being bold, combining the tangy and sweet exotic richness of passion fruit with the velvety smooth texture of the low fat yogurt.

• Passion Fruit Yumfactor- 4 tongues (4 out of 5 stars) Summery, fun, and a great intrepretation of the bold fruit.

• Prickly Pear, I figured would be a tangier pear laced flavor, and it ended up being a bit more mi in flavor. Sweet, and juicy, this yogurt tasted more bland in terms of its exotic name. I give it 3 tongues (3 out of 5) it was just blah compared to the others, but was not a bad pear yogurt.
• Spicy Pineapple, I was hesitant to try, but ended up being one of my favorites. Vaguely familiar, the pineapple flavor was sweet with bits of sweet pineapple pieces, and the spicy did not over power it.They balanced each other out to create a harmonious flavor explosion. I give it a 4 tongues and a tastebud (4.5 out of 5 stars)

All of these yogurts range in the 30’s as far as sugar content is concerned, just so you know.

NOTE:I will include an *update* when I eat the other flavors, just to review all of the ones I purchased.

Not only does Publix have an assortment of fun and cool yogurt flavors for less than $1, but yogurt itself packs a punch to infection, and strengths the body. Eating yogurt fills the body with probiotics (or good bacteria) like Bifidum,Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Streptococcus thermophilus ) ” Which basically reduce gastrointestinal inflammation, fight infection in the body, fight yeasts, and food infection and reduces food allergies in people who have internal discomfort in their bowels. Click here for more info Streptococcus thermophilus which will take you to the page I obtained this info from (here, you can click on the link “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probiotic” including a break down of all the bacteria I listed). I got it from wikipedia, but there are cited sources, along with a list of how the probiotic effect your body. Yogurt can also prevent indigestion associated with lactose intolerance.

The Talking Spoon Challenges YOU! 

Why not practice taking probiotic tablets daily, or making yogurt apart of your daily food regimen? all you need is 1 6 oz serving, and your white blood count will be increased, which helps to fight off infection, your inflammation,  decreased, you get both calcium and a serving of fruit, and get yourself closer to living a healthier life! Also, this yogurt is only $0.50 at the most saving you money.

Mio Water Enhancer:Because regular water just isn’t fun anymore.

MiO Peach Tea.

Mio has released commercials of tiny silver bottles that add flavor and color to your water. I purchased this item at Target about 2 weeks ago, and was happy that I could practice a healthy lifestyle, while making my water less boring. Yes, I went there. We all know that water is incredible for health, but let’s be real- it doesn’t always taste fun, and I’m a fun kinda girl! XD So this product was ideal! A little info about my water drinking history- I’d only drink it if I was parched, averaging at about 3 glasses/day. The sad thing was, I was totally okay with that.

 

I had previously contemplated buying a fruit infuser for water to add a natural fruit taste to my water, but was concerned that the result would be watered down madness. So, seeing that I can buy a silver bullet looking product that can really pimp your water was cool. I paid about $3. 10-ish for 24 servings/ squeezes of water. Not bad. You can squeeze 1 stream into your water bottle, which yields a water down, bitter taste, or 4 for a more intense flavor- which may result in a Kool-Aid like flavor influsion.

Berry Pom.

I bought the “Mango Peach” flavor, excited that I could use this to increase my water intake, and pose as a healthy option for beverage drinking sexiness. So how healthy is this?

Nurtition Facts are as follows:

Og of: Fat, Calories, Sodium, Protein, Sugar, Sat./Trans Fat,and Carbs Not bad at all, however, let’s look at the ingredients, shall we? Water, blah, blah,blah, citric acid, blah, Ah! Sucralose and Acesulfame? So there is a small amount of sugar in the content, which is fine, but the only problem is not knowing how much sugar is in it. I have seen some other water enhancers that do not have any sugar at all, but obviously the taste will be compromised. Again, I still think 3 squirts of these in a bottle of water is much healthier than concentrated juice, or the dreaded soda. Yikes! High Fructose Corn Syrup! :O Def. is a must try, but hey if you like your water the classic, watery style, then it’s all good.

 

Cool! It's Like A Rainbow! (Even though it's missing really important colors)

Other Uber cool flavors: Strawberry Watermelon, PEach Tea, Berry Pomegranate, Fruit Punch, and Sweet Tea. I like this stuff, and plan of buying more, because I’m too cool for regular water8). Except for Fiji. That stuff is awesome.

MiO Water Enhancer Yumfactor- 5 tongues. (5/5) Cheap, fun, and exotic, you can be encouraged to drink more water with these. But of course, you can do what I do, and alternate between the party in a cup (MiO), to the party pooper in a cup (regular water). There are color additives, so that may turn some people off.

Thanks to all the voters of my last poll!  I really appreciate your input and participation.

 

DON’T FORGET TO RATE/COMMENT/SUBSCRIBE! (OR ALL THREE, IN THAT SAME ORDER! XD)

 

 

Opa! My First Greek Yogurt! (Then my second one)+ A recipe!

So, I have heard some talk about the epicness of the Greek Yogurt. Yes, I said “The Greek Yogurt” because people have been making it out to be the God of all Yogurts. Not only can it be consumed out of a small yogurt cup, but I was required to use it when I baked a “Pink Grapefruit Yogurt Cake” (<– Which was amazing), and have seen it being used in various exotic dishes on adventurous cooking shows. Dannon has also released their own line of Greek Yogurts, which I had the pleasure of trying. Firstly, this yogurt is NOT cheap in comparison to other yogurts(I’m used to paying $.50 for my regular ones). At Wal-Mart, I purchased one Dannon Greek yogurt for $1.00, however, I have seen other yogurts, standard size for $1.50 to $1.75. May not be a big deal to some of you, but I certainty was not expecting to pay that much (remember, I am a broke college student, and I’m exceptionally frugal as well, lol.)

Dannon's version of "The Greek Yogurt"

The first thing I noticed was the overall texture of the Greek yogurt. It was very thick and creamy, as if someone had frozen regular yogurt, and added a touch of cream after it thawed slightly. I actually thought the texture itself was fun, and an obvious change from thinner yogurts. Then, I tasted one spoon on the creamy yogurt, and first noticed a tanginess that was a little more obvious that regular yogurt- then a nice sweet cushion of vanilla sweetness. Overall, Dannon’s vanilla flavored Greek yogurt was pretty good, but I had to use the rest to make my cake, so I couldn’t really enjoy the whole serving. I did have enough to get an idea of why some people do like Greek yogurt. It’s thick, creamy, chock full of protein (12 grams!) and does vary from your typical very sweet yogurts out there. It also taste a tad bit more natural than say some other yogurts that are just full of sugar. Dannon also sells various flavors like blueberry, strawberry honey flavored, plain and of course vanilla. Other flavors they make I am currently unaware of. Anyone care to fill me in? I’d appreciate that 🙂 Yoplait also makes Greek yogurt, which I have not yet seen at the moment except online. *shrugs*

So…. I decided to buy another one, but only because I saw a coupon.  With the coupon and sale at Publix, I ended up paying $.75. That’s better. 🙂 I varied my brand, and purchased  Voskos Greek yogurt in exotic fig flavor.  The texture was a thick pile of yogurtness- so think that if you scoop some in a spoon and hold it upside down, it ain’t budging! As far as the fig flavor, it was not as sweet as the Dannon vanilla, and has more of a tartness to it. Quite honestly, it’s not my favorite flavor. I know that figs are not the sweetest fruit out there, but I have had figs where they were a tad bit sweeter. Sadly, this was the only flavor available for this brand at my local Publix, and although I so feel it is natural tasting and rich, I didn’t care for it by itself. However, I did add some Crunchy Nut cereal flakes to it,(I’ll review this later on) and WAO! it was better! 8) The hint of honey really danced delicately with the tart fig, and added a nice crunchiness to the yogurt. But eat it fast, for it gets soggy, and does NOT taste as magical! I’m pretty sure Greek Yogurts like these are ideal for mixing fruits and grains in them in you want, because the creamy texture I believe will accommodate any of the above additions and make for a yummy yogurt. Voskos also has other flavors available-honey, blueberry, strawberry and honey vanilla. I’m sure these probably have a higher chance of tasting better, and I may give it another try, because I truly think this yogurt brand has potential-just not in this fig flavor.

By the way, the nutrition facts for Voskos Yogurt is:

• 0g of Total, Sat. and Trans fat, 0mg of cholesterol, 65g/3%  Sodium.
• 170mg/ 5% of Potassium, Total Carbs. 28g/9%, 0g Fiber
• 22g Sugars and 11g/22% Protein. <– My goodness! :O

The high protein content is perfect for those of you/us that work out regularly and seek healthy, low fat protein sources. That’s a plus.

Dannon’s Vanilla Greek Yogurt Yumfactor– 3 tongues and a tastebud (3.5 out of 5 stars) I bet this would be capable of getting a 5 if mixed with fresh, ripe berries or even mangoes. Yummy!

Vosko’s Exotic Fig Greek Yogurt Yumfactor– 2 tongues and a tastebud (2.5 out of 5) It was a bit too tangy for me, however bumped up to a 3.5, when I added the honey nut cereal. I would recommend trying it in another flavor perhaps.

Agree? Disagree? Think that Voskos is indeed amazing in fig? Upset that I tainted the figness by adding cereal? Agree that the cereal is great in it? Leave a comment/rate this post! Thanks for reading! 🙂

Here is the link to the Cake I made via Nutmeg Nanny originally By:

• Two Peas and Their Pod (They even make their own Greek yogurt from scratch! Wow!) This is a MUSTY TRY!!!!!
• Nutmeg Nanny’s blog post of this recipe: Pink Grapefruit Yogurt Cake.

Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish Grahams:Because Sprinkles Always =Cupcakes (Even if you can’t taste it)

See the sprinkles on the little fishies?

Cute little gold fishes are always a great snack, and stepped out of their signature cheese varieties into the land of graham. Strolling down the aisles, you may now see goldfishes in s’mores flavors, graham, and even vanilla cupcake. The reason why I got this is not just because it’s new, but because it’s cupcakey! Aww, Pepperidge Farms knows how to be cute!!!

I expected this to not taste that much like a vanilla cupcake considering it has a graham cracker base.  Upon opening the bag, you’ll notice that there are sprinkles on your goldfish grahams to imply that is it indeed a cupcake. (Nothing spells a cupcake like sprinkles, and don’t you forget it :)) With the first bite, I was only able to taste a graham cracker and maybe a bit more butter? Then when the crackers were 75% dissolved into soggy crumbles, I swore I was able to taste a drop of vanilla. As far as the cupcake flavor itself is concerned, the sprinkles were the only thing to remind me of a cupcake. (Even the little vanilla cupcake they have on their packaging

Nothing says cupcake like sprinkles, however, it doesn't equal cupcake flavor, P.Farms

has sprinkley goodness on it) So basically, I’d have to say these snacks are pretty good, and do slightly deviate from the usual graham cracker flavor, (and by this, I mean a little more vanillaey than the typical graham cracker flavor)but I can’t guarantee everyone will taste it. Give them a try, and let me know what you think!

Pros– Overall yummy, and made with whole grain! Yes!! *Doing the bent elbow, up and down yes gesture*. Cute sprinkles. Goldfish that aren’t cheese flavored=variety. A slight vanilla aftertaste,(more vanilla than cupcake) but only when the graham is a liquefied puddle of sogginess.

Cons– No cupcakeness aside the visual aspect of the sprinkles. *Crosses arms and pouts*

Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish Grahams Yumfactor: 3 tongues and a taste bud (3.5 out of 5 stars) Because they are good, even though they don’t taste like a cupcake.

Coconut M&M’s= Coconuty,Chocolatey Cocaine?

What’s fun, exotic,rich in chocolate, and evenly flavored with coconut flavor? Coconut M&M’s! Not exactly brand spanking new, M&M’s release of what I thought was a limited time, this summery flavor seems here to stay. For just $.88 a pack, you get to experience the wonderful combination of coconut and rich chocolate, mixed up ion that perfect, crunchy M&M shell. Yummy. These yummy, musty try candies are in three colors -white,green and brown. I suppose they function to mimic the inside of a coconut,(white) the outside of the coconut and the chocolate (brown), and the green to mimic the cool Palm trees you think of when eating it? O_0 Either way, I can’t resist these things. I’m pretty sure I’m addicted to them, and you may get addicted to them as well.

White package complete with 3 M&M colors- white/brown to mimic the coconut,chocolate combination and green to represent the tropical palm trees?

All I can say for this pack of heaven is I love it! You get the original,smooth chocolate M&M flavor, but  a nice kick of coconut- both harmonious as none over power the other. I think this is my most favorite M&M’s flavor.

Pros- Cheap, only 210 calories, exotic, heavenly, and a nice change from the plain ole chocolate M&M’s. Caution-You may become addicted to these, as they are epic.

Cons- Not at every location. I purchased mine at Publix supermarkets, and have heard some people say that could not find this at their local grocery story. Egads!!! 😦

Coconut M&M’s Yumfactor– 5 tongues (5 out of 5 stars)

Strawberry Shortcake for Breakfast? Sorta!

Isn't it pretty?

Dunkin Donuts has newly released a fun limited edition flavor for their line of ground coffees- Toasted Almond and Strawberry Shortcake! (If there are anymore, I do not know of them because I only saw these two flavors at Target).I was interested in the Shortcake bcecause I figured toasted almond was more easy to imagine taste wise and wasn’t as interesting compared to the pink prettiness of the Strawberry Shortcake. I picked it up, excited about what newness I’d experience upon tasting it. And I sniffed it a little.  OH goodness! It was heavenly! So juicy, sweet and flirty to my nostrils! SOLD!

I bought it for about $6.50-ish? at Target and when I first tried it, I literally wanted to spit it back out. (and yes, I did follow the instructions on the back) Slightly disappointed, I added Coffee Mate’s Italian Sweet Cream Creamer to it to enhance the overall flavor, and tone down the artificial strawberry taste. Sure, I’m sure some of you out there are saying “Well duh, of course it’s going to taste yucky! It is artificial!” But mind you, I have had coffees and even teas with strawberry flavoring that was magnificent.  Anyhow, I tried it again, but decided to add slightly more sugar to it, specifically a 1/2 a teaspoon more,a teaspoon of  Torani’s French Vanilla Syrup and to my relief, I ended up with a smoother strawberry flavor that seemed to blend better with the coffee.  On the the last run, (my third attempt at Strawberry Shortcake Coffee perfection) I added 3 teaspoons of turbinado sugar, realizing this coffee has to have quite a bit of sugar added to it to reduce the slight bitterness of the strawberry flavor and tasted pretty decent.

Now, with that said, I have concluded the following:

• This coffee flavor is unique, complete with pretty pink packaging and smell goodness. Your nostrils may actually thank you for sniffing the bag a little. You have my permission 🙂
• This coffee is not exactly pleasant unless 3 teaspoons or more of sugar (in my case Turbinado Sugar) is added to reduce the sharpness of the strawberry taste.
• This coffee doesn’t necessarily need Vanilla flavoring to be added unless you do indeed feel you have been shortchanged in the cream department.  (On the package, not only does one see the berries and the fluffy sponge cake but also whipped cream) Sadly, the whipped cream flavor, or cream flavoring for that matter, fails to be tasted. Yes, I am literal with my flavors. If you promise or imply  cream, I expect to taste the cream,too.
• This coffee is basically made or broken depending on the sugar content. May not be suitable for patrons who have diabetes and/or persons who want to enjoy coffee without very much sugar in it. (And I don’t have to add that much sugar to most of my coffees and teas, nor do I really like the idea of doing so.)

Pros: It’s pretty pink color, sinfully yummy smell, and unique flavor. Pretty good with (2 1/2 to maybe 4?) teaspoons of Turbinado Sugar. (just being specific with the sugar. I’m sure regular ole white sugar will work fine as well)

Cons: Not very tasty unless I piled on the sugar. Not for persons who want to go easy on coffee that doesn’t have lots of sugar; may end up being too sweet for some of you out there. Oh, and adding vanilla creamer didn’t really do much. Can taste artificial and sharp to some taste buds. Not cheap,either. Coupon usage is highly recommended.

Strawberry Shortcake Coffee Yumfactor: (Without the heaping amounts of sugar) 2 out of 5 tongues and a tastebud. (2.5 out of 5)(With the extra sugar helpings) 3 out of 5 tongues and a tastebud and a half (3.75 out of 5). It’s not too bad with the sugar.

Liked it ? Didn’t? Then why not lave a comment?

Panera’s Strawberry and Cream Scone Review

I love variety new flavors and scones so when I went cruising Panera Bread’s website and saw they had a few new items, I was pretty chipper. The one that caught my attention the most was the strawberries and cream flavored

Panera Bread's Strawberry and Cream Scone.

 scone.  Hmm.. Instantly, I wondered it the scone would be glazed, or have a biscuit colored, creamy texture with bits of the dehydrated strawberries, and occasional tastes of vanilly nuggets. I even wondered if there would be any detection of cream at all, just to make sure Panera was not tricking me into thinking cream was in the scone.  Having already tried and loved the orange scone, I knew this one had to be consumed and fast.

So I bought one with a no ice, iced green tea. That’s how I do it, so I can get every drop of my drink without th ice deception making it look like I have more than I actually do. Milking it is my middle name. So what? I’m a broke college student. 😉 The texture was about the texture of their orange scone- rather hard but soft. Imagine eating a donut stick by Little Debbie this is exactly the consistency it has, and the glaze was a clear, sugary glaze that the donut stick has.  I was slightly disappointed, because I was expecting  thicker, opaque glaze similar to their orange scone glaze, but obviously in a vanillish cream variety. The taste was both refreshing as the strawberries gave a tanginess to contrast the sweet glaze, almost buttery more so than creamy, however. I;d have to pass on this one, though it isn’t bad, it does nothing in competition with the beautiful orange scone.

Pros: I love the fact that the scone had real dried strawberries versus those little dried hard balls of fruit you get in jiffy muffin mixes. Bring on the realness!

Cons: The glaze is like a dried glaze you’d eat when eating a little Debbie caked donut. Twins??? Or rather, it’s three-sided cousin from up North. Either way, they can very well be in the same family. May not be a bad thing if you don’t care. Also, strong buttery taste and a harder than normal scone texture. Perhaps, it’s the hardened glaze?

Yumfactor: About 3 tongues and a taste bud.

Coffee Creamer Review: Chocolate Chip Creme Brulée

Again, with the coffee creamers.

I like anything new when it comes to foods and their flavors, so I decided on trying both of the limited edition International Delight’s coffee creamers, Chocolate Chip Creme Brulée and Sweet Buttercream. The containers are both elaborately decorated with cool swirly designs and attractive colors, not to mention the drool-inducing food graphics.

I purchased the chocolate chip creme brulée first, because it sounded rather adventurous; deep, rich chocolate with a creme brulée undertone. Because I really didn’t understand what that was specifically or how it tasted, so I had to find out.  I wondered if the chocolate would over power the creme brulée or if the creme brulée would delicately compliment the chocolate.

Well, upon my first sip of coffee, here’s what happened.  I noticed the smell first.  The scent was wonderfully rich in all its chocolatiness and had a strong punch of the vanilla custard of the creme  brulée.  It’s almost like a souped up French Vanilla, but with carmelized sugar sprinkled inside each of  its buttery layers.  If you sniffed it as long as I did, you can even make out the sugary topping of the creme brulée.  Quite naturally,  I was expecting to taste a strong creme  brulée note. Hmm. I’m actually still waiting for it to emerge somewhere when I taste it, but it doesn’t seem to happen.  The flavoring was  mostly chocolate with a soft yet sweet vanilla cream undertone.  It was most certainly there but passively, as if it its job was to calm down the dramatically noticable chocolate from time to time; think a side kick whose jokes aren’t funny and does not do anything for the story-on top of that, you constantly forget their name and function.  (Perhaps this is intended, because the words “chocolate chip” are placed before the creme brulée.)

I tried the creamer in coffee rather than in tea, and its strong chocolate  taste is a perfect match for the strong cocoa aroma.  It was more so exquisite when paired with coffee and cupcake coffee syrup, yielding a sinfully indulgent chocolate cupcake party in my mug. *Note that this flavor is sweet and because of its sweet flavor may cause you to not take your coffee seriously sometimes, kind of like someone telling a 40 year old to eat cocoa puffs for breakfast. It’s good yes, but it’s like candy!!

If you are a chocolate fan, this will surely delight your senses, but if you rooting for its sidekick, *forgets their name* this may not be for you.

Pros: Wonderfully scented, a good and interesting flavor, yummy chocolate accent. Slight yet weak vanilla and sugar taste, which is supposedly the creme brulée.  <–wait, or is that a con? *shrugs*

Cons: You can smell more of the creme brulée than you can taste as the flavors are not experienced in levels, but more so the chocolate overshadowing it.  I suppose this is to be expected for some, but the label does say creme brulée.

Chocolate Chip Creme Brulée Yumfactor: 3  out of 5 tongues and a taste bud. It was the creme brulée ont the package that made me buy it, but I was not really tasting much of it.

Coffee Creamer Wars: Sweet Buttercream Vs. Sweet Italian Cream

                                   

 Lately I have become  more adventurous in trying assorted flavours of coffee creamers (Either that, or I have too much time on my hands). Considering I’m a foodie who appreciates variety, I thought the challenge of being open to the arms of non dairy flavoured cream would be fun.  So far, I have enjoyed my coffee tasting richer and more exotic. Sadly, I have come up disappointed on a few occasions, but hey, maybe I expect too much to begin with.  Firstly, there are the two main companies I will be referring to: International Delights and Coffee-Mate. Both have strong flavours and much variety thus both appearing to be winners at slight.

With all the brouhaha over coffee these days, it’s no wonder companies are trying to capitalize on consumers need for variety.  Luckily for you, consumer, you can have fun trying all the different flavors to give your coffee a facelift.  If you shop at any main grocery store, like Wal-mart or Publix, you will see a huge assortment of coffee creamer flavors from these two main brands. Both reasonably priced, both different in flavor.

 Now, according to my taste buds I would prefer International Delights coffee creamers. They offer a more naturally flavored variety. Take their French Vanilla for example the creamy, smooth strongly vanilla flavor in soaked in richness and topped off with a beautiful aroma.  If I were to compare it to Coffee Mate’s French Vanilla, I would get a similar scent experience, with a slightly more artificial vanilla quality.

 The above photos shows two distinct products by both companies. Though I’d generally prefer Int. Delights to Coffee Mate, I will make an exception in these two flavours. The Sweet Buttercream is one to try as the scent is a dead on duplication of buttercream. A plus is that is not too sweet and even has a sweetened cream cheese undertone.  My favourite would be however, the Sweet Italian Cream. This lovely flavour is delicate yet bold in a sweetened vanilla taste that is surprisingly unartificial. It does justice to the brand, almost contradicting its normal artificial concept. This is also very versatile, as it can enhance any flavour you add it to, be it original coffee, or flavored coffee. It is also heavenly in tea. As for the sweet buttercream, I cannot say the same, though it is good in its own right. (Remember, I am comparing the 2 so results are based on the other’s flavor and not their own.)

Sweet Buttercream Yumfactor: 3 out of 5 tongues and a taste bud.

Sweet Italian Cream Yumfactor: 4 out of 5 tongues and a taste bud.