So it’s clear this food blog has featured many coffee creamer reviews, a copycat recipe and money saving tips, but is there anything you’d like to see from me in the future? (More recipes I have tried/reviews-not that I want this to become a recipe blog, less junk food reviews or more even, money saving tips, or health related content, or a little of everything?) Let me know, and if I approve, I’ll be glad to take your opinions seriously. Thanks!
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.
Thanks, Ben!
According to www.Feedthepig.org, many Americans spend nearly $5 each day on the fluffed up lattes, adding up to $20-$30 weekly. Now mind you, there is nothing wrong with spending that amount of money to get your eyes to stay open for a few hours, but in actuality, spending that amount on name brand coffee is not the only option out there. To save yourself some cash, you can follow one of these easy tips and have you coffee as well.
1) If you must drink that certain name brand coffee daily, try opting for their coffee of the day versus that $4 and change espresso with syrup, too much sugar and whatnot. I know, I know.. you want that special Cinnamon Dolce flavor that makes your tongue sing whenever you take a sip. Well, simply ask for that syrup. Usually, coffee of the day can range from $1.50 to $2 and change, saving you bucks right there; the syrup may be an additional $.20-$.30, and also you can add as much sugar and cream as you want, having your say in how you want you coffee made.
2) Buy your own coffee and make it yourself. That’s right! You can go to either a farmer’s market that will have worldly coffees available at wonderful prices, or you can even go to Marshall’s retail stores where you can get a pound of flavored coffee for less than the price of one of those little pretentious espresso, fluffy drinks. I went to Marshall’s recently, and came across dozens and dozens of assorted flavored coffees from your traditional vanilla and hazelnuts to the more exotic Hawaiian coconut, chocolate raspberry, butter pecan, butterscotch and creme brulee flavors.
Assorted Coffee Syrups. Pictured are Davinci and Monin brands. Also, Torani is also a popular brand.
The prices ranged anywhere from $2.99 to $4.99, which is slightly the price of one cup you’d spend elsewhere. Simply add sugar, milk/cream and you’ve got flavor, coffee and savings! Boo yaw! Also, if you like Folger’s and Maxwell House brands, they offer coupons for additional money-saving in you weekly paper.
*If you like for example, Starbuck’s coffee syrup flavors, they are often times available for purchase at Target stores (Usually $6.99, but on the website it’s $10.99!). Other coffee syrups can be purchased at www.baristaproshop.com.
3) Why stick with coffee when it’s just the caffeine you need? Try teas that have caffeine (like green teas, white teas, red teas and black teas). Studies show that these teas are full of anti oxidants which contribute to healthy aging, memory strength, higher metabolism and cancer prevention to name a few benefits. Teas are a healthy way to get caffeine without the jitters or guilt of high calories. While some flavors are an acquired taste, they do not have as much caffeine as espresso drinks, nor do they have the calories. Often, some teas are prices at $2.00-$3.25 depending on the brand, with 20-30 bags. Also, green teas are offered in new and exciting variety like Green Tea and Orange, Green Tea and Pomegranate, ect.
4) Try 5 hour energy drink. One of these little bottles contain vitamin b and niacin with a little caffeine to keep you going for 5 hours and cost less than the $4 coffees you’d get elsewhere with a longer “keep you up and active” factor coffee does not have. Yes, I said it. While coffee is great, it usually stops working after say 3 hours, later accompanied by the ever so fun “crash”. My experience with this drink was total refreshment, as if waking up after a power nap. Mind you, I drank about 3/4 of the container, scared at first and expecting my tongue to fall off, but the beverage was not too sweet, had a refreshing berry taste. It did not make me feel the jitteriness I have felt when partaking in the ritual of drinking some espresso drinks. Also, for me, there was no crash afterwards. ( I will be doing a review on this drink in the near future, so stay tuned).
5) If none of those tips work, simply purchase coffee from your local convenience stores. I frequent Quik Trip, where they have fabulous coffee flavors and good coffee, for roughly $1.17 for a 16oz size. This again is cheaper than buying an espresso drink for $4. Their coffee does the trick and you are given more options without paying extra for adding syrup. also, they get festive and creative around the holidays, offering Pumpkin Spice flavored coffee and Chocolate Cinnamon. (My fave currently, is the Vanilla Cupcake Cappuccino.)
So there it is guys and gals- options to save you money each day that are not hard to try an meet your needs. Cha-ching!
Cupcake Magic Shell With Vanilla Ice Cream
*Disclaimer: I love the vanilla flavor and when I refer to it being boring, that is a mockery of the whole “vanilla is boring” rubbish you hear some people say.
Smuckers has released a line of Magic Shell ice cream (hard shell syrup) condiments for ice cream in a wide array of flavors ranging from chocolate to s’mores, cherry to reece’s peanut butter chocolate and newly, cupcake. Gasps! (both in excitement but later for air when I tried it,) Since I love cupcakes for their cute factor and their deliciousness along with their ability to make me feel young again, I had to give this a try. Mind you, I had read reviews of the condiment before to view opinions both good and bad stating how sweet this item was, but also how good it is. Having vanilla ice cream, I figured buying this would boost it’s self-esteem of being wrongfully misunderstood as boring and too predictable to more fun..besides sprinkles make everything better,right?
WRONG! This new flavor is wonderful if you like the taste of a melted, dried butter topping with pretty sprinkles. The bottle is a pleasant vanilla cream color which makes the imagination soar of conceptions of cupcakey goodness, and your mouth may water a little. After it is shaken for approximately 20 seconds and the foil seal is ripped off, you get a whiff of the creamy frosting inspired scent that may hurt your teeth if sensitive to sugary foods (and I’m a sweet tooth by the way). It goes on very liquidy when poured on ice cream, but promises to freeze in seconds, creating a hard enough shell to be cracked with a spoon.
Humph! Well, Mr. turtle, I must say that I slightly resent you for lying to me because the consistency matches that of a melted Barbie thigh. That’s right no crunchy shell here, just plastic. May also be a wee bit sweet for you if you are over the age of 6. So,why do I keep on giving this a try? Oh that’s right. I hate throwing things away.
Pros: The Sprinkles. Don’t sprinkles add excitement to anything? Not expensive ~$2.29 at Publix.
Cons: Everything else. This is a great product to give to someone you don’t like very much. 🙂
Magic Shell Cupcake Yumfactor: 2 out of 5 tongues (and a taste bud if used in very small portions).
*Photo collage made by me using original photos.
The Talking Spoon 