Category: Reviews

REVIEW: Nestle Coffee mate Coconut Lime Dirty Soda Creamer

Marvo 2 Comments

Dr Pepper is a perfect blend of 23 flavors. So why would we want to muddy those with another two by pouring some of the new Nestle Coffee mate Coconut Lime Dirty Soda Creamer into it? Unless two of those 23 are coconut and lime, and the additive just enhances the two already existing flavors. And maybe if this sells well, then there will be another Dirty Soda variety that could be two more Dr Pepper flavors, and before you know it, we’ll have Dr Pepper’s secret recipe, and we can all make our own Dr (Insert Your Name Here).

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to combine regular refrigerated coffee creamers with soda, but if you haven’t, it can get very science fair volcano-y once the creamer comes into contact with the soda. Fortunately, messy eruptions didn’t happen with this. The Dirty Soda liquid just mixed itself with the soda without stirring up the carbonation. I understand why it’s called Dirty Soda, but if you think about it, the enhancer kind of “cleans” the soda, turning the dark Dr Pepper into something lighter. Maybe I feel this way because I’ve watched too many OxiClean infomercials.

The bottle suggests adding a tablespoon to get the perfect pop, but a tablespoon to what? There’s an image of a can on the bottle, but is that the 7.5 or 12 fl oz? I ended up combining a tablespoon with eight ounces of Dr Pepper, and it tasted very coconutty, a smidge limey, and not very Dr Peppery. It was also that way when I added a tablespoon to the 12 ounces left in the 20-ounce bottle I purchased. It’s enjoyable, but all it does is make the Dr Pepper taste like 20 of the 23 flavors in the recipe were muted. So, I wouldn’t say it tastes better or as good as the original. However, it’s a product that makes me want to buy more soda varieties to find out how they taste with it. Good job, Nestle Coffee mate, for encouraging me to buy more soda! I hope you get royalties or something.

While it doesn’t need to be refrigerated when unopened, it does after you open it. Also, like regular coffee creamers, it’s best to use it all within 14 days for optimal flavor.

If the Nestle Coffee mate Coconut Lime Dirty Soda Creamer interests you, you will not find it with all the refrigerated coffee creamers. You may find it with the dry and individual liquid Nestle Coffee mate products in the coffee and tea aisle. Or, you may find it at a random aisle end cap. Or, you may have to summon the courage to ask a store employee where in the haystack of this store is that needle known as the Nestle Coffee mate Coconut Lime Dirty Soda Creamer. That’s what I had to do at Target because it turns out that, while it says it’s “In Stock” on the app, there were none on the shelves. All of them were “in the back.” Oh, Target, you’re doing me dirty.

Purchased Price: $3.29
Size: 16 fl oz
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 tbsp) 35 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 5 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugar (including 5 grams of added sugar), and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Noosa Delights Yoghurt

Marvo 2 Comments

Noosa Delights is a line of sweet treats in the yogurt, I mean, yoghurt aisle. They feature a creamy yoghurt layer on top of a creamy flavor layer. Four flavors are available: Key Lime Pie, Strawberry Cheesecake, Coconut Cream Pie, and Brownie Batter.

Noosa Delights Key Lime Pie

I know it says on the container, “creamy graham-style bottom layer,” but with every spoonful, I wished that layer had some graham cracker crumbles. It’s like my mouth was expecting it when the slightly tart lime top layer hit my tongue. But it ended up disappointed when there were no gritty graham crumbles. The graham flavor in the goopy bottom layer was there if eaten separately but gets lost when eaten with the thicker top layer. Maybe actual graham pieces might’ve helped? Wink.

This was a tasty, sweet, but not overly tart treat. But if you’re hoping for a noticeable ghraham flavor, the brown bottom goop might disappoint.

Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 190 calories, 8 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 21 grams of sugar (including 14 grams of added sugar), and 5 grams of protein .

Noosa Delights Strawberry Cheesecake

Another flavor that I really wish had some graham cracker crumbles in it. Instead, it has the same brown bottom layer as the Key Lime Pie one. And that graham flavor also gets lost when scooped up with the much better tasting strawberry cheesecake yoghurt layer. At least small strawberry chunks were floating in the main layer to give an added berry oomph. The yoghurt’s tang does well to emulate the tang from cheesecake. I enjoyed this one as much as the Key Lime Pie one.

However… I’ll save that for the end.

Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 160 calories, 6 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 20 grams of sugar (including 13 grams of added sugar), and 5 grams of protein.

Noosa Delights Coconut Cream Pie

I wondered if this Noosa Delights flavor had coconut pieces in it. I enjoy the taste of coconut but hate actual coconut pieces. Something about the texture is a turnoff. I could’ve looked at the ingredients list to find out if there were coconut bits, but I decided to surprise my mouth.

There were coconut bits, but they were tiny enough that my mouth didn’t mind them too much. The coconut flavor is spot-on and pleasant. However, the creamy custard bottom layer is there and is custard-colored, but it doesn’t have much flavor, making this a coconut-dominant affair.

Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 180 calories, 8 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 20 grams of sugar (including 14 grams of added sugar), and 5 grams of protein.

Noosa Delights Brownie Batter

This was perfectly fine, but I wouldn’t say its flavor was too memorable. A week from now, I’ll probably forget what it tastes like. So, I guess it’s good that I’m typing my thoughts here. There wasn’t a strong brownie flavor in the bottom layer, which is a theme going on with these Noosa Delights (see previous reviews). The first two spoonfuls I dug out didn’t even have any of the dark chocolate batter bottom layer. After some inspecting, it seemed to have slid to one side of the container.

Also, the tang from the yoghurt kind of threw off the flavor a bit. Semisweet chocolate bits were floating in the mix to add tiny cocoa punches, which was nice. It’s an okay flavor, but I wish it had a bit more decadence, like actual brownie batter.

Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 190 calories, 8 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 24 grams of sugar (including 18 grams of added sugar), and 6 grams of protein.

Overall, while tasting fine, I’m disappointed with Noosa Delights. Some better texture contrast and stronger flavors would’ve been nice, and it’s weird how small the containers are when the standard Noosa yoghurt containers look huge on the shelf next to the other yogurt brands.

I guess I just don’t find these delightful.

Purchased Price: $2.99 each
Size: 4.5 oz containers
Purchased at: Safeway

REVIEW: Gatorade Water

Vin 5 Comments

“If you want a revolution, the only solution, evolve.”

Sage advice from an extremely catchy tune Gatorade used in ads about a decade ago.

Fast forward to today annnnd I guess the revolution is over, because… Gatorade. Water.

Gatorade Water? That’s devolution!

Step aside Fierce Grape, Riptide Rush, and Frost Glacier Freeze. There’s a new Gatorade flavor in town – nothing. Some ad wizard probably made your yearly salary (x10) to come up with that.

Do you love electrolytes but hate fun? Well, Gatorade Water might just be for you.

Have you ever known someone who’s always had a beard, but then they shave their beard, and then you see their clean-shaven face sans beard, and you think, “Oooof, you shoulda kept the beard?” Gatorade Water.

What’s next, Ben & Jerry’s milk?! Lay’s potatoes? … I’d try ’em both.

Ok, ok, I’ll stop being so cynical. After all, there’s some merit to Gatorade Water. I’m not gonna act like it’s the first bottled alkaline water with electrolytes. There’s clearly a market for this. Smartwater exists, but I still can’t shake the fact this feels dumb.

It’s kinda hard to review water. It’s water. I know there is literally at least one water sommelier out there who would disagree, but H2O is H2O.

Everyone knows someone who insists they can tell the difference between waters, but I guarantee if they were put to the test and blindfolded, that claim would be proven false. Anyway, I’m one of those people now. They’re all liars, but I’m not. I can tell the difference. I don’t think this is very good water.

I’m a Poland Spring loyalist, and when comparing that “pure spring water” to this, I could really tell the difference. This has that dull “dryness” on the finish that I can only assume is from the bit of alkaline and sodium used to lyte up the electros. I can’t really explain it, but I think it’s a common complaint people have with Aquafina, Dasani, or possibly both.

For some reason, I feel like this type of water can never get truly cold or refreshing. I had it in the fridge for a good 36 hours, and it just never got above “slightly chilled.” Does any of this make sense?

Perhaps it has to do with the pH of 7.5 “or higher?” I don’t actually know what that means for drinking water, but I guess it’s not “Planet Hollywood.” Quick Googling seems to indicate that 7.5 is about right for most water.

I drank this at the gym, and it just didn’t stack up to my usual Poland Spring. I also didn’t stack up, as I was pumping weights so tiny that one particularly nosy trainer asked me if I “tore my rotator cuff or something?”

Gatorade Water has “what plants crave,” but I, a “human man,” wasn’t invigorated like I would’ve been if I swigged on a flavored Gatorade or my usual cold Poland Spring. This is just dry tepid nothing. The bottle is sleek and has a solid cap construction, though. I’ll give it that.

Look, it’s water. Am I being too hard on water? Perhaps, but there are plenty of other waters and sports drinks that are better than this, so I say don’t even bother. You can always just have what I’m having – Hatorade.

Purchased Price: $1.99
Size: 23.7 Fl. Oz.
Purchased at: ShopRite
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 65 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Wendy’s Orange Dreamsicle Frosty

Vin 13 Comments

This is how I imagine the inevitable ad for Wendy’s new Orange Dreamsicle Frosty is gonna go:

Kathryn – “Ever since Wendy’s introduced the new Orange Dreamsicle Frosty, Tyler has been dreaming up some new squad names.”

Tyler – “Hey Willie, since nothing rhymes with ‘orange,’ we should be the ‘Cream Team.'”

Then Willie just Jim Halperts to the camera and continues helping a customer.

Toby – “What about me? I wanna be on the Cream Team. It’s my CREAM DREAM! Haven’t you guys ever had a cream drea–”

Willie – “DON’T say it again.”

Then Toby awkwardly eats an Orange Dreamsicle Frosty before you realize you’re watching the DVR and can fast-forward through the rest of the commercials.

Tell me you don’t want an Orange Dreamsicle Frosty now! I had one, and it’s good!

Wendy’s is killing it with their Frosties lately. Vanilla was a winner, naturally. I really liked the Pumpkin Spice, and I gave Peppermint a 10! The only newer flavor I didn’t love was Strawberry. I thought it needed to be sweeter.

Well, sweetness is where the Orange Dreamsicle Frosty excels. I’m sure you’re familiar with Good Humor. You’re not getting any of that from my review, but you’ve probably had a Good Humor Creamsicle at some point in your life. I think Wendy’s has improved on that iconic flavor.

They nailed the balance of orange and vanilla here. The orange is vibrant and candylike but not citrusy or sour. It’s very pronounced on the nose, but it soon melds with the really soft vanilla flavor that chases it. It’s just the right level of sweetness, definitely less cloying than the ice cream bar that inspired it.

There’s also something about these two flavors that works so well with the Frosty texture. I’ve gone over it before – it’s not a shake, it’s not ice cream, it’s just an icy grainy concoction that lives somewhere in the middle. I don’t know how they do it, but even the temperature is perfect. I took a big spoonful and then a couple swigs and never even worried about potential brain freeze.

I got a Dave’s Double for $2 because of a March Madness promotion in the app and compensated by only getting a Junior Frosty. I wish I got a medium instead and opted for a $1 Dave’s Single. Either way, it’s a great pairing.

So yeah, this is an ideal flavor to usher in the spring. Next time you’re in the mood for ice cream, a shake, or an ice cream and shake-adjacent modern marvel of food science, just go to Wendy’s.

I’m already bummed this won’t be a permanent menu item. While I clearly love these seasonal Frosties, I need more than two options at a time. I’m not telling Wendy’s to retrofit all of their restaurants with a 10-tap Frosty machine… no, actually I am. Do that, Wendy. I want a full range of Frosty flavors at my disposal at all times, and don’t forget the Wendy’s Blendies™.

Purchased Price: $1.29
Size: Junior
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 5 grams of fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 20 mg of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of total carbohydrates, 31 grams of sugars, 0 grams of fiber, and 5 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Churro Oreo Cookies

Marvo 3 Comments

Limited Edition Churro Oreo Cookies have fried dough-flavored wafers and churro-flavored creme with sugar inclusions. That sounds innovative, or as the folks in the Oreo lab might say, innOreovative, and I feel like, with this new flavor, we’re on the cusp of some creative Oreo varieties that will make us forget that the limited edition flavors now have fewer cookies than before. But this Churro variety, while good, doesn’t wow me enough to make me go, “Oreo is back, baby! Let’s go buy some Mondel?z stock!”

Note: I do not own any food industry stocks.

First off, I’m not sure about the whole churro vibe. I mean, a case can be made that this is churro-flavored, but I’m not convinced. Though, I will say this cookie isn’t simply cinnamon sugar flavored, which is what some brands have done to “churro” flavored products. So, brav-Oreo, Oreo!

Let’s start with the fried dough-flavored wafers, which are definitely not your run-of-the-mill Golden Oreo, and help give the cookies an aroma that keeps pulling me back to them, but not for the reason you think. While they do smell pleasing, they also smell so gosh darn familiar. But I can’t pull out what it is from my already snack stuffed subconscious. There’s a hint of cinnamon with a little something something, which I assume is the “fried dough.” I want to say Teddy Grahams, but that’s probably not it. There are also dark bits baked into the wafers, which might be the cinnamon I’m tasting.

The churro-flavored creme wasn’t what I was expecting. If the wafer represents the fried dough, then the creme should bring us the cinnamon sugar, but that’s not quite the case. While there’s some cinnamon flavor, there are also a bunch of other flavors that, I guess, represent the churro beyond fried dough, cinnamon, and sugar. But it really tastes like speculoos cookie butter, but not as swee…OHHHHH!!!! Now I know what these cookies smell like — cookie butter. Thank you, taste buds, for helping your pal, the nose! Okay, now that I have that in my head, I can’t think of these as anything other than cookie butter-flavored Oreo, which has been done before. The sugar inclusions are a nice touch that simulates the crunch of a churro’s cinnamon sugar coating, but they do nothing to convince me that the creme is churro-flavored.

Wait a minute. Let me think here more than one should about a cookie. So there’s a chance that the creme is a slight reformulation of Oreo’s previous cookie butter creme, and the sugar inclusions are basically just the popping candy that Oreo has been putting in Firework Oreo and Space Dunk Oreo, but pop-less. Okay, I take back what I wrote at the beginning of this review. These Limited Edition Churro Oreo Cookies don’t sound as innOreovative as I initially thought, but they are delicious.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 10.68 oz
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 cookies) 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 12 grams of added sugar), and less than 1 gram of protein.