K-cup Reviews: Grove Square Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa

I kinda think hot cocoa K-cups are a waste of money.  For one thing, it takes the same amount of time using an electric kettle as it does the Keurig.  Even a microwave takes what, a minute and a half.  And then really the only work you do is stir.  Now, I guess you can get these for the office for that one person who doesn't like coffee or for teh childrens, but to me, personal use of these seems a bit silly.

Outsides:  Your standard K-cup except it's brown!  It looks and smells like normal hot cocoa.

Insides:  Ok, this one isn't bad.  It's rich, chocolaty and sweet, plus it isn't too fake tasting.  From what I remember, this is better than the Cafe Escapes milk chocolate one (I'll review it next to make sure) in that it tastes like appropriate hot chocolate.

Overall:  If you feel like you need some hot chocolate, whether it be for your office or kids or even just something to pop in, this one's not a bad choice.  Plus it's cheaper than the Cafe Escapes.

My Rating:  Try it!  This brand's interesting in that it doesn't have a Green Mountain Affiliated site, but you can easily find them at Sams Club and here's the holiday pack on Amazon.

TasTEA Time! Choicest Golden Dragon China Green Tea

See that title.  I have no idea if that's right.  I do know that Golden Dragon Choicest Tea is distributed by Blooming Imports in Brooklyn, NY.  Normally, these things have a description of the region or type of process they used to make the tea.  Nothing.  However, this seems to be pretty common in the Oriental Markets around here and I do kinda want to review it.

Outsides:  I really like the metal tin this came in.  It's just an 8 oz metal tin with two sets of lids, but I think the design is really nice.  What's interesting is that the green tea leaves are rolled into little buds.  The tea is slightly lighter in color than some of the other ones I reviewed but smells like a slightly earthy green tea.

Insides:  I'm not going to say that this is the best green tea ever but I will say that this is slightly better than a lot of the brand-name teas.  It's a little bland to me but probably had the same amount of flavor as the Lipton, is slightly sweet with a hint of earthiness and warmth.  It also has no weird aftertaste, putting it above about half of the drug-store brands I've tried.

Overall:  This is working tea.  This is for when you just need a pot of something to drink while doing a paper and don't really care if it's the best thing ever.  I'd say at least try it out for the price and if you just want something to drink that isn't water.  It's not super exciting, but it gets the job done.

My Rating:  Try it!  I'd love to give you a site but there really isn't one.

TasTEA Time! Zhena's Pink Cherryberry Green tea.

Note:  The actual name of this is something like Zhena's Gypsy Tea, Superberry Tea.  Pink Tea for Women's Health Cherryberry.

I feel like this is some of the most proactive tea I have.  It's fair-trade, it's organic and a bit of the proceeds went to help support breast cancer research.  Plus Zhena's is pretty high quality.  I've only tried a few of their products but they would have been worth the money they ask for on the site.  But I shouldn't be praising this tea before I've reviewed it!  This blend contains sencha green tea, cherries, elderberries and blossoms.  It's also discontinued so you probably won't be able to find this fresh.

Outsides:  The sachets are in a nice metal tin and are made out of corn silk.  The tea is a light pink color and smells fruity.

Insides:  This is similar and yet opposite of the Loyd Tea with Strawberry and Raspberry.  Both are berry-focused teas that start out a little tangy, but the Loyd did not ultimately feel like a tea.  Zhena's has a good balance between the tartness of the cherries, sweet and floral notes from the blossoms and sencha backdrop.  It's multidimensional, light and versatile, having a nice fruit flavor that would go well with or without sugar, hot or cold.

Overall:  It's a pity that this isn't around anymore because it's fantastic.  I still encourage you to check out Zhena's and try at least one of their teas (they're a bit expensive but totally worth it).

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's the site:  Zhena's main site

K-cup reviews: Green Mountain Brew Over Ice French Vanilla Iced Coffee

Ok, I've got a confession to make:  I hate iced coffee.  It's actually not really the coffee's fault, it's because I hate it when the ice melts and makes my coffee watery.  There are solutions to this, drinking cold coffee without ice or adding ice cream instead of it, but on a hot day, I'll just order the hot equivalent (unless I'm at Panera's where I can get cold coffee through their fountain <3).   But how do you make iced coffee at home, you may ask.  Well, it's very simple.  You make a lot of coffee, put it in fridge or freezer until cold then add your stuff to it.  But now, we have the Keurig way!

I feel like I have to tell you guys how I brewed it because my mom got these K-cups and I'm sure it's a little more in-depth than just pressing a button and BINGO!  Iced coffee!  Looking at the website (also no instructions) I saw that people brewed the coffee in the cream and sugar, waited a bit then added the ice.  I brewed the coffee under the 9 oz setting and did as above.  Maybe that's wrong, but if it turns out horribly then I'll gladly take some blame for that.

Outsides:  It looks like coffee (duh) that came from a normal K-cup.  It also has a strong vanilla smell.

Insides:  After adding the ice, the coffee's still pretty strong and pretty decent except for this weird aftertaste (therefore my brewing method was not at fault).  It reminds me of those mixers you add booze to;  sweet, creamy and a little fake, but with those, at least you have the booze to get you drunk enough to not notice it. If  I magically ignore that aftertaste, I'd say it's ok but nut spectacular (it's not gonna stop me from buying iced coffees from Panera anytime soon).  The vanilla flavor is too fake and the coffee is just a tad too bitter to work well for iced.

Overall:  I think this is a gimmick.  If you want iced coffee, break out that drip brew, get some decent coffee and stick it in the refrigerator.  Don't pay a stupid amount of money for this.

My Rating:  Pass.  Here's the site:  Keurig's Brew Over Ice Subsite.

TasTEA Time! Lipton's Green Tea with Lemon and Ginseng

The Saga continues!  I'm not particularly excited about this one since our family always used to add lemon to our tea (I don't anymore, but it was a thing).  Lemon just seems so common, so mundane, and yet I see it everywhere.

Outsides:  Paper outside, plastic inside, individually-packaged sachets.  The tea itself is your standard green tea color, maybe slightly more yellow and smells lemon-y fresh!

Insides:  Well, if you like lemon then you should love this!  Ok, here's the problem I have with this.  There's so much of the lemon flavoring in here that you can't taste anything else.  Tea has its own distinct flavor and this blend also has some lemongrass in it.  But drinking this is like drinking lemonade.  Now, the lemon flavor is good and at the very least, tastes natural.  But subtlety!

Overall:   Despite my complaining, I don't actually think it's that bad.  I guess if you like lemon, give this a shot.

My rating:  Try it!  Here's the site:  Lipton Tea Home.

TasTEA Time! Loyd Raspberry and Strawberry herbal tea

Alright, so this is an interesting one.  This tea is artificially flavored.  Even brands like Biglow and Lipton all say that they're naturally flavored.  Even the no-name dollar tea brands say they're all natural.  Not Loyd.  Now I've red the ingredients and have to say, WTF is some of this stuff (Modified starch with waxy maize)?

Ok, ok.  I know I'm biased against the tea.  But yeah, most brands try to point out how natural they are, most even go organic or fair trade.  And I love Raspberry and Strawberry!  Alright Loyd Tea, let's see what you got.

Outside:  Oh polish tea with its cheap cardboard boxes with nothing between the box and tea.  The sachets are pyrimid-shaped for faster prep.  The tea smells nice, like berry candy as opposed to normal berry tea, but that's still kinda nice.  Lastly, the color reminds me more of a light raspberry juice than a tea.  It's a lovely pinkish red and a pity that I don't have my clear cup to show you.

Insides:  The tea is tangy and fruity, tasting less like a tea and more like a light fruit drink.  The raspberry flavoring gives off a more pungent smell but both berries seem equal on the flavor balance.  This may seem like a strange complaint, but the texture doesn't feel light like a lot of teas are.  It's heavy and not very smooth, partially because of the sourness (It's not really bitter).  But with added sugar, it's not bad and pretty tasty while cold.

Overall:  I think for the average human being who isn't too picky about what they consume and doesn't care about the subtleties of tea, this is good stuff.  I'll admit that this is my favorite flavor of the Loyd tea that I have tried since it's fruity and fun, plus doesn't taste as fake as some of the other ones.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site:  Mokate's Loyd Tea

K-cup Reviews: Cafe Escapes Cafe Vanilla

I'm probably going to need some tea after this...

So, I got a free sample of the new Cafe Escapes Cafe Vanilla and Cafe Caramel.  As shocking as this may sound, the Cafe Caramel is horrible.  And you know what?  I don't have that much hope for this one either.  The one saving grace is that this is both naturally and artificially flavored as opposed to the CC's artificial only.  I'm not even a big fan of vanilla.  Oh, it's good mixed in with things or in the background, but it's just so...vanilla.

Outsides:  Your standard K-cup.  The liquid is a lighter color than the caramel and smells equally of instant coffee and vanilla.

Insides:  This one's better.  It still has a bit of that aftertaste but it's not as prevalent.  The vanilla flavoring isn't overpowering either and goes well with the hint of coffee that's in here.  It's not terribly offensive and I daresay that it's better than a lot of the cappuccino coolers that mix instant coffee with flavors, but I can't say it's amazing.  I think the natural vanilla helped though.

Overall:  I can drink this.  I don't feel the need to and personally prefer making real coffee if I want something that kinda tastes like coffee, but it's better than the other one.  Heck, I'll even suggest that this is kinda good.  Try and see if you can snag a sample.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site:  Cafe Escapes