Maxwell House 100% Arabica Beans – Vanilla Artificial Flavor

To buy or not to buy: Absolutely buy.

I must admit I had a free coupon for this one. I sat on it for a few days because sincerely, I didn’t expect anything out of the ordinary. You know, the ordinary, nearly non-existent coffee smell, coarse grinds, bitter taste, acid reflux. I noticed they had two types of cans on the shelf, as if in a transition of packages. Great, I thought, they changed the packaging (new look, same product), then gave out coupons for free coffee to make everybody feel good about their name.

I picked what I thought was the better looking package – if I was going to try the new Maxwell House coffee, I better have the prettier package displayed on my counter. Then I admired the yellow band at the top of the can with the text “Vanilla artificial flavor” (how fake could this flavor possibly be?). The can also indicates that I am about to enjoy this coffee brewed out of 100% Arabica beans, medium roasted, for almost $5 for 11 oz.

I consider myself a coffee addict, but like I said, I haven’t had much luck in finding the ideal coffee, the one and only that I couldn’t live without. Well, I think that changed today around 4:17pm: I must say that the Maxwell House Vanilla flavored coffee (yes, that artificial flavor) was the absolute best tasting and smelling coffee I have ever had.  The house filled with the sweet taste of coffee, the texture was creamy and the taste divine. I would have had a second cup had it not been so late in the afternoon.

How could this product be improved? The only thing I would suggest is price. The price could get lower (how much does that Vanilla artificial flavor cost anyway?). That, and Maxwell House could make a room freshner with their coffee scent – until then I put the aluminum lid from the can on top of the fridge to give the air its wonderful coffee smell.

1 comment May 26, 2009

Multi Grain Cheerios Product Review

To Buy Or Not To Buy: Definately Buy

Not long ago Cheerios has launched a new version of their famos cereal: MultiGrain Cheerios. This product promises to offer 100% daily value of 10 vitamins and minerals (whether you need them or not) in only 110 calories per serving.  It’s worth to mention that the serving size of these cereals is 1 cup (double of all the sugary cereals) and the package was fairly priced and I had a coupon for it.

I am not a fan of cold cerels, I would say mainly because I don’t like milk. I am also not a fan of the “pure sugar” cereals out there and therefore I tend to stay away from them. But on this particular morning I poured one cup of cereals in my favorite bowl and half a cup of milk. Then I tasted it: the tastiest, crunchiest, most flavorful boxed cereal I have ever had!

I would say the texture is a bit nutty. The tiny oooo’s are glazed with just enough sugar and since they are each made of a different cereal (I assume) they each had different flavors. I finished the bowl and half an hour later I made my breakfast meal 200 calories instead of 100. I couldn’t help myself, it is that good!

From a different point of view, I accidentally gave my baby these Cheerios as finger food. This was a big no-no because they do contain way more sugar than babies should get used to.  When I realized the difference between these Cheerios and the regular ones, it was very difficult for her to give these up and accept the others. She finally did, but it was tricky!

How could it be improved? The only thing I could think of is to add honey glazed nuts in the mix. For example, honey roasted walnuts or pecans or even hazelnuts (my personal favorite). Then, the crunch would contain proteins and healthy fats and this cereal would be even better.  And launch a variety of these very same cheerios, without any sugar – for babies.

1 comment April 16, 2009

100 Calorie Pack – Oreo Mini Cakesters

To buy or not to buy: give it a try

This is a sandwich with golden or chocolate flavored soft cookies with an oreo filling. Each 3 cookies have only 100 calories and they are individually wrapped in a package. Each box contains 5 100 calorie packs.

This product doesn’t bring anything new on the table. Take a look: 3 cookies have 23 grams for 100 calories, while one serving of regular oreo cookies is 34 grams (I believe 4 cookies but I don’t know for sure) for 160 calories.  Don’t pull out the calculators, there isn’t any difference between the calorie content of the two products. There are some differences though, and it’s not the cream filling!

These are soft textured cookies – they will melt in your mouth. The golden flavor is divine. The texture of the cookies is just right. Each pack of 3 cookies is easy to grab and put in a lunch box or take in the car for a quick 100 calorie snack. Be prepared to not be able to stop at one pack, though!

If you have seen the commercial, there is a picture of a white bowl filled over the top with 3 cookies. This commercial is very misleading, as each cookies is the size of a quarter. One bite. Pretty dissapointing, as you don’t actually have time to satisfy your sweet tooth before they’re gone. Then you want to open another pack, bringing the sweet snack to 200 calories… then 300. Might as well sit with a pack of regular oreo cookies in front of the TV and finish the whole thing in one sitting.

While the golden ones were very tasty to me, the chocolate ones weren’t that tasty and their aftertaste was a bit chalky. The sweetness is a bit overwhelming in such a small bite (at least for my taste).

How could this product be improved: Cut down on the sugar and the fat, add some fiber and make those cookies bigger for the same amount of calories. Reduce the waste of wrapping used to package every 3 cookies! The packaging is very pretty but since these packs come in a larger box they can’t be seen anyway and they are such a waste! Finally, make a variety of cookies sandwich with a jelly filling – it adds a bit of variety and it should have less calories.

Add a comment April 12, 2009

Renuzit Aroma: Natural Crystals With Premium Fragrances

To buy or not to buy: Not to buy.

For me, this was the typical impulse buy. It is a new product. I had seen a coupon for it – I actually had it in my coupon box. Then, I noticed it on the shelf – there were only two left and it was easy to notice because of the unusual almost empty spot on the shelf. And it was on sale. I didn’t think twice before picking it up.

Through a window in the box you can see a glass jar containing a bag of crystals. I quickly sniffed at the box with the red crystals. No smell. I sniffed at the box with the green crystals. Nothing. Couldn’t the manufacturers put a scratch and sniff patch on the box? They could have, but they didn’t – they didn’t lose anything so far as I still purchased the product. I put the red crystals in my basket.

I cut the bag and poured its contents in the glass jar. They are very pretty. The smell, however, was very strong and extremely fake. The kind that gives you a headache. I wouldn’t say the smell was berries, but I couldn’t tell what it was. I had to hold my breath and go in another room to read the instructions.

Oh, you can adjust the amount of crystals to pour in the jar. Maybe I wouldn’t have destroyed the bag during opening, had I seen a zipper on it. But the bag is not reusable in any way. So now here I was intoxicated by the strong, fake smell, needing to get a zipper bag to store some of the crystals.

Then I thought, wait, there has to be a lid for this jar! Guess what, there isn’t. Why isn’t there a lid? Mystery. Not to mention that the smell causing stuff is dyed juice on the surface of the crystals, that wipes off everything and stains. Do not purchase if you have chidren, they will want to taste the “candy”! Do not accidentally spill the crystals or touch them when pouring into a zipper bag.

How could this product be improved? Keep the jar, keep the crystals, keep the non-reusable bag and keep the coupon inside the box. Add a pretty lid with a vent on it, that can be opened or closed depending on the desired strenght. And add a scratch patch on the box so people know what they’re bringing home.

Add a comment March 7, 2009