Starbucks Iced VIA

The FUTURE always promises such amazing things, of which never really seem to deliver. No Concept Hovercars are on the roads. Cancer, AIDS and hiccups are still incurable. all knowing Robot drones have not infiltrated my life - unless you could droid apps. mmmm apps. The one promise they now seemed to have been able to deliver on is the ability to create real food, or in this case drink, instantaneously from a puff of powder - like the food transporter in Star Trek or the Jetsons.

Starbucks already surprised the hell out of me with VIA, their instant coffee that in no way tastes like the instant coffee we have all grown to hate since the 50s. Between a taste test between their normal Colombian blend and a cup of VIA, I was fooled into which one was which 3 out of 5 times. So I was just as excited when I saw a friend pull up a bag out of a niftily designed bag-box Iced VIA - the same coffee convenience, only this time able to melt in Ice Cold Water. After having tried dozens of mixes, tabs and powders, I can tell you this is no small feat. Most powdery substances just can not mix in cold water. As anyone in science, or cooks regularly, can tell you, things mix better when you use heat. Also, anyone who cooks can tell you that instant anything equals bad.Except instant Potatoes. I am not sure what makes a potato flake, but give me a box, an Ice Cream scoop and a Tub O' Gravy,and I am one happy dude.

Now After trying this coffee powder from Starbucks, all I have to say is YOW! For a mere 6 bucks (5 IN SOME PLACES), you can treat yourself to five of these wonderful summery treats - not only a real bargain but is absolutely delicious for all real coffee lovers. Sanka is Dead. Screw waiting for the flying car. Finally, I can have some of my Future today. While I must thank Starbucks PR team for sending me samples to try out, A big thanks goes out to my friend Keith for spotting these early at the Starbucks in our lobby.

Buzz:9
I was skeptical until I saw the ingredients. Coffee. Sugar. That's it? This does not look like instant coffee at all! of course, even instant Folgers has roughly the same ingredients in it, as they don't need to list the hundreds of chemicals used in their processing of the coffee to get it into freeze dried crystals. Still, I did really like how there are no other added crap in here, including preservatives or thickeners. On top of this, the coffee buzz is pretty wicked too! As opposed to the iced coffee drinks at Starbucks that have relatively low caffeine content, Iced Via is absolutely Cram Packed with Buzzy goodness! I do not know how much caffeine it has (Starbucks is trying to find out - and I will update when I can), but I can tell you it has over 200-250 mg per 16 ounce glass. I could taste the caffeine rush in my blood within the first mouthful, and by the time the glass was drained I could definitely feel the happy glow of a well caffeinated nervous system..

Taste:10
Strangely enough, these are really formulated for iced coffee. Keith tried one hot - and he said it was not nearly as good as it is iced. And it is REALLY GOOD iced. Good enough that you will be drinking this even when you are not supposed to. Like drinking 3 in a row. At night. But on hot nights, this really hits the spot - it is just that good. Let me rephrase that: It is just that good for people who like Starbucks blend coffee. It is sweetened with almost a bakers sugar - as it is very refined and dissolves nicely in icey cold water - not an easy feat.
I found that adding 1 package of half and half is perfect, as it is a little harsh just sweet and black. But, I also made mine with only 8 ounces of water, so it was good and strong too. Other fantastic uses that you really should try if you get the chance is as a dessert topping, and makes the most killer Starbucks Coffee Shakes.

Packaging:9
five big packages come in one of their bag-boxes, a cardboardish thing that looks more like a table topper or brown bag lunch than an instant coffee container. Like most things Starbucks does, it worked hard to find a unique design that could also be displayed well on a countertop. The overall design and theme is so well done, and the only flaw is that maybe it is so pretty that it goes into the level of corporate. The back has the little intro paragraph, a couple official words from the chairman - the usual stuff people pay copy writers for.

The drink packet inside is well designed too, also with the funny instruction illustrations on it. I wonder. If they did not spell out- add to freaking water and stir, what would people be doing with it? Just sayin' I doubt even Dennis Leary would try snorting this. It opens poorly, but the packet is waterproof and all pretty - you could tell a whole lot of R&D went into the product, from beginning to end. With the beauty, simplicity and grace that Starbucks has made instant, you know it is just a matter or time before the knock offs from Folgers, Tasters Choice and Nestle won't be far behind, As we take one step more towards my hovercar...

Another great review found at impulsivebuy

Pit Bull Energy Drink

Pit Bull energy continues surprising me with unexpected happiness! Never did I expect their fruity drinks to be so good. And so I should have expected their flagship drink to be something exciting and different - but I opened the 8 ounce can fully expecting Red Bull clone.

I could not have been more wrong. This was a delicious treat - good enough for one small can to not nearly be enough to satisfy my energy drink tooth. And the energy drink ingredients are above par too! Really, this is another great addition to the already delicious Pit Bull lineup. Now if only they could hire a real graphic designer, they might be unstoppable.

Packaging:6
I don't think many people would ever grab a can of this rather than the big boys if they did not know how delicious and energizing the drink was beforehand. I know the designer has some limitations (like using that handwritten font everywhere), but the choices made - like using a broken chain link fence, and a horrible picture of a bored and kinda cute pit bull head poking out of it. I get what they were going for, but it is just not that well done. And while having the text in Spanish and English might have worked on the larger cans, but it just takes up too much room with silliness. It also leaves no room for double facing the can to make it easier for convenience store stockers.

I did appreciate the listing of caffeine and all the other nutrients, but by and large, this can needs some real work before it can be as successful as it could be.

Taste:10
And that is a real shame, because then people miss out on the deliciousness of this flavor. Like the can mentions in the profuse verbiage, this is a tasty lemon-lime ginger ale. The flavor is heavy, due to the use of both sugar and high fructose corn syrup. But it is missing any medicinal tang or bitter caffeine flavor. Instead, this is just sweet and tasty all the way through. Like with all the Pit Bull flavors I have tried, I am very impressed. This is definitely one of the best flavored energy drinks I have tried. I am very looking forward to trying this is the sugar-free version.

Buzz:5
The buzz is about average, with 80mg caffeine, inositol, taurine, B complex and ginseng. Drinking one small can just did not do it for me. Two kicked things up a bit better for me, About what a 16oz monster would do. I was hoping for something more interesting in the energy ingredients as well, but they played it very safe, giving the same boost exactly that you would find in just about every energy drink.


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Tranquila Original relaxation shot

After slamming an energy drink just to make it out the door at the crack of dawn, rushing to the gym so I can rush to work and guzzle coffee and stare at a screen all day, then take care of kids, chores, cleaning and dinner - All while being a dad of three and husband, squeezing a little extra life in there can get stressful. Tranquila relaxation shots contacted me to help give me a little something I don't have very much of; una vida tranquila - a quiet life.

Taste:9
Unlike most shots, which I try to drink cold, this was left in the wrong place on my counter near my computer, and ended up almost too hot to drink. Almost. Turns out this was a very happy accident - making this green tea lemon drink taste so good and like a real tea. It was not bitter or sour or harsh at all, tasting like a refreshing with natural lemony sweetness. It was not sour exactly, but just a bit tart. I would not mind buying these by the caseload, and drinking one of these every evening.

Anti-Buzz:8
Tranquila did not make me sleepy, but they do have a formula for that too. This one just made me feel mellow - and a little groggy. So what is in here to help derease your day of harshness? The main ingredient is GABA, also known as gamma-Aminobutyric acid. GABA is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in humans - an amino acid of sorts. while relaxing to the brain, strangely GABA is also sometimes taken by bodybuilders because it increases the levels of human growth hormone in the body. There is very few side effects from it. There is also a 5 hour energy enzyme blend to help mental clarity and focus. It works pretty damn well too, calming my frazzled-cant-get-relaxed-3-kids-webmonkey-house cleaning-dinner cooking-post workout brain. Not sure I would be taking this first thing in the morning, but this makes a great alternative a bottle or two of beer.

Packaging:6
I just wish the package did not look like a 5 hour energy. I know that many relaxation shots come in the same 2 ounce wrapped package as all the rest of the energy ones, with teesnsy tiny printing that all but the most determined can read. I am not sure that is the best idea - as people will automatically put these into the same category. I have seen enough interesting ways of delivering two ounces - and they would do better if they had something more unique.

They packed a whole lot of writing on here too, including a couple paragraphs about the drink, and the extensive nutrient list. While I applause their printing job, as writing anything at that fine a point can easily become a smudge, especially when printing dark green text on slightly lighter green background - but do they need to make things so difficult to read?

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