10 Other Things I Consumed (September 2025 Edition)

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Here are ten other things I consumed last month that I felt like writing about:

Woodstock Organic Banana Water

Woodstock Organic Banana Water.

At the beginning of the month, a reader sent in a Spotted photo for Banagua Banana Water. Given that I go bananas over banana-flavored products, I really wanted to try it. However, I didn’t find it at my local Safeway. However, while browsing the Japanese drinks at one of the grocery stores near my place, I happened to come across Woodstock Organic Banana Water, and yes, that is the overripe banana color of the water in the can. I assure you, I did not pull that water from a storm drain after heavy rains.

While it’s not appetizing to look at, its flavor is unmistakably banana, and not the artificial kind. Of course, that makes sense since the only ingredient is bananas. However, I didn’t know bananas could hold so much water. While I thought it was good, I don’t think I’d ever repurchase it. If I want to drink a banana, I’d just blend one in a smoothie.

Nerds Gummy Clusters Cherry Lemonade Blitz

Nerds Gummy Clustsers Cherry Lemonade Blitz.

Despite initially thinking this was a silly idea when I first heard about it years ago, Nerds Gummy Clusters are one of my favorite candies to sneak from my son’s Halloween and goodie bag stashes. I love the contrasting textures and fruity flavors. However, this particular flavor was kind of a letdown. I expected a blitz of cherry and lemonade, but it had a more nondescript fruity flavor that I couldn’t quite convince myself was anything else. Maybe the Candy Gods made it that way to get back at me for stealing my kid’s candy? With that said, I enjoyed crunching and chewing through the entire bag, but I wouldn’t pick it up again.

Bloom Crisp Apple Sparkling Energy Drink

Bloom Crisp Apple Sparkling Energy Drink.

My goodness, this limited edition flavor is super yummy. I don’t taste any of the apple cider vinegar that’s in it, unlike a bunch of Poppi soda flavors I’ve had. And it has such a crisp apple taste with ZERO apple juice. That is…I don’t know what that is. Magic? Science? Magical science? Scientific magic? Sorry, I’m super amped up because, as I mentioned before, this tastes wonderful, and it’s given me a boost with 180 milligrams of caffeine from green coffee bean extract.

What I don’t like about it is how it says it has prebiotic fiber, but it’s only ONE GRAM. Any can of Olipop would roll their tab at that number. And that one gram comes from a source that partially sounds like the worst Marvel villain ever: Galactomannan prebiotic fiber. Yes, one gram is more than almost every energy drink in existence, but with the existence of Olipop and its cans that have more fiber than most of us get per day, I expect more.

Bugles Salt & Vinegar

Bugles Salt & Vinegar.

I love salt & vinegar chips, but these did not do it for me because their salt and vinegar flavor is so mild. I want the vinegar to whip my taste buds awake. I want my mouth to taste enough vinegar that when I talk, it smells like a Filipino kitchen preparing some delicious adobo. I did not get that hit of vinegar that I’ve experienced with almost every bag of salt and vinegar potato chips I’ve ever had. If I got another free bag of these (Disclosure: I got a free sample from General Mills), I’d give it away. Give it away. Give it away now.

Bugles Hidden Valley Ranch

Bugles Hidden Valley Ranch.

While I’d give away a bag of Bugles Salt & Vinegar, I’d probably keep a bag of Bugles Hidden Valley Ranch if General Mills sent me another one. (Disclosure: I got a free sample.) This one has a stronger flavor than the Salt & Vinegar one, although, with that said, I wish it were a bit more potent. Maybe that’s just how seasoned Bugles are?

Chex Mix Oreo Muddy Buddies

Chex Mix Oreo Muddy Buddies.

I’m sad this doesn’t come in a bigger bag because I demolished this quickly. According to the bag, these Muddy Buddies are made with real Oreo cookie wafers, and my taste buds believe it. They noticed that darker chocolatey note that Oreo wafers have. And that sugar coating on every piece, which causes the Oreo crumbs to stick to the Chex cereal, brings a sweet, sugary kick that does a great job of standing in for the Oreo’s creme filling. (Disclosure: I got a free sample from General Mills.)

Taco Bell Cheesy Melt Grilled Steak Burrito

Taco Bell Cheesy Melt Grilled Steak Burrito.

It’s no longer on the menu, but the list of ingredients in this sounds like it could’ve been a previous product with a different name or a future product with a different name. There’s seasoned steak, seasoned rice, a three-cheese blend, reduced fat sour cream, and a creamy jalapeno sauce in a flour tortilla. The other burrito that came out the same time as this one, the Chipotle Ranch Grilled Steak Burrito (which I didn’t try), sounded more fun with its steak, lettuce, fiesta strips, cheese, avocado ranch sauce, chipotle sauce, and pico de gallo in a flour tortilla. It had an advertised price of three dollars, which is surprisingly not bad. However, I paid $4.49 for mine. As for its flavor, it tasted much like how its ingredients list looked: familiar. I liked it. It had a decent amount of filling, and I’d order it again if it ever comes back with a new name.

Alani Nu Witch’s Brew Energy Drink

Alani Nu Witch's Brew Energy Drink.

Our reviewer, Sean, convinced me to try this, which has appeared every fall for several years now. Actually, this year marks the first time I’ve tried Alani Nu energy drinks, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by them. Cotton Candy…crazy delicious. Watermelon Wave…wonderful. Sherbet Swirl…succulent. Witch’s Brew…why have I gone so many years without trying this? This caramel apple energy drink, a rare flavor in the energy drink world, is marvelous, and I can see myself revisiting it every year when it returns for the Halloween season.

Oreo Reese’s Cookies

Oreo Reese's Cookies OTIC.

Here’s a second opinion about these cookies. You can read our original review, written by Tiffany, by clicking here if you missed it. To me, there are two types of Reese’s peanut butter. There’s the stuff that gets stuffed into every “Reese’s” product that is Reese’s flavored, and then there’s the filling in the actual peanut butter cups, bunnies, pumpkins, ghosts, nutcrackers, eggs, trees, and whatever seasonal shapes Hershey’s will come up with in the future. To me, they taste different. With that said, these cookies, with their Reese’s peanut butter-flavored filling, don’t bring Reese’s to mind. It does bring to mind Oreo Peanut Butter Cookies, which are damn delicious, and I’d eat one off the floor if it were on there for less than five seconds, because I’m not going to let a wonderful-tasting cookie that was on the floor for only four seconds go to waste.

ZOA Frosted Grape Energy Drink

Zoa Frosted Grape Energy Drink.

I haven’t had a ZOA Energy Drink since I reviewed the original one back in 2021. But in case you haven’t noticed from this post, I’m apparently on my 2025 Energy Drink Tasting Tour. This particular zero sugar energy drink tasted great, and I loved the grape flavor. However, I did notice the artificial sweeteners a bit, which is something I don’t get with Monster Ultra Violet. It contains 160 milligrams of caffeine, derived from green tea and green coffee extract, making it an excellent option for those seeking a grape-flavored energy drink with more natural energy sources.

6 Other Things I Consumed (August 2025 Edition)

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Here are six other things I consumed last month that I felt like writing about:

Nescafe Ice Roast

Nescafe Ice Roast.

I’m sure coffee fanatics would roll their eyes at the thought of cheap instant iced coffee, like this Nescafé Ice Roast, but like raccoons and cockroaches, I don’t discriminate against how it tastes. As long as its flavor is fine with lots of creamer and non-dairy milk, and carries caffeine into my system, I’m as cheerful as a morning show personality.

Unfortunately, the bottle doesn’t indicate the amount of caffeine in each serving. Fortunately, someone on the internet inquired about its caffeine content and learned it’s approximately 60 milligrams per teaspoon. There are a gazillion teaspoon servings per bottle, which will last us a month.

I love how quickly and easily I can make my morning iced coffee now. Will be repurchasing for the rest of my life. Or until Nescafé discontinues it.

7-Eleven Hawaii Banana Bread Slurpee

7-Eleven Hawaii Banana Bread Slurpee.

Another Slurpee flavor you can only get here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! I wrote about a couple of others in a previous post, but this flavor appeared in August, and it’s not as sweet as the standard Banana Slurpee.

It has that artificial banana flavor that I love (Go Banana Runts!), but with a little something something that I’m not sure what it’s trying to emulate. Walnuts? Baked goodness? Banana overripeness? Speaking of overripe bananas, the Slurpee’s color reminds me of them. I’ve slurped this multiple times in August.

Baskin-Robbins Oreo ’n Cold Brew Ice Cream

Baskin-Robbins Oreo ’n Cold Brew Ice Cream.

Not a new flavor, but it’s one I’ve never had before until this past month. It features cold brew coffee flavored ice cream made with cold brew concentrate, Oreo cookie pieces, and chocolate cookie swirls. I was a bit disappointed with it.

Cold brew coffee is supposed to have a smoother flavor than regular coffee, and I guess you could say that this ice cream’s flavor was smoother than coffee-flavored ice creams I’ve had. However, perhaps it was too smooth because I didn’t taste a noticeable coffee flavor.

It’s not awful, and I would eat it if offered some, because the Oreo pieces and swirls complement the ice cream base’s mild coffee flavor. Also, it’s been a long minute since I’ve had Jamoca Ice Cream, and I can’t remember what it tastes like, so I’m unable to compare.

Monster Ultra Violet Energy Drink

Monster Ultra Violet Energy Drink.

I’m 100 percent certain I’ve never had this Monster Ultra flavor before this past month, despite it being available since 2017. I’m 100 percent sure because how can I forget something so delicious?

There are so many Monster Ultra flavors that it’s easy to miss one, but I usually opt for the standard one in the white can or any of the other flavors that have been released within the past five years or so.

But on a whim, I decided to pick the purple canned one, and I’m glad I did. I drank this three times in August. I guess I’m making up for lost time with this excellent grape-flavored energy drink.

Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon

Panda Express Cream Cheese Rangoon.

Another new-to-me product. If you’re not familiar, these rangoons are fried wonton wrappers filled with cream cheese and served with sweet and sour sauce.

I have skipped over these for years and years because I didn’t think I would like them. But it turns out, they’re okay. However, they’re so mid that I would be fine if I never had another for the rest of my life. People must like them, though, because they’ve been on the menu for a very long time.

Doritos Twisted Queso

Doritos Twisted Queso Other.

Our reviewer, Sean, has already written a full review of this chip flavor, and he loved it. So, when I saw it at 7-Eleven, I decided to pick up a bag. And I have to second what he wrote. These are delightful chips that perfectly capture the cheesy and peppery flavors, evoking thoughts of queso.

Now that I think about it, I should’ve heated them in the microwave for a few seconds to feel the warmth of the queso. It was a seasonal flavor, but it’s so great that I expect it to come back next year.

Other Things I Consumed (July 2025 Edition)

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7-Eleven Hawaii Lychee Lemonade Slurpee.

I’ve been making it a habit of treating myself to something sweet whenever I finish a review. I also do it to replenish the glucose in my brain. A lot of my treating has involved 7-Eleven Slurpees, more specifically, 7-Eleven Hawaii Slurpees. You see, 7-Eleven locations here offer flavors that you can’t get anywhere else in the country. However, we don’t get the limited edition Slurpee flavors that mainland 7-Eleven locations get. These local flavors change periodically and have been popping up for years now, but I can’t recall ever trying any of them. But that changed in July.

7-Eleven Hawaii Melon Mochi Slurpee.

The first one I tried was Lychee Lemonade, which was good, but as a lychee lover, I wish it had a stronger kiss of the white flesh fruit. The other flavor I tried was Melon Mochi, which did a decent job of capturing the flavor of honeydew melon flavored mochi. There’s a strong melon flavor with a little something something to trick my mind into thinking mochi. If you ever visit this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I’d highly recommend you take a detour to a 7-Eleven and give these flavors a try. They change every so often, so these might not be around.

Kirkland Signature Cold Brew Mocha Freeze.

Despite being on the menu for years at this point, this was the first Cold Brew Mocha Freeze I’ve gotten from Costco. I only got it because I NEEDED caffeine while my kid was at his morning gymnastics class, and there wasn’t a Starbucks for miles, but there was a Costco within walking distance. For $3.99, I can’t complain much. It’s sweet, chocolatey, and has a decent cold brew coffee flavor. I like Starbucks Frappuccino Beverages, and this had a better icy consistency than the Frappuccino. Sure, it’s a dessert coffee drink, but it contains caffeine and tastes great. I will probably repurchase it since I have to sit through six more gymnastics classes.

Monster Energy Zero Sugar.

Finally, we have Monster Energy Zero Sugar, which is an energy drink that has been around for a couple of years now, but this is the first time I’ve tried it because I usually gravitate to the Monster Ultra flavors when I want an energy drink. It has all the flavor of the original Monster Energy Drink without sugar. However, I could easily taste the difference between this and the original Monster Energy Drink because the original has a syrupy sweetness that attacks my taste buds like a kaiju attacking Tokyo. While I like it, I don’t think I’d ever drink this regularly because Monster Ultra flavors appeal more to my palate.

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