Coffee – Page 16 – The Impulsive Buy

REVIEW: Starbucks Frappuccino with a Splash of Cold Brew

Marvo / March 14, 2019 / Reviews / 5 Comments

What are Starbucks Frappuccino with Cold Brew?

Bottled beverages that mostly contain brewed Starbucks coffee with a splash of Starbucks cold brew coffee, reduced fat milk, skim milk, and sugar. The line debuted with three flavors — Salted Dark Chocolate, Toasted White Chocolate, and Caramelized Vanilla Honey. The review below is for the first two.

How are they?

The good news is that they taste like bottled Starbucks Frappuccino, which is perfectly fine because I happen to like the line as a whole.

However, the flavors are so nondescript among other ready-to-drink Starbucks beverages that I could secretly pour the Toasted White Chocolate one into a bottle of Starbucks Mocha White Chocolate Frappuccino or a can of Starbucks Vanilla Doubleshot Energy and the Salted Dark Chocolate one in a bottle of Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino or a can of Starbucks Mocha Vanilla Doubleshot Energy, then hand it to you, and you wouldn’t know any better after taking a sip.

I notice a slight saltiness with the dark chocolate one, but I can’t tell there’s cold brew in either flavor. But we have no idea how much a “splash of cold brew” is. It doesn’t sound like much, though.

Even though these are creamy, sweet, and delicious bottled coffee beverages, I find these Starbucks Frappuccinos with Cold Brew to be dumb. What? I’m dumb? No, you’re dumb, Starbucks Frappuccinos with Cold Brew.

A “splash of cold brew” in a beverage that already contains coffee sounds like adding a splash of tap water to seltzer. There’s a difference between the two, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. If it had only cold brew, then that would be significant.

Is there anything else you need to know?

If I didn’t know PepsiCo makes these and that the PepsiCo Beverage Facts website exists, I might’ve had a hard time finding out how much caffeine these have, which is 95 milligrams in each one. The glass bottles don’t mention anywhere this critical information that caffeine-needy minds want to know.

Conclusion:

If you’re a regular bottled Starbucks Frappuccino beverage drinker, you’ll enjoy these. But if you’re expecting something different from what you’ve been already drinking, these may disappoint you.

Purchased Price: $2.63 each
Size: 13.7 fl. oz. bottles
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Salted Dark Chocolate)
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Toasted White Chocolate)
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) Salted Dark Chocolate – 260 calories, 5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 270 milligrams of sodium, 46 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 43 grams of sugar, and 9 grams of protein. Toasted White Chocolate – 290 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 230 milligrams of sodium, 52 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 44 grams of sugar, and 9 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Nescafe Coffee Protein Smoothies

Marvo / February 8, 2019 / Reviews / 2 Comments

As someone who likes to smoosh things together if it makes my life a little more efficient, like shaving in the shower, binge-watching Netflix in the shower, or eating in the shower, I like the idea of products that attempt to do the same. That is why I’m intrigued by Nescafe’s new Coffee Protein Smoothies.

As you can tell by its name, it’s java and protein mixed in the same bottle. The coffee is 100 percent Colombian Arabica, while the 15 grams of protein each bottle comes from pea and brown rice proteins. They’re also made with oats and almond butter and are available in two varieties — Banana and Mocha.

With the former, I kind of taste banana, but for some reason, it seems mostly mocha-ish to me, which is weird because there isn’t any chocolate (and because there’s a Mocha variety). Maybe the combination of bananas and coffee give off a chocolate vibe? I dunno, but I enjoyed it, and I was a little sad after I was done with the bottle.

Now if you’re putting two and two together and thinking the Mocha one will taste like a Nesquik and Nescafé baby, it does not. It has a darker chocolate flavor, which might be that way because of the coffee’s bitterness. It has a somewhat similar taste as other mocha beverages I’ve had, but I did enjoy it.

I was expecting these to be chalky because of the oats, but they’re mostly smooth. Yes, there’s a negligible grittiness, which I imagine will turn off some of you. But I’m okay with it because I thought they’d be as unpleasantly gritty as

One minor quibble I have with these is that after scanning all 360 degrees of both bottles, I have no idea how much caffeine it provides. It says it has an amount of coffee equivalent to eight fluid ounces, but that just gives me a wide range of how much caffeine it could have. But, I felt a little energized after drinking them, and I guess that’s all that really matters.

DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way. Although, it totally seems like it. But I assure you it did not.

Purchased Price: FREE (retails for $3.49)
Size: 11 oz. bottles
Purchased at: Received from Nestle
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) Banana – 170 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 250 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 15 grams of protein. Mocha – 180 calories, 5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 250 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 15 grams of protein.

Coffee Nescafe

REVIEW: Java Monster Swiss Chocolate

Mike / January 11, 2019 / Reviews / 3 Comments

What is the Java Monster Swiss Chocolate?

It promises “the taste of Swiss chocolate paired with premium coffee and cream and supercharged with our Monster Energy Blend.” It’s currently a Dollar General exclusive flavor.

How is it?

When poured, the color is the same as heavily creamed coffee, with a scent to match. The java flavor is strong without being overpowering. It’s not as tooth-cracklingly sweet as some other pre-made coffee beverages I’ve had, though it still has a “syrupy” character.

As a regular energy drink consumer, I’m on the lookout for that medicinal energy drink aftertaste, the one that makes it seem like the manufacturer crushed up a multivitamin into your drink. I detect some, but it’s so small that it could easily be a sense memory of the hundreds of other energy drinks I’ve had.

The chocolate flavor is very slight. I don’t want to alarm you, but it’s possible the chocolate element in this beverage actually has no connection at all to Switzerland, and “Swiss” was added to the name in an attempt to brand the product as more exotic and exciting than it really is. Shocking, I know. There’s so little of it here that I don’t think it deserves top billing, naming-wise.