Nestle Coffee mate wants to make your coffee taste more like coffee with its upcoming Unlocked creamer line.
Wait. What?
According to Coffee mate, “Inspired by the unique characteristics of various coffee blends, Coffee mate Unlocked cuts any bitterness of traditional black coffee, while adding a creamy richness and the taste of a gourmet roast to your mug.”
So I guess it wants to turn bad or mediocre coffee into better coffee. For example, let’s say your office offers free coffee, but it’s from a machine that doesn’t get cleaned as often as it should, making it taste, well, off. It sounds like Nestle Coffee mate Unlocked might be able salvage that coffee by making it taste better, but make it still taste like coffee.
There will be two varieties available — Classic Colombian and Italian Espresso.
The former has the taste of a medium roast with flavors of richly roasted beans and bright, fruity notes, combined with creamer richness. The latter has subtle cocoa notes, smoky aromatics, and a creamy texture that bring a dark roast richness to coffee.
Both will be available in 32 fl. oz. bottles with a suggested price of $3.79. Unfortunately, Unlocked can’t save our coffee until it starts being sold in grocery stores and mass retailers nationwide beginning in January 2021.
Just in time for the Halloween season, Hershey’s has introduced Vampire Kisses, a variation of its classic milk chocolate candy. Along with the chocolate, it’s filled with strawberry-flavored crème.
How are they?
The milk chocolate shell is the same tangy butyric acid-infused Hershey’s chocolate to which American consumers are accustomed. I’ve recently heard the flavor described as “yogurty,” which is all I can think of when tasting it now.
According to the package, the filling is a strawberry-flavored crème, but there’s a lack of distinct strawberry flavor in it. It’s better described as generically fruity and without creaminess either.
Though, in a bit of flavor serendipity, the combination of acidic chocolate and fruity filling combine to remind me of the berries and Greek yogurt parfait I had for breakfast. I doubt that’s intentional.
Anything else you need to know?
The fanged Kisses depicted on the packing suggest that the candies themselves have been turned to undead creatures of the night. That’s ridiculous, of course. Instead, I propose that these are candies meant for vampires. Here’s how I think some famous blood-suckers would consume a Vampire Kiss.
Count Orlok – This rodent-looking guy nibbles the top off, then attempts to suck the strawberry filling out. Unfortunately for Orlok, I can confirm that the filling is much too viscous to be consumed in this way.
Vlad “The Impaler” Dracula – Individually, with a toothpick. It can be done, but the candy shell is liable to crack unless it’s well-chilled, and no self-respecting vampire is going to devour a victim that’s gone cold.
Louis de Pointe du Lac (A.K.A. Brad Pitt in Interview with a Vampire) – After monologuing about the dark-as-night chocolate and filling sweet as the crimson sun at dawn that shall never again greet him, Louie quickly tires of them, lamenting that each Kiss is dust to his undead palate.
The Count – This denizen of Sesame Street knows that these are 55 individual Kisses in his bag. Being a nobleman with an appreciation for aesthetics, he doesn’t eat any since 55 is such a pleasing number.
Edward Cullen – Edward’s fervor for Hershey’s Kisses is unparalleled, but he knows that to succumb to temptation inevitably leads to their destruction. He keeps a bag in the back of the cupboard, knowing it’s only a matter of time before he gives in.
Angel/Angelus – Angel, the beau of Buffy, the vampire slayer, would never risk a Kiss. Kisses lead to more intimate encounters, which lead to the one moment of perfect happiness that would rip his soul away, turning him to the evil Angelus. Angelus is a total chocoholic, so he eats the entire bag.
Conclusion:
In fiction, a kiss from a vampire (that is, being bitten) has one of two consequences. Either you’re turned superhuman being beyond human reckoning, or you’re a left a lifeless husk drained of all vitality. There’s not much in-between, which is why these candies falling into mediocrity is so disappointing.
Purchased Price: $3.59 Size: 9 oz bag (255g) Purchased at: Piggly Wiggly Rating: 5 out of 10 Nutrition Facts: (6 pieces) 120 calories, 5 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 16 grams of sugar including 13 grams of added sugar, and 2 grams of protein.
Here are some interesting new products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.
Kraft Heinz is teaming up with Hershey to offer Colliders refrigerated desserts. It’s a new way to experience your favorite chocolate candy. There will be three indulgent combinations featuring various Hershey’s candy.
TWISTED is a cool and creamy vanilla flavored dessert topped with candy. It’ll be available with Reese’s, Hershey’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme, KitKat, and Heath.
LAYERED features flavors of your favorite candy in a creamy dessert form with a chocolate topping. It’ll be available in the following flavors — Reese’s, Rolo, York, and Mounds.
CHOPPED has flavors of your favorite candy in a creamy dessert form with chocolate pieces. It’ll feature Reese’s, Hershey’s, Hershey’s S’mores, and Mint.
Each variety comes in packs of two single serve cups. Colliders will be available in the refrigerated section at retailers beginning January 2021 with a suggested price of $2.99.
Well, actually, there’s more than one in a box, and they aren’t cinnamon rolls. They are bite-sized, pillows of dough, adhered together with cinnamon, and placed into paper cups. I guess you could consider them rolls if they’re made Katamari-style. There are four individual pouches with a vanilla-flavored icing packet for each.
How is it?
Maybe my Cinnabon and Costco infant head-sized cinnamon roll consumption has spoiled my taste buds, but I wish these Pillsbury Heat & Eat Cinnamon Rolls had a bit more of a cinna-plosion. I mean, there’s an adequate amount of the sweet spice throughout the dessert, and some bites are heavier than others, but for half of the forkfuls, I thought they could use a bit more of it.
Gooey cinnamon globs do end up on the paper cup, but even using the dough as sponges to wipe up as much of it as possible didn’t help elevate the flavor to Cinnabon-level.
Beyond the not-quite-enough cinnamon, the doughy pillows have a pleasant soft chew, and the icing amped up the sweetness. I do wish the white topping had a bit of a cream cheese tang, though.
Despite not giving me the cinna-perience my taste buds hoped for, these sweet treats are, for the most part, satisfying. I also wish they were a little bigger, but not as monstrous as Cinnabon and Costco cinnamon rolls.
Anything else you need to know?
These are refrigerated and microwaveable.
Although my microwave’s wattage isn’t listed, looking at the table above, it’s safe to assume the heating time for my 1100-watt microwave would be 21 seconds. As for the claim that preparing one will take less than 30 seconds, I have yet to accomplish that. Squeezing out the icing surprisingly takes a bit of time. So if you have a 700-watt microwave, it’ll be impossible to do it in less than 30 seconds.
Conclusion:
While Pillsbury’s Heat & Eat Cinnamon Roll didn’t completely satisfy my taste buds’ somewhat unhealthy desire for cinnamon, it’s a tasty, quick, and convenient sweet treat.
DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the product. Doing so did not influence my review.
Purchased Price: FREE Size: 10.8 oz/4 pouches Purchased at: Received from General Mills Rating: 7 out of 10 Nutrition Facts: (1 roll) 250 calories, 6 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.
Here are some interesting new products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.
