7-Eleven Hawaii Cinnamon Toast Slurpee

I know the place card for the Slurpee is janky, but this flavor is decent. I’m not sure if it’s trying to replicate the cereal, but if it is, I don’t think it quite hits the mark. It has that hot cinnamon flavor, but without the hot. It’s kind of like a very mild Big Red chewing gum flavor. It’s a good attempt, but since it doesn’t seem to use actual cinnamon, its flavor isn’t quite comparable to the cereal. With that said, this was an enjoyable slushie, and its flavor is good enough that I might pick up another one before it disappears. However, I don’t know if you can tell, but there’s another new flavor with a janky place card that I’ll probably try next week..

Alani Nu Hawaiian Shaved Ice Energy Drink

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been loving my journey through the Alani Nu energy drink flavors. However, that journey has hit a bit of a snag. While this flavor is good, it’s also too sweet for me. I mean, all the Alani Nu flavors I’ve tried are sweet, but this one goes over the edge. The flavor tastes like a combination of strawberry, pineapple, and vanilla, with a hint of coconut and a flavor that reminds me of the wooden spoon that comes with shave ice. It’s definitely not a flavor I’d repurchase.

Wonderful Chocolate Covered Pistachios

I received free samples of these from Wonderful in the two varieties available: Chocolate Toffee and Chocolate Sea Salt. Both are coated in dark chocolate. These are, um, what’s a word that would best describe these? Wicked. The good wicked. Wicked good. Or maybe Wicked Elphaba Good because the pistachios are green? If I had to pick between the two, I’d pick Chocolate Toffee over Chocolate Sea Salt. The latter definitely hits the sweet and salty spot, but I enjoyed the mild butteriness of the toffee more.

Mela Watermelon Water + Pineapple

I picked this up after playing a round of mini golf on the least crazy mini golf course ever. No windmills. No mystery tunnels. No walls to bank off of. I was thirsty dealing with the heat, humidity, speed of the greens, and the fact that I haven’t touched a putter in over a decade. This tasted like I squashed watermelon with my hands because I was frustrated with taking 12 strokes on one hole, letting the juices go through a strainer, and into a glass. The pineapple is milder than the watermelon, so it was kind of easy to miss. Perhaps it tasted like I squeezed a pineapple wedge with my bare hands to let out my frustration for taking 11 strokes on another hole. While I suck at mini golf at this particular course, this watermelon water with a hint of pineapple did not suck.

Humm Mango Passionfruit Probiotic Kombucha

My parents have a habit of picking up random stuff at Costco, even if they have no idea what it is. For example, they bought a case of Alani Nu Energy Drink, not realizing it contained 200 milligrams of caffeine per can. Another example is this kombucha from Humm. They picked it up based on the flavor combination, but didn’t know what kombucha was. So when my parents offered this to me during this week’s visit to my childhood home, I had to educate my parents about the fermented drink, which was one of the better-tasting kombuchas I’ve ever had. Sometimes kombucha has a light alcoholic vibe to it because of the fermentation, but I didn’t notice that with this one. It had a taste and feel that’s more like a probiotic soda than a kombucha, with a sweet mango flavor and a bit of tartness from the passionfruit. It’s decent enough that I’m kind of glad my parents impulsively bought this.