What's cooler than being cool? - m&m's Caramel Cold Brew

Caramel Cold Brew m&m's - Walmart

What makes a non-coffee product "cold brew,"-flavored vs. normal "coffee"-flavored?  

Is it a more concentrated coffee flavor? Was actual cold brew involved at all? I doubt it.

Starting the week with a handful of coffee - Espresso m&m's

Coffee and chocolate go together like peanut butter and jelly. The combination is a no-brainer, which must be why m&m's keeps revisiting it. 

We've had: 

• Pumpkin Spice latte m&m's - review
• Coffee Nut m&m's
• Crunchy Espresso m&m's - review
• Café Mocha m&m's - review
• Caramel Cold Brew m&m's 

And now these. What makes these any different from it's predecessors? 

Purse-sized Desserts - Senjaku Berry Cheesecake and Triamisu Candy

Even with my backlog looming over my head, we all know I can't resist an adorably packaged hard candy. I spotted these at Hung Vuong and next thing I knew, they were in my cart. Funny how that happens. 

Portable purse sized desserts? Will they satisfy the sweet tooth? I guess we'll see. 

Death, by Coffee

Death Wish Coffee, a brand that stays spooky year-round, has always been on my radar. The only thing stopping me from checking them out? I rarely drink coffee.

I can count on my fingers (and toes) the cups of coffee I drink in a year, so buying bags of it online just doesn't make sense. (Even if they have cool skulls on them.) That's not a problem anymore! Apparently, you can buy Death Wish at Walmart? Most of you are probably like, "duh, it's been there for ages." But I never buy coffee, so I had no idea!

 

I was actually checking endcaps for Little Debbie's Pumpkin Delights when this black bag with pumpkin-skulls caught my eye. Is this a year-round flavor? Or a seasonal one? I can't really tell. Anyway, into my cart it went.

Something to remember, I write these posts at night and schedule them to post the next day. So it's almost 8:30PM EST. Normally I wouldn't drink coffee this late, or at all, but yesterday's couch-nap and near-midnight Mountain Dew really messed me up. Wired, I was up until 4AM unable to sleep, so I folded laundry and caught up on The Handmaid's Tale instead. (Apparently I woke up and chose anxiety.)

But I paid for it. Today I felt like death warmed over. The kind of over-tired where your eyes are puffy and you can't stop tears from streaming down your face. Which made applying my "I'm totally not a zombie"-undereye make-up very difficult. It's not even real crying, it's your eyes trying to trick you into shutting them for a while longer. I made it through work, and back home, but now I need a little pick me up to get me through my nightly chores, and blogging, so I'm brewing up a cup! Maybe I really do have a death wish.

Seasonal Sippin' with Chobani? - I thought they only made yogurt?

Chobani Coffee - Cold Brew with Pumpkin Spice Creamer

How often do you need to drink coffee to be considered a "coffee drinker?" 

In college I definitely qualified. I worked at Panera bread, and between school, work, running a college club, my Etsy shop, and starting this blog...I never slept. My secret weapon? A 32-oz soda cup filled with ice, several shots of espresso (every shot is actually 2), 3 pumps of caramel, and 1% milk. Sometimes topped with whipped cream. Hate to say this, but sometimes I would drink two of those in a day. I don't know how I survived (or how I avoided lactose intolerance) but after a year my schedule lightened up and I stopped cold-turkey. I was younger then, stopping was super easy. No headaches, no withdrawals, no side effects. 

Since college I would say I drink coffee roughly 20 times a year. (Even that is being generous.) Have I lost my caffeine consumption cred? Do I no longer qualify as a "coffee drinker?" 

When I do drink coffee, you can immediately tell the difference. Normal coffee? I have a little bounce to my step and hate everything slightly less than normal. But a client of mine gifted me a few "turbo" coffee drinks with vanilla oat milk and I felt like I was vibrating! I started bouncing and dancing while I worked and felt like I was full of bees. It was awesome, but I can't imagine chasing that feeling every day.   

That said, a big part of Fall and Halloween culture in America just so happens to be coffee focused. What is fall without a pumpkin spiced latte? And I bought a decent amount of these products, and there are only a few days left until Halloween, so watch out world, I'm about to be caffeinated! 

Aldi is Snatching Oreo's Wig - Latte Crème Cookies

Latte Crème Cookies - Aldi 

I hope you like cookies, because I have a LOT of cookies.

 

There are currently 12 different flavors of cookies in my stash, which is strange, because I always say I don't like store bought cookies. After this I might have to change my tune.

 

Why do I keep buying them? It's the blog's fault. There was this unspoken competition amongst junk food bloggers years ago to see who would announce new Oreo flavors, or be the first to find them on the shelves or to review them. And even though cookie posts are no where near my most popular, my brain feels compelled to buy flavored cookies. Even off-brand ones. My blogger-brain is like, "This is what the people want." But really, looking at my views, you guys would rather read about various forms of octopus and really basic Aldi products.   

 

Enough rambling, I have a lot of cookies to eat, and Coffee is a good place to start. Let's check out this knock off coffee Oreo from Aldi.

Caffeinated Peeps? - Donut Shop Coffee Peeps

Donut Shop Coffee Peeps - Dollar Tree

It's St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, and I don't have anything on-theme, but this package is green...so I'm going with it.

After years of doing this, I knew I had eaten a lot of Peeps, but typing "Peeps" into my blog's search bar still blew my mind. So many variations have come and gone! Mystery, Alex's Lemonade, Gingerbread...and yet, I don't think any of them were coffee based. 

Sure, we had Peeps flavored coffee at Dunkin a while back, and a Peeps flavored International Delight coffee creamer, but never an actual coffee flavored chick. Until now. 

Coffee, Coffee, Who's Got The Coffee?

Brewed to Matter - Target

Ben and Jerry's has expanded their dairy-free line, created "topped" flavors, "core" flavors, store-exclusive flavors, Netflix tie-ins...and while I did enjoy their (very under appreciated) Punch Line flavor, nothing announced gave me that "I gotta run out to the store to find that"-feeling. 

Punch Line was such a success for me, not for the novelties and branding, but because of the actual flavors. Almond and cherry are a classic combination, which seems boring compared to sugar-cookie-dough cores and fudge meteors, but at the end of the day I want an ice cream that tastes worth the calories, and leaves me wanting more after I've finished the pint. That said, this Target-specific flavor is not trendy or complicated, but it sounds pretty solid. Coffee and chocolate, another classic pairing, but is it well executed? 

A Duet of Duos

Kit-Kat Duos: Mocha & Dark Chocolate and Mint  - Aldi

American Kit-Kats are finally getting a steady stream of creativity and innovation! 

Previously, all my fun Kit-Kat reviews came from flavors that were sold overseas, like wasabi or bakeable Sweet Potato, but in the last four years we've had a healthy amount of American flavors. Seasonal offerings, like pumpkin pie, red velvet, and raspberry, a few local-flavors (like California Strawberry), and now stand alone packs of Apple Pie, Birthday Cake, and these Duos. 

The mint Duo came out over a year ago, and I guess it was successful, because it's stuck around and now the line is expanding with this new mocha flavor. So, why not check both out and see what they have to offer? 

Was this a mistake? - Dark Blend Coffee Coca-Cola

Dark Blend Coffee Coca-Cola - Aldi

We heard you like caffeine, so we put some caffeine in your caffeine. (Any of you out there even remember Pimp My Ride?)  Anyway, Coke released a new line of sodas blended with coffee. There are three flavors available: caramel, vanilla and dark blend. That said, my opening line is true, these do have more caffeine than normal Coca Cola, but it's still far less than a typical espresso drink or any of the energy drinks on the market. So their angle  is less about energy boosting, and more about flavor.

I guess there is an audience out there for such a product? Personally, I was really skeptical about the whole mash-up. I thought it would either be so lightly flavored you could barely taste the coffee, or it would be so over the top it would be disgusting. Needless to say, I ended up seeing a 4-pack at Aldi and decided to jump in with both feet. 

So, I have four cans of this stuff (three now that I gave one to my buddy Jared, @farbeyondsippin on Instagram), so let's see how it tastes and what I can do with it!

Lidl Cafe Noir Cookies - The new Pinot Noir?

Cafe Noir Cookies - Lidl

If you are a Maria, you must at some point in your life consume Maria cookies. It's the law.(It doesn't have to be Goya-brand, but they're what my grandma ate.) They aren't trendy, they never have new flavors, shapes or colors, but that's because they don't have to. They are the perfect hot beverage cookie. Tea, coffee, cocoa...they're all better when consumed with a side of Maria cookies for dunking. They don't need gimmicks to keep me coming back for more. But hear me out, what if Maria cookies had a coffee flavored glaze on the bottom?

Espresso vs. Mint: Crunchy M&M Showdown? (Not Really Though)

Crunchy Mint & Espresso m&m's - Walgreens

I've been out of the blogging game for a while...so I completely missed the chance to review these before the contest ended and the winner was announced.

If' you're like me, and completely out of the loop, m&m's ran a flavor contest with 3 variations of crunchy m&ms. The contenders were: Crunchy Mint, Crunchy Espresso, and Crunchy Raspberry. The winner would become a permanent flavor. 

Since the contest ended (in August), and new packaging would be hitting the shelves, all three flavors were on clearance at our local Walgreens. I could have gotten all three, but I knew the raspberry ones were going to be a flop in our household, so I bought the two I knew we would enjoy. Would we like the same flavor as the one that won the contest? Let's hope so!

Not a fan of vanilla? How about Mocha?

Dunkin' Donuts Mocha Pop-Tarts - Walmart

The companion Pop-Tart to yesterday's review, today we have Chocolate Mocha! 

Kind of a redundant name, don't you think? With "mocha" the chocolate is usually implied. I mean, a cafe mocha is milk, espresso (some times places use plain ol' coffee) and a hint of chocolate. It's like calling chocolate milk, "chocolaty chocolate milk."  Perhaps the chocolate here refers to the chocolate pastry shell? Oh well, enough semantics, let's eat!

Dunkin' Donuts Mocha Oreos - Walmart

Dunkin' Donuts Mocha Oreos - Walmart 

As a broke first time homeowner, Walmart (however evil it may be) is now crucial to my survival. 

I stop there several times a week to quickly grab things I never knew I wanted but now suddenly need to survive, like calamine lotion (I discovered poison ivy in the yard, with my knees) and teflon tape. While I'm there grabbing new-to-me necessities, I take a minute to relax and browse the snack aisles for some new limited edition goods. It keeps me sane. Some people buy clothes. Some people play video games. I buy junk food. Which has mostly been Oreos. A LOT of Oreos.  

So here we are again, another day, another Oreo flavor. In this over-saturated limited edition Oreo market are these still worth picking up? We shall see. (I have high hopes !)  

White Coffee Candy - YouTube Video Review

KA White Coffee Candy - Asian Food Markets $1.29

White coffee? Is it different from normal coffee? 
Coffee lovers, can you explain this? 

Aldi Pumpkin-pocalypse 2016! (Coming October 9th)

Prepare your pantries for Pumpkin-pocalypse 2016! All things pumpkin are popping up at Aldi next week! There are a LOT of returning products, so here's a list of SOME of Aldi items I've already reviewed:

• Pumpkin Spiced Pancake Mix
• Sparkling Pumpkin Cider (A personal favorite) 
• Pumpkin Spiced Bottled Iced Coffee
• Pumpkin Supreme Pie
• Pumpkin Spiced Pizzelles 
• Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
• Pumpkin Spelt Risotto 
• Pumpkin Spiced Marshmallows
• Pumpkin Gnocchi 
• Pumpkin Chipotle Pasta Sauce
• Pumpkin Seed Tortillas
• Fit & Active Frozen Pumpin Squash Ravioli

Honorable Mention: Halloween Shaped Pasta (great for spooky pasta salad!!) 

Check out those reviews to see which items are worth adding to your pantry-patch!

DIY Cold Brew Coffee Recipe - Not for Caffeine Light Weights

I always say it's been a busy week, but last week was probably the busiest I have been all year. I'm the only employee at my 9-5 job, so that's been as intense as always, then add family events, etsy orders, and hosting a last minute paint party in Camden, NJ where I had to get all the materials...it was intense. I have a meatless Monday post that will be up later tonight (it needs photos), but I thought it'd be fun to share the drink that kept me going this week. 

At this point you guys know I rarely drink coffee. I went through a phase where shots of espresso and caramel helped me survive college, but since then coffee and I have taken a break from one another. Now, when I do drink coffee, it effects me pretty strongly. This recipe I'm about to share with you KICKED MY BUTT.

NEW Tiramisu & Crème Brûlée Donuts - Krispy Kreme

Tiramisu & Crème Brûlée Donuts - Krispy Kreme

The new Krispy Kreme doughnuts I posted about last week have been released and (thanks to my mom) I was able to get my hands on 2/3 flavors. 

She sent me a text saying her appointment was near a Krispy Kreme shop and she generously grabbed me a Tiramisu and a Crème Brûlée doughnut. (Thanks mom!) They were out of the Churro variety, but to be honest, that one seemed rather lazy to me. It's just a cruller dusted with cinnamon sugar, and I doubt it's really worth checking out, so without further delay, let's get this review started!

Caffé Bene Coffee Bingsu - H-Mart

Caffé Bene Coffee Bingsu - H-Mart

Even though I'm not a big coffee drinker, I do like a little coffee ice cream once and a while, so why not try it in Bingsu form?

This container is several months old. I intended to review it right away, but it got wedged behind a few other things in my freezer and I completely forgot about it until I bought that strawberry version in New York. Now that I'm home, busting through my stash like a food blogging pro, it's time to finally try this frozen treat!

m&m's Vote Flavors! (YouTube Video Review)

Pretty sure you can't vote for these flavors anymore...but, they've been in my stash for a few months and it feels SO good to finally try these and get these outta here!

I also recorded my NY Summer Fancy Food Show Haul video, and some long overdue Peeps video. Now that the show is over, I'm back to posting two YouTube Videos a week!