Sunday, December 28, 2008

Bigelow Plantation Mint Tea

Okay, so just as I promised, I have already ruined my update "schedule." But it's been Christmas. I've been busy. Anyway.


Here is some tea. But this is not just any tea. This is the best tea ever. Okay, that's a bold statement. Maybe not the best ever, but it's very good. A roommate of a friend of mine introduced me to this fine beverage, and it immediately became my new default tea. It is the only tea that has been able to take the place of Earl Grey. But anyway, onto the tea itself.

This tea is delicious. It is flavored with spearmint, but it retains enough of its original, standard tea flavor to be practical. The spearmint is just strong enough to be flavorful without taking over the taste of the tea. The aftertaste is quite existent, but is not unpleasant. The drink also sustains quite nicely, as I am usually just ready to be finished with it by the end of a cup. So while it is delicious during the duration of the serving, it does not leave you disappointed afterward. In my opinion, this is an important quality of teas and "finer" beverages.

Conclusion: 10/10
It's a perfect tea. It has pretty much perfect everything. The only downside is that if you don't like mint, you won't like it. But if you don't like mint, you have bigger problems to solve.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Why?

What is this? I went to purchase a delicious Pepsi-Cola today, and this is what I received:

What is going on? Why is this the new Pepsi logo? I don't like it. At all. It reeks of modernism. They have ruined what was one of the world's most recognizable corporate logos.

As a desperate gimmick, the size of the white...swoop in what I will inaccurately call the middle of the logo varies depending on which Pepsi product you are purchasing. According to rumors, Pepsi reps have stated that the white swoop is supposed to be a smile...

Really?

One thing about the new design that particularly bugs me is the vertical, all lower-case, product name. Why do all companies think that they have to follow Apple in the minimalist design philosophy? I don't understand it. It is only eye-catching if it is different from everything else surrounding it. BUT WHEN EVERYTHING IS MINIMALIST, IT JUST BLENDS IN! What about this do designers not understand? Ah!

One last thing that I find humorous. There are evidences that the higher-ups at PepsiCo could not in good conscience just throw out generations of tradition and just change the logo. If you look carefully enough at the horrible text on the front of the bottle, the horizontal line in the "e" is curved.

What does that look like? The original logo.

I dunno. I just hate modern design.

Anyway...I have a tea review for tomorrow.

Whatever.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Alpine Spiced Cider


So today I have a warm beverage to review. This drink is actually a favorite of mine, and I've been drinking it for years now, especially around the holidays. In fact, I am currently scalding my mouth on some as I write this. Anyway, Alpine Spiced Cider mix is just what it sounds like: a spiced apple cider mix. They come in packets similar to hot chocolate in that you pour the powder in the mug, and then pour heated water on top of it and stir. And it is delicious.

For those of you familiar with fresh-squeezed apple cider, this obviously is no comparison. When I lived in Maryland, there was a cider mill not far from my house, and every year after the weather began to turn cold, my family would go up and watch the apples being crushed. We would usually come home with a gallon or two of the cider, and I have yet to find anything that even comes close to the taste. However, I think that it is ridiculous to even compare the drink in question with real cider, because it is not real cider and does not pretend to be.

Alpine Spiced Cider has an almost green apple candy taste to it. Almost. There are traces of artificiality in the flavor, but it tastes natural enough to ignore. The drink, as I've said, is delicious. Passing over the pallet, the drink tastes of baked apples. The aftertaste is clean, and leaves little trace that you are even drinking anything. However, the aftertaste tends to build, and by the end of a serving, it can sometimes leave stronger evidences. The powder mixes in cleanly, and leaves the drink with a consistency of plain hot water. The drink sustains itself very well, too, as I have never had trouble finishing an entire serving.

Conclusion: 9/10
I love this beverage. The warming sensation it provides is unmatched, and the flavor, although not entirely close to the near thing, is very satisfying. The drink holds up in all areas, but only receives a 9 because the flavor is very specific, and probably would not appeal to people who do not like apples.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Blenheim Ginger Ale

Welcome to Drinkable Review! This is a beverage review blog! I drink a plethora of different things, and maintaining a blog to share my opinion of these things with the world is obviously the most logical way I can think of to spend my time. Each beverage I review will be judged on taste, aftertaste, consistency, and sustain (whether or not a beverage is good enough to comfortably finish an entire serving). I'm not going to assign myself a schedule, but I will say that every time I try a new drink, I will try to review it soon thereafter. I will try to keep updates regular, but seeing as I am a very busy engineering student, I can't make any promises. Anyway, with the introduction out of the way, on to the first beverage.

Blenheim's Ginger Ale. I hate to start the blog off with a negative review, but I did not like this very much. I am not a huge fan of "real" ginger ales. For those unfamiliar with what a real ginger ale is, it is an ale with a much stronger, spicier ginger taste. Vernor's is a good common example. Other ales such as Canada Dry are more "fake," as they are marketed to the more modern pallette, and are not nearly as spicy.

I love ginger. I just don't like beverages that make my throat burn. And that is exactly what this drink did. The taste of the ginger was delicious as it passed through my mouth, but immediately after, I felt the effects. By the end of the drink, my throat was in ruins. I managed to finish it because I was eating pizza along with it, and that alleviated some of the burn, but otherwise I probably would not have been able to stand it. As much as I want to like true ginger ale, I just can't.

Conclusion: 4/10.
Although the drink tastes good, it loses a lot of points in what I will consider the aftertaste area (due to the burning). It loses no points for consistency, but does lose points for sustain, as I normally could have never withstood an entire serving by itself. If you favor true ginger ales over weak ones, you would probably love this beverage. Otherwise, steer clear.