We Talk Shop

To say this was disgusting is an understatement.

I like flavored coffees, I prefer them in fact so I’m not a coffee connoisseur who is ragging on General Foods International, I’ve actually enjoyed other flavors they’ve put out. But this flavored hot water resembled the taste of a liquid Band-Aid more than a cup of coffee. The creamer factor was seriously lacking and the foul artificial sweetener meets plastic taste was more than my poor mouth could take.

Thankfully, I didn’t actually spend money on this product, it was part of the free Kraft First Taste sample packet I received in the mail a couple of weeks back. If General Foods International is smart they’ll drop this new flavor and if you’re smart you won’t ever try this. It’s seriously gross.

I love chocolate, and I can’t say I’m the most discriminating when it comes to what kind I buy. I’ll buy the popular at-the-counter variety or splurge on gourmet. I use to be a fiend for milk chocolate, but in the last few years I’ve developed a mad craving for dark. Recently I discovered a new favorite – Cacao Reserve by Hershey’s in Extra Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs. The mix of 65-percent cocoa with bits of cacao nibs is a perfect blend – more semi-sweet than bittersweet.

Most gourmet chocolate bars will cost more than $3 to $4, but Cacao Reserve is a great value for $1.99.

Get it: Great taste, excellent value, if you love dark chocolate but not the price, try Cacao Reserve. Look for it at your local grocer.

I love Fekkai products, especially the glossing cream, which I use daily. When I first saw this glossing product, I knew I had to try it, but was disappointed that it didn’t live up to my expectations, or to the quality I expect from this brand. The product promises a “lightweight, brilliant shine,” but I think someone forgot to add the shine to my bottle. Fekkai products aren’t cheap, and I stubbornly used almost the entire 5 fl. oz. bottle, convincing myself it must be doing something other than smelling good (I had to award one star just for that.)

Forget it: Skip it and go for the glossing cream instead. But you want to try the mist anyway, you can find it on Amazon, Sephora, and Bath and Body Works for $20-$23.

Pet hair and I go way back so when I saw a commercial for this product, I knew I had to try it. Living in a multi-pet household, I’m always on the watch for new products that will make keeping my furniture and floors as hair-free as possible.

I didn’t expect this product to live up to its “quick and easy” promises, but live up to, and exceed, it did. The product is simple to use, just remove it from the (eco-friendly) box, and start sliding it on your fabric left and right in short strokes. One roller removes the pet hair while the other cleans off the first brush and pushes the pet hair into the plastic top.

When the sweeper is full, it will not pick up anymore hair. I’ve been using the product for a few months and am getting to the point I need to buy a new one.

Get it: At $5-6 at your local supermarket, it’s a $1 or so higher than it should be considering its disposable, but also considering it’s highly effective, it’s still worth the purchase. There’s a $1/1 in the 5-2-10 SS.

I am a tea addict. I was not acquainted with Teavana until I came home one night to find a gift bag left on my counter. (Unexpected gifts are the best kind; you know people are thinking of you even when it’s not a special day.) In my gift bag was the Teavana Perfect Tea Maker, the perfect tea spoon, two cans of loose tea and a can of German rock cane sugar. It was as though the tea gods looked down upon me and bestowed a thank you gift for my devotion.

The Teavana Perfect Tea Maker is an easy-to-clean loose tea steeper that makes the perfect cup of tea. The back of the loose tea can tells you how long to steep your tea depending on the type you have, and they have so many flavors and types of tea, your pantry will have half a shelf filled with tea – like mine – before you know it. Also, you not only get instructions for hot tea, but also for iced and herbal iced teas.

Teavana also sells the Perfect Tea Mug, but it’s not necessary to buy this as well. I’ve used two of my ceramic mugs, one with a smaller mouth, and the tea maker fit on both. (Although on the mug with the smaller mouth, I did need to move it around a little to get the proper fit.)

To get you started, I recommend the MatéVana Herbal Tea and Thai Tea Blend Black Tea.

Get it: Online or in stores: $17.99 for the two-cup tea maker, $29.99 for the four-cup. If you shop in the store and want a few teas to take home to try, start with about two ounces. These teas add up in price quick and you can have just a few teas and suddenly have a $30+ bill.