Lipton PureLeaf White Tea with Tangerine

Lipton is a Unilever brand, which is also the maker of Hellmann's mayo (a top of the line condiment), detergents, Pond's beauty products, and...Axe body sprays and grooming products for boys. Besides Lipton, Unilever also has the Slim-Fast weight loss products, which at some point we'll review here.

Lipton is one of the largest tea maker in the world with deep market penetration in the USA and Europe and significant parts of the Middle East and Asia. The wikipedia entry gives plenty of historical and current market information, so no need to repeat it here.

The tea under review today is a ready-to-drink cold tea from the Lipton PureLeaf line. What drew me to this particular bottle was the additional flavor of tangerines and the fact that the sweet versions of these teas are made with sugar and not HFCS.

Presentation/Appearance - 7/10 This has a lovely natural crystal clear green tea appearance. The brew is a blend of white and green tea leaves. Sold in glass bottles with a pressurized resealable cap.

Nose/Aroma - 7/10 Pleasing tea odors that are pushed out of the way by the tangerine aroma. This smells good and inviting. Hot teas usually have a stronger nose and score higher than this. An iced tea will be hard pressed to score above a 7.

Taste/Flavor - 7/10 If you like sweet teas, this might score higher for you. It is by no means treacly sweet like typical southern USA sweet tea, but there isn't a smidgen of bitterness to be found here. The tea appears very early in the taste before being demolished by the sweet tangerine flavors. No juice is used to make this tea, but the flavor company that created the tangerine taste has done an outstanding job with this one.

Finish/Satisfaction - 6/10 The tangerine lingers for just a moment. There isn't much and the tea leaves no lasting memory. This is a fine drink while it is in your mouth, but you won't be tasting tangerine or tea afterwards.

Overall - 6.7/10 This is a fine beverage that drinks very easily. I paid $1.69 for a 16 oz (473ml) bottle. If you want anti-oxidants but don't care for the bitter flavors of tea and you aren't interested in brewing and sweetening your own teas, then this is a perfect way to go. Clearly not intended to be the end all be all of teas, it is still a refreshing drink and only 120 calories per bottle.

I'm going to have to start down the tea brewing road soon. Any recommendations on where to start? Tea seems to be incredibly popular judging by the number of brands and the sheer size of the shelf space it takes up in the supermarket aisle.

Venom Energy Black Mamba

I really enjoy reading Screaming Energy, a blog/review site for energy drinks. They are brutally honest and can slam or praise with some side-splitting metaphors. When I was ready to pop this can of Venom Black Mamba, I checked out SE for their take. And I couldn't find one.

This probably has more to do with Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. not sending review samples instead of a lack of merit on the part of the drinks. I know this because the folks at SE have reviewed some pretty awful stuff. (And I know that Dr Pepper-Snapple Group is the name of the firm.)

Presentation/Appearance - 9/10 I can't argue with this aluminum bottle and its menacing snake eye graphic. Whoever did this design, knew how to appeal to the young man demographic. This bottle drips testosterone (not in the ingredient list, though). These energy drinks are meant to be consumed from the container (even though it is two servings per container, a little over 160mg of caffeine if you drain the whole thing) I decided to pour a bit into a cordial glass so that we could get a good look at the liquid. Black Mamba looks like a sparkling wine, or maybe the folks at Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc, have done their research and this is what snake venom looks like. I wouldn't put it past them.

Nose/Aroma - 5/10 I doubt it smells like venom. This is chalky, Sweet-Tart in a glass. Everything about this says artificial beverage. If I were rating this on how energy drinks typically smell it might have scored a 10/10. Is this really what we expect? Can we have a reasonable expectation of something remotely natural?

Taste/Flavor - 6/10 Tart candy dominates the flavor. The bubbles just add to that effect. There is a sizable sugar presence here, but the chalky candy flavors overpower this one. I prefer the sour of lemon or maybe a tart berry, heck even rhubarb to this. However, it doesn't make you gag and it holds up as well as any other typical energy drink available.

Finish/Satisfaction - 7/10 If you have trouble sweating, I highly recommend this drink. This is a quick hit of caffeine without the hassle of dealing with hot bitter coffee. The tartness is ultimately lost as your taste buds succumb to the repeated punishment.

Overall - 6.3/10 This drink works as intended, and it does it with style. I am looking forward to trying other flavors. The Black Mamba is apparently the base drink. Other Venom drinks build on top of this with flavors like fruit punch and mango.

What do you use energy drinks for mostly? Pre-exercise? Morning coffee replacement? Cocktail mixer?

Joint Juice Kiwi-Strawberry Fitness Water

Joint Juice Fitness Water was developed by The Stone Clinic in San Francisco to promote joint health. The 500ml bottle contains 1500mg of glucosamine. The folks at Joint Juice really want you to have a bottle...every day for 30 days. They have coupons on the site.

I chose the Kiwi Strawberry flavor, paid 99 cents at Target for a bottle.

Presentation/Appearance - 5/10 Simple blue plastic bottle. This beverage is intended to be drunk straight from the bottle, but I wanted to pour into a clear glass to get a good look. Incredibly, it looked like water.

Nose/Aroma- 5/10 Smells like water with a minor, oh so minor, touch of fruit. Without the label, I would not be able to identify the fruit. This would have scored higher if it was supposed to be flavorless.

Taste/Flavor - 6/10 Well, if it tasted just like water, that would have been great. But this is flavored. And, while not atrocious, the flavor isn't particularly strawberry or kiwi. There is some saltiness on the tongue. The drink is sweetened by sucrolose (only 10 calories in the whole bottle) and it shows. I'm not an artificial sweetener lover. Joint Juice is easy enough to drink.

Finish/Satisfaction - 6/10 Watery candy finish that doesn't last long. Thirst quenching, even if that isn't its primary function.

Overall - 5.8/10 Tastes much like any other flavored water. I guess the added glucosamine makes the difference.

Anyone take glucosamine supplements? Does it really make a difference?

Bellini - (cocktail)

We've recently tried Peach Nectar and a Spanish sparkling wine (cava). The classic cocktail known as the Bellini is nothing more than a mix of these two beverages. Well, that isn't entirely true. Let me explain.

To make a real deal Bellini, you need a fresh peach. A fresh white peach that you pit, but not peel. Cut it into cubes, add it to a blender with a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and a teaspoon of simple syrup (sugar and water heated together to make a syrup). Blend those ingredients together and pour a couple of ounces into a champagne flute. Top it off with a dry sparkling wine and, voila, you have a Bellini.

I cheated. The recipe for peach nectar is peaches, water, sugar, and lemon juice. Sounds familiar to the paragraph above, no? So, I used a couple of ounces of the Hero Peach Nectar from my one liter bottle and then some of the Segura Viudas Brut Reserva to top it off. Far simpler. Perhaps not as complex or tasty, but I don't have to wash the blender. And, this peach nectar isn't made with white peaches. No problem, though, yellow peaches taste just as good.

According to The Bar Guide by Williams-Sonoma, the Bellini was created by Harry Cipriani in 1948. Here's why the peach color is important. Harry operated Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy. He liked the artist Jacopo Bellini. Apparently, the color of this concoction reminded him of some of the pinks used in Bellini's paintings. So he named the drink after the artist.

Presentation/Appearance - 5/10 It looks like a cloudy orange juice (or a Mimosa because of the flute.)

Nose/Aroma - 5/10 Neither wine nor fruit sallies forth to be smelled. Kind of boring.

Taste/Flavor - 8/10 Wow, this is better than a Mimosa. Sparkling peach, sweet and dry, the two beverages complement each other to the point where one ends as the other begins, before the overlap and reverse roles. Complex and tasty.

Finish/Satisfaction - 9/10 Satisfying is the appropriate word. This should be a weekend brunch staple when peaches are in season. This would serve as a fine aperitif for breakfast, but the fruity sweetness would also add to the culinary experience. Make the sparkling wine is bone dry, though. A sweet wine would tip the balance toward dessert flavors.

Overall - 7.7/10 This has become one of my favorite wine-based cocktails. I'll have to try the traditional recipe and also mix the nectars with different wines. This cava with this nectar make a drink that is superior to either beverage alone.

What sort of brunch cocktails do you prefer? Spicy Bloody Marys? Mimosas? Screwdrivers?

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva

The sparkling wines of Spain are known as cava.

This cava, the Brut Reserva from Segura Viudas, is made from traditional Spanish grape varieties: Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo. This particular wine, designated brut should be nice and dry.

Cavas must be made with a secondary fermentation in the bottle. This is what makes the wine bubbly. The inexpensive method of simply injecting CO2 into a still wine is not allowed if the winemaker wants to call their product a cava.

Despite being made like traditional Champagnes, cavas remain relatively inexpensive. This can't be because of the taste. Cavas are generally crispy and delicious. Must be a failure of marketing.

Presentation/Appearance - 7/10 Simple, classic label, vigorous pop from the cork, and lots of gunsmoke emanating from the bottle. Violent medium-sized bubbling on the pour that builds a huge white head and then falls flat quickly. The wine stays active though, settling into a fountain of tiny bubbles rising from the center of the flute. You can see this in the photo.

Nose/Aroma - 6/10 Cut flowers, without the perfume. Nothing substantial.

Taste/Flavor - 7/10 This is, indeed, dry. Crispy, very active bubbling on the tongue. This is the way a cava should taste. Light bodied, good acidity, very refreshing.

Finish/Satisfaction - 7/10 This definitely lingers on the tongue. The bubbles seem to push the wine around the palatee. Long finish, somewhat acidic, but not tart.

Overall - 6.85/10 Satisfying and above average. If this had smaller bubbles and a creamier mouthfeel it would have scored much higher.

I like cavas, but I also enjoy sparkling wines from Italy and the United States. Of course, I love champagnes, too, but the price point for those always seems a little crazy to me. This wine sold for about $10 to $12. Quite reasonable. I'd love to hear any sparkling wine recommendations you might have.