Alyson Lewis
Bio
beautiful woman doing beverage reviews and recipes
Stories (47/0)
Bones Coffee Review
Bones Coffee Co. has expanded what I expect from packaged coffee. This was my first time having to actually grind beans myself to brew coffee, but I have really only been drinking coffee for the last year. Prior to that, I was pretty repulsed by it. I became interested in coffee when 7/11 had their coffee slurpee. It’s still the best coffee drink I would ever spend money on outside of the house. I’m not here to argue..only to give facts that can easily be checked by reputable sources around the world.
By Alyson Lewis3 years ago in Feast
Jones Soda Review
Trying Jones Soda in high school was possibly my first experience drinking flavors my brain hadn’t conceived on its own. Faygo is another heavy hitter in the experimental soda range, but I’ll leave that discussion for another time. I’ve always been impressed with Jones Soda’s offerings, and was excited with the opportunity to try some rare flavors from the brand to see how much further their experimentation reaches.
By Alyson Lewis3 years ago in Feast
peppered mango orange juice
I post roughly one recipe on this blog every month, depending on how I’m feeling, but I felt like posting a little more this month because obviously, I have time to do it. As everyone’s focusing more heavily on cooking at home, I’ll probably keep posting these a little more frequently over the next month or so. We’ll see what happens.
By Alyson Lewis3 years ago in Feast
7 drinks, 7 days: caffeine edition
No one asked me to do this. I didn’t need to do it for any specific reason, except I was preparing to be in my house for a long, indeterminable amount of time and decided to make it interesting. I tried these 7 energy drinks over the course of the last 7 days. I’ve never had any of them before this, so here are my first impressions of each, along with a rating out of 10. Enjoy!
By Alyson Lewis3 years ago in Feast
Hope & Sesame Milk Recipes
I’m holed up in the house with a few varieties of sesame milk, so this week I have two recipes using two of the flavors. I’m really impressed with the Hope&Sesame sesame milk. This was my first time trying or using sesame milk in any capacity whatsoever. It has a little deeper of a flavor than I was expecting. It’s not quite a nutty flavor, but it’s distinctly different from any other milk I’ve tried. This is my new favorite milk. I know that when another milk comes out, I WILL try it. I won’t deny that. I’m human. But I’ve found sesame milk to be really versatile so far. I’ve used it in a few different ways by now, and I WILL be returning with more recipes (probably next week) don’t worry. I have nothing but time. Both of these recipes serve one. OK, this far into typing this, I said “Hope&Sesame out loud and realized it sounds like that magic phrase...is the phrase “open sesame” or “open says me”??? Or neither??? Mods?????
By Alyson Lewis3 years ago in Feast
Après Review
I recently did a review of Mint Chocolate Soylent, where I raked it over the coals for being an inadequate beverage overall. One of the main points I made was that no drink can be a substitute for a meal, no matter what it’s fortified with, and that the body needs fuel from real food. A lot of people reached out to ask me to find a plant-based alternative to Soylent, and Après was one of the drinks I found. In addition to this being a normal review, I’ll do a side by side comparison of Après and Soylent according to different categories and draw some conclusions from that. I want to note again that these are not the kinds of drinks I reach for on a regular basis, because I do have the time and ability to just eat regular food when I’m hungry, but I received a lot of requests for this, so I had no problem looking for an alternative.
By Alyson Lewis3 years ago in Feast
Copper Cow Coffee Review
New forms of coffee seem to crop up nearly every day, boasting convenience or better caffeine or a smoother taste. Vietnamese coffee isn’t new, but what makes Copper Cow interesting is the ability to make a smooth coffee that is travel friendly and doesn’t skimp on quality. I love Vietnamese coffee. I have to be careful with my dairy consumption, but I will always--I mean ALWAYS drink a Vietnamese coffee when I have the chance. As I’ve embarked on my coffee journey, I’ve tried any variety I could get my hands on. I can taste differences among different brewing methods, and I can sort of discern what is supposed to be “bad” coffee. This doesn’t stop me from drinking it, because I am indiscriminate when it comes to certain things, but I like being able to tell the difference. It shows I’m learning something about it.
By Alyson Lewis3 years ago in Feast
cranberry clementine cider
I’m trying my hardest to enjoy hot drinks. I generally don’t reach for them or crave them, but I like to open up horizons to myself and delve into things I wouldn’t normally try. I have some other ideas I’m working on executing, but for now, I have this cranberry clementine cider. It’s great for holiday time, and has that clove warming sensation that feels perfect going down while there’s a snowstorm outside. As I’m writing this, it’s 60 degrees despite the fact that it’s January, but I have no control over global warming and can only speak from a seasonal perspective. This recipe makes enough servings for a small group of people--about 4 to 5--or a lot of servings for two people. That’s up to you. This works well hot or cold, but I surprisingly enjoyed it most straight out of the crockpot when it was finished. The recipe and instructions are straightforward, but it is time consuming. I simmered this for about 10 hours, and I know that’s a long time, but I needed to make sure I could really gauge the process correctly. I made this cider three separate times trying to get the measurements correct, and it took 10 hours to simmer each time, so it is what it is. You could probably get away with cooking this in 6 hours, possibly 5, but I wouldn’t rush it along any more than that. Just follow the visual cues I give below and you will be fine. The ingredients will tell you when it’s ready. Don’t force it though.
By Alyson Lewis3 years ago in Feast
peach margarita story
I don’t necessarily understand all art. I accept that I’m not meant to know or understand everything, and people laugh when I say that, but it’s true. Art that I do understand, is something I can touch or taste. I don’t get anything out of going to museums and looking at paintings or sculptures I can’t put my hands on. If I can’t actively engage with it in a way I like, I’m not interested.
By Alyson Lewis3 years ago in Photography
Neurogasm Review
First, I want to state that horniness is a sickness, and the only cure for it is death. Until we die, horniness plagues most of us in our waking and sleeping life. There is no escape. That being said, I had to try this drink. I first came across it during the summer, when the packaging was much more vulgar (looked like a sex toy). I appreciated the boldness of their gesture; insinuating that this drink was like a rocket ride to Horny Town packed neatly in a 35 calorie beverage. I don’t understand why anyone would want to get horny from a drink. I would prefer something more subtle, like a salad dressing or a drink sweetener. Something that could provide me with just a Touch of Horny. A drink seems like something to overwhelm the senses. If it worked, how long would it take to wear off?
By Alyson Lewis3 years ago in Feast
Pep Talk Review
Caffeinated seltzers are becoming a subgenre of the fizzy sugarless variety, and I came across Pep Talk during one of my usual beverage browsing sessions online. The drinks only have three ingredients: carbonated water, natural flavor, and natural caffeine from green coffee beans. I’m always intrigued by anything that has so few ingredients, because while it’s possible to make something taste good with only a few elements, it’s definitely more difficult in certain instances. For those who don’t know, green coffee beans are just coffee beans that haven’t been roasted. Different green coffee beans have different “roasting profiles” that open up when the bean is roasted (this is when the bean turns brown). If the coffee bean remains unroasted, though, it maintains the amount of chlorogenic acid it originally carries. Please keep in mind I’m not a scientist, or a coffee expert, I just have the same google you do. Anyway, chlorogenic acid has antioxidant properties and caffeine.
By Alyson Lewis3 years ago in Feast
