Try living in the south where everyone is a major fan of Sweet Tea. At least five times a day, you will be guaranteed to hear something along the lines of, “let me get a Sweet Tea with that order”. The phrase never gets old. I moved to Atlanta, Ga. towards the end of 2017. Before that, I was living in good ol’ Cape Cod, Ma. We ate Cape Cod potato chips and drank Nantucket Nectars. Atlanta, was a huge culture shock, but definitely a place I had to experience.

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!

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?????

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.

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.

Considering we live in a day and age when climate change and climate action is becoming a daily conversation, it is certainly worth it to stop and think how we as individuals are contributing so this issue. One of them anyways in which we are part of the problem is through our most common daily habit, eating. We need to eat to sustain ourselves, but what happens to the food that never makes it to our tables and sits on the endless rows in supermarkets with expiry stamps on them?

The Divinity of Debbie's D-Licious Products

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?

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.

I have always known that food is mood. I have always been aware that what I put in my body results in what comes out of my body. Along my health journey I have also realized, like many of us, that whole and natural foods make me feel the best, and keep me smiling. Whole and natural foods are those that come from the earth and are not processed.

What is that one thing that just kicks starts your day? Coffee is a simple answer to that. Coffee is one beverage that is very popular amongst tonnes of people from many decades. The people love the aromatic smell and texture of the coffee. It is elite and awakening at the same time. The world is not unknown from coffee and its energizing properties. The caffeine, which is present in the coffee lifts your spirits. It is very refreshing for many people. Hence, it is often consumed in the morning. The strong and gritty texture with the aromas of coffee is just enough to make your mornings and the rest of the day as well. Such is experienced while catering an espresso bar.

It’s really, truly winter, and among other crushing aspects of the season, some of the best fruit is hard to find. I live in the Midwest, so if you’re in a warmer climate and have access to other seasonal options, congratulations. I envy you for that. The weather here sucks ass, and if I’m being completely honest, I would love to not experience another cold season. Realistically, there’s nothing I will do about it. I’ll bundle up in a winter coat and thick scarf every year and sigh and fantasize about other places I could be living.