Quick Review: Lipton Half & Half Iced Tea Lemonade

This is a relatively new product to my local Kroger. The first time I noticed it was a few weeks back. I bought a 12-pack for $4.99, making each bottle just under $0.42 each. I haven’t had much Lipton products, the Brisk line being the only exception. I opened the bottle and immediately smelled the telltale aroma of half and half. The drink actually contains many complex flavors. The complexity was a little surprising, but the end result was half and half. The bitterness of the lemonade was matched with the refreshing taste of the iced tea almost flawlessly. However, the artificial flavorings were present and noticeable. Lipton’s half and half is better than the previous one (Diet Snapple); it still failed to meet expectations though. But it is a flavorful, well-rounded drink that I will probably buy more of. 6.5/10

Quick Review: Snapple Raspberry Tea

I bought this for a $1.29 at a local gas station feeling adventurous. I have never had raspberry tea before, so I picked this up to discover something new. Back when half and half was my favorite tea, sweet tea supplanted it with ease once I started drinking more and more. Excited about possibly finding a new heir to the throne, I opened this up and took a drink. The flavor is very tart. I wouldn’t call it sour, but it makes your lips pucker a little. The raspberry taste was prevalent, but also overpowering. I am not a huge fan of raspberries in the first place, so I wasn’t the least bit surprised. My advice is to stay away from this drink. If you enjoy the tart flavor of raspberries, be my guest. But for the rest of the population, this drink gets my stamp of disapproval. 3/10 

Quick Review: Diet Snapple Half 'n Half

Half and half is another form of tea that I love. To me, lemonade and iced tea go hand-in-hand. I inherited the taste from my brother, who first showed me the drink a few years back during a house party. Ever since then, I have been picking up different brands of half and half to see who does it the best. I bought a 6-pack of Diet Snapple Half ‘n Half for $4.99 at Kroger. I had a dollar off coupon, which is the only reason why I even considered buying them. I wasn’t expecting your typical half and half taste from a diet 10 calorie drink, but I bought it anyway so I could check it off my list. The taste was exactly what I expected. A bland, chemically taste shared by most diet drinks. However, the half and half flavor was still there and noticeable. I have had better half and half, but if you are a dieter looking for a drink that won’t bust your calorie count and are accustomed to the diet taste, this is a good drink for you. Non-dieters, just get the regular kind. The extra calories are well worth it for the taste. 6/10 

Quick Review: ZonePerfect Double Dark Chocolate Bar

Being the nutrition bar nut that I am, it’s surprising that I have never had a ZonePerfect product before. I decide to change that when I saw this bar at a local gas station for $1.29. With 12g of protein accompanied by 190 calories, this isn’t a hardcore bar. For me, it was used as a snack in between meals. The dark chocolate flavor in the bar was tremendous. It tasted more like a candy bar than a nutrition bar, which is always a good thing. However, despite my initial happiness with the bar, a quick check at the ingredients quickly turned good feelings into displeasure. The only sources of protein for this bar are soy protein nuggets and soy protein isolate. For those who don’t know, soy is a low-quality, cheap protein. You want to look for protein supplements that have whey protein isolate or casein. The really good bars will have both. This bar was a nice snack with a great flavor, so if you want a tasty snack and you aren’t a protein nut, then this bar is perfect. But if you’re looking for a snack with a good source of protein, steer clear of this one. 7.5/10

Quick Review: Gold Peak Sweet Tea

I was born and raised in the South. My childhood environment greatly affected my likes and dislikes today. One of the countless southern traits embedded in me is my love for sweet tea. Because of this, I love swiping different brands of tea off the shelf, hoping to find that perfect one. When I bought this my original thought was that it was just going to be other artificially tasting bottled sweet tea that would be no comparison to freshly brewed teas. But Gold Peak Sweet Tea is different. The bottled taste was still present, but the tea somehow tasted fresh and refreshing, unlike the majority of bottled teas I’ve tried. So if you can’t decide between brands of bottled teas on the shelf, I say go for Gold Peak. It has my southern-taste stamp of approval. 9/10