Coconut Coffee and Ice Cream

Summer will officially start in less than a week and I bet you can already feel the warmth of the scorching sun! Haven't turned the AC yet because we have a home improvement project going on and the vents have not been cleaned. Anyway, this makes me want to snack on cold food and drinks. I can't think of anything but ice cream and cold coffee. And I found some organic ones!

It's my first time to try a vanilla ice cream with soy as milk. Well, what can I say, SO Delicious Soymilk Vanilla Ice Cream's taste is something I have never tasted before. I imagined it'll be sweet just like soy milk, but somehow it's not. Yes, it has that creamy taste but it lacks sweetness. So I had to add some caramel bits and also some chocolate morsels. My 3-year old did not like the taste but my husband was able to manage with the add-on treats.

Now, to the next cold treat! I guess me and my husband have extremely different taste buds. He was the first to So Delicious Cococcino and he said he can taste the coconut more than the coffee itself. So I tried it myself and I thought, no not really, it was a good coffee! (You should know I was once a barista.) Cappuccino's have foam but this one doesn't. To me it doesn't matter as long as it is delicious! This single pack Cococcino has a resealable cap so you can bring it along for a walk, put it in you bag and it still won't spill. For me, it's best with crushed iced. I love drinking it as a snack. It's refreshing! I wasn't able to try but I bet it'll be a great smoothie, with some chocolate shavings on top. Oooh!

SO Delicious products are organic, dairy-free and most of all Fair Trade. I love that these products are Fair Trade because every time I purchase those products, I know I am helping farmers get fair share from doing the hard work.

DISCLAIMER

I was not paid in anyway to do a review of the products mentioned above. I was given samples to try but everything was based on my 100% honest opinion.

A Bit Disappointing Factory Tour

What: Ben and Jerry's Factory Tour

Where: 1281 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury VT

Admission: $4 Adults; $3 Seniors; 12 and under Free

Rating: 3/5

I rarely watch TV but I often see myself tuning on to Travel Channel. There, I learned that Ben and Jerry's provide factory tours. It seems to me that the marketing was overrated or maybe I just expected too much.

Last July 4th, I somehow forced my husband to take a road trip to Vermont instead of going to Cape Cod/Martha's Vineyard just to see Ben and Jerry's. In the TV it looked so big, so cool, so nice... So, I wrote in down in my go-to-places wish list, take note, I only had four. 

I was so excited when we arrived. We parked on the lower area so we needed to climb up the hill. It was a good exercise and this made me more excited to see how it looked like for real. The outside view was great, there were tables with umbrellas and quite a long line at the ice cream store. It was inviting! So inviting I wasn't able to take a photo of it and wanted to start the tour already! So, I paid for our tickets and waited for less than 5 minutes. Then our guide called our batch. I let all the other excited visitors to go ahead so I can take photos. It was a 3-part tour and I'll explain it in more detail:

Part I.

A short video clip of how Ben and Jerry's started. I thought it was humorous. Just like the other informative videos provided in tourist spots, it was okay.

Part II.

This is where I got dismayed. After the video presentation, we were asked to go upstairs to the other "room" where you can take a look at how they make their euphoric ice cream. The "room" was like a bridge with clear glass panels on both sides. Pictures are not allowed in this area. There were two small televisions where you can watch the production process. There was no production at that time because it was holiday, July 4th. If you stayed on the other side of the room, there's a high chance you won't be able to take a glimpse of the other side of the production floor because the "room" is too small for the number of people in the tour. Unless, you let them go first to the next room so you can have a few seconds to take a closer look at it.

At this stage, I know that the next will be the last part of the tour. I was like, "So, that's it?! After more than 8 hours of driving, this is it what we'll get?! With $4". It's so not worth it! It should have been free. LOL!

Part III.

Probably everybody's favorite because we all get to taste a sample of their free ice cream of the day! The serving was like a scoop of ice cream or maybe less but it was so delicious. It's one of their new ice cream which doesn't have a name yet. It's a mix of berries and dark chocolate chunks! Sooo good! They make everyone suggest a name for the ice cream, if they choose the name, that person will win Ben and Jerry's ice cream for a year! Awesome! (...if I win. LOL)

After the tour, we were able to look at the stuff they offer at the store. There were beach towels, shirts, cow bells, the usual souvenirs - though I thought they have low-quality fridge magnets and they are being sold cheap of course. They also sell the pints at a higher price compared to grocery stores. At the ice cream shop, we tried stuff the we can't buy from home like smoothies/shakes, sundae and banana split. =) Still a bit pricey but they're good! 

It rained that day and most of us got stuck inside. There's no way we can't get out of the main building without getting wet. They do have a short covered pathway but they need to place like an extended roof so those who are entering the car won't get wet. We haven't gone to the graveyard yet so we waited until the next day to view it. I didn't expect much this time. Good thing because the graveyard was just so-so. The RIP notes were humorous or at least are trying to be. I took some photos of my favorite. 

Overall, even if I was disappointed with the tour, I was thankful because if not for Ben and Jerry's, I wouldn't realize how wonderful Vermont is. There's a lot of other companies offering free and paid tours within a 30-mile radius and you can read about them on the Company Tour tab.

DISCLAIMER I was not compensated in anyway to do a review of the products or services mentioned this post. Everything was based on my 100% honest opinion.

Care for a Fish Ice Cream?

I have seen Ben & Jerry's Phish Food a couple of times and it's a big mistake I didn't try a long time ago. 

I am not pregnant but I do crave for food often times. I think it's my way to relieve stress. Today, I asked my husband to get me an ice cream. He, of course, knew what I wanted... anything chocolate-flavored without caramel. 

Before I started stuffing myself, I read the ingredients of this intriguing Phish Food. I have a pet fish and I surely don't want to see it's meat in my ice cream nor smell the slimy thing they produce. It says it contains marshmallows, caramels and fudge fish. I don't like caramel but this changed my mind! The combination of the ingredients in chocolate based ice cream with generous chunks of milk chocolate is just irresistible! So the "phish" food isn't really fish, but gooey chocolate syrup swimming in my pint of ice cream! It's so delicious it's now my favorite Ben & Jerry's creation!

DISCLAIMER

I was not compensated in anyway to do a review of the products or services mentioned this post. Everything was based on my 100% honest opinion.