Cafe Escapes

Recently I was asked to try Cafe Escapes by Bzz Agent. I love my Keurig, and I recently purchased one for my staff at work, so I was eager to try the campaign.

Cafe Escapes are part of the Green Mountain family of coffee products. I buy a lot of the Green Mountain Colombian Select, but every now and again I like a flavored beverage. I don't drink a lot of flavored coffees, and won't order flavoring like hazelnut, vanilla or caramel when I'm out at say, Dunkin Donuts. I do, however, enjoy the mocha lattes and I'll always enjoy a hot cocoa. I figured that trying products that come from a reputable name in the coffee biz would be the way to go. So, bring on the Bzz Kit.

Here's a picture of the Bzz Kit that I uploaded to Twitter when I received it. The kit includes 2 each of the new Cafe Vanilla and Cafe Caramel, two Chai Lattes, a Milk Hot Chocolate and a Dark Hot Chocolate.

My daughter grabbed the Milk Hot Chocolate as soon as the box was opened. She's 9, likes her hot chocolate, and was looking forward to this. She said she liked it quite a bit.

I tried the Mocha Latte, which is one of my favorite occasional treats. Even though I used it on the standard middle setting on the Keurig, it seemed a little too watery and a bit too sweet. I like my Mocha to have a very dark chocolate taste, since I'm not into overly sweet beverages. It compares to the General Foods International Coffees more than it compares to something from Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts.


Next up for me was the Cafe Caramel. Sadly, I wasn't thrilled. It has a very sweet, fake taste to it, like an aspartame after-taste. It's also very watery, and won't be on my purchase list for the future.  I gave the second K-cup of Cafe Caramel to a coworker, who felt it tasted all right but was a bit too thin. She didn't want to add cream because she didn't want to add fat to it. I would have. It might have given it some bouyancy.

I pretty much felt the same way about the Cafe Vanilla. It's too sweet, too thin and tastes artificial. I left the second K-Cup at work in case a co-worker wishes to use it.

The Dark Hot Chocolate is good, but not spectacularly dark. It's more like a regular hot chocolate. It's best to make it on the smallest cup setting to get the most flavor, so you're not getting a lot for the price. I have a friend who, when he makes a mug of this, puts it on the least amount of water setting, and then uses 2 K-cups. It's the only way he can get enough of a mug of cocoa that's sufficiently chocolately for him. I think it's way too sweet.

That leaves the Chai Latte. You don't mind the thinness as much with the Chai Latte because it's a tea. At least that's how I feel about it. When brewing, you immediately pick up the scent of the chai spices. Great, very promising. Only problem for me is that once again this is way too sweet, and has an artificial aftertaste.

I think this product is good for a niche market, but for regular home use, I think I will pass. I know that K-cups in general aren't considered to be a cost-effective option, but these don't seem to measure up to less expensive alternatives. I can buy a box of 20 Twinings Chai teabags for 3.00 or less, add my own milk or cream, and not add sugar (since I don't like the sweetness). I can even use the Keurig without a k-cup in it to heat the water. Problem solved. I can get many more flavors of coffee, mocha and other beverages from GFIC, and pay 2.50 - 3.50 a can. They are a bit richer and even their sugar-free varieties don't have a particularly bad aftertaste.

So, the jury is out on this one. It's not my cup of coffee/tea/beverage, but it might be yours.

Pros:

Convenient
Good to have on hand for company who might want something different
Flavor Variety
Available at supermarkets and mass-merchandise places

Cons:
Too sweet (subjective, I know, but my opinion)
Too watery
not cost-effective
artificial after-taste with most of them.