Can you smell and taste it? | What is "Brezzy"?

Last week I went to Trader Joe's and "browsed". For me, there's no such thing as shopping at this store and walking out empty handed. 

When I lived in Brookline, I'd occasionally make an afternoon of it; I'd take the the T to Coolidge Corner, play frogger to get to the independent bookstore, schmy around the (seemingly) small space (it wasn't small, but I tended to go in spots there that were over looked) and I'd "only" make a solid purchase of a couple UK imported music magazines (MOJO and UNCUT). Sometimes I'd pick up an extra book or two; but that depended on what would jump out to me. My purchases were also depended on whether or not I was on the hunt for a one off suggestion from one of the professors I was friendly with. I was mainly on a mission for the magazines and anything else was a bonus. 

After getting my fill of all the books and knickknacks, I would hop back over the tracks to Trader Joe's. I'd again, loosely wander up and down the aisles, internally checking off a list in my head of what I could eventually buy and carry back to the dorm. I did this all four years of school, and when I was able to keep my car on campus, it made things a little easier, yet hard, because of the way U-turns are built around that area. Plus, a car allowed me the opportunity to stop at Star Market as well. Which was something I didn't always need to do. But off to shop, I went. As long as I could "pahk my cah in a free lot" (aka Trader Joe's or Star Market), so I had to make a quickie anywhere else outside of that building.

If I really wanted to make a cracking day out of it, I'd make my first stop the Coolidge Corner Theatre, then the bookstore, then Trader Joe's. That would be the excursion where my paycheck would be nil by nightfall. 

Oh, but it was worth it.... 😁

Spinning back to the current decade, I actually have a Trader Joe's "near me" yet again. I actually don't make it a habit to go to this one in Fort Myers. It's not the same as "just getting on the T and ride the line". It's not so fun to have an agenda and surprise yourself with good finds. Yes, I could literally spend a paycheck in this store, but I do end up holding back. With the way things are now, I've got to take my car to TJ's because there's no train system, let alone a proper bus system. It's close enough, but also far past a few stores I like just as well, and are a little more reliable to get to.

After some research to try to correctly explain the transportation, the local bus system runs once an hour in my area. You need to find what stop is closest to you, in order to catch the bus at a specific time. It takes you to a common area / depot in about 45 minutes. For me, this would be equal to the stop by my community and then going to the mall as the depot. From the mall, I need to catch another bus to get to Trader Joe's, which now backwards on the route I was on just on. Two different bus number lines, so it can be another twenty minutes out of the way. That's providing the bus taking me to Trader Joe's is at the depot area. Otherwise it's another "who knows how long of a wait".. at the mall.. where I didn't want to be, to begin with. If I'm going to go to the mall, I might as well stop in Books-A-Million, but I don't need a book right now. Oh well.

All that being said, I don't know if there's an exact stop at the plaza the store is in, as the transit website is vague for the area I'm looking at. I've honestly not seen any bus there when I've been at the plaza, so I don't know how people shop if they don't have a car. Uber, maybe? 

It's one of those trips that could end up being well over an hour in total travel time, one way, due to the back and forth and running around to get a ride (again, I don't know when the next bus would be from the mall to the plaza, to give a definitive answer). This time frame is not including the 45 minutes inside the actual store. Yes, I could spend at least 30-45 minutes in the store. I can admit to it. Then you have to wait for the return to the mall bus, to then get on the bus to go to my end of town. So another hour and change in travel time. 

So we're at what, over two hours already? Just on a bus ride? It's 15 minutes from my house in "easy" traffic. Providing a car service doesn't get lost in picking me up, it'd be the same quarter of an hour. 

Comparatively speaking, the bus system that I'm used to up north, the bus was at my street every 30 minutes (literally. There was a stop at the top of my road so it made things very easy). The days I took it to work (downtown), I was out my door and in the office in 35 minutes. Yes, I did walk home some days when it was nice (and it was an hour and ten minutes' walk because I moseyed and watched the flowers), but I had door to door service and didn't have to worry about catching multiple rides and starting my day hours in advance. My job was two or three stops from the main (and only) depot, so it all panned out in my favor. Plus, if I were to say, right now, "I'll walk home" from Trader Joe's (or walk to, for that matter), it would be a 2 hour and 22 minute walk, according to Maps. Publix is 5 minutes down the road from me, and would be a 25 minute walk, although I did do a similar path to a Redbox when we first moved here... so it's "manageable". That and I once rode my bike around the area - I plotted a similar radius I was used to back north, and once I saw an alligator sunning itself on the side of the road, I was like "nope" and haven't used my bike since. I actually sold it a few years ago, so I don't own two wheels anymore. 

Back to driving around the area and getting places.

To come down south and have a city that sprawls for what feels like centuries, is hard. I tell my friends who visit from out of state (or country, like when Rach was here), "think long and hard of where you want to go. Disney is three hours north of me. Key West is a minimum 5 hour drive south of me. There is no in between, where we can get to the place in a blink. Plus, for a Florida resident, there's also no major bargain for these "tourist" places. Yes, I can get a small discount on some things, but we're still paying gas to get there, hotel rooms, resort fees, admission fees. Before you know it, the bargain you hoped for, has long been depleted. Also, with blackout dates, a small percentage won't help because no one gets money off at that time (think school vacations or holidays)".

I told my friend Shawn (who lives in Connecticut and has a part time job driving one of the car services), "think of it as you going to Albany, New York. You're there in two and a half hours. I'm still driving to Orlando and you've crossed one state. If you continued driving and went 5 more hours from Albany, you'd be in Ottawa, Canada. You've crossed country borders; hope you've got a valid ID". 

To continue this idea of distance:

* In just shy of six hours, I can drive from Fort Myers north(west) to Tallahassee, the state capital of Florida. 

* I can drive north(east) to Jacksonville, Florida in just shy of 5 hours. 

However, I'm still not out of the state yet. As those two cities are near the Georgia border, it would be another hour, roughly, for me to leave The Sunshine State. 

* If I wanted to go to Pensacola, Florida, I would have to travel about eight hour and 32 minute north west. 

At this point, I would be near the Alabama border, which would put me a little less than an hour outside of Mobile. So 9 hours and 20 minutes, I finally am in another state, and a different time zone!

* If I wanted to go another hour further (west), I'd be in Biloxi, Mississippi. Thus, making a second state crossing in this one trip. 

With me on this? Did I lose you?

Essentially, Florida is freaking huge and it takes time to get to places. These are rough estimates, based on Google Maps at the time of this writing. 

So to drive myself to Trader Joe's in 15 minutes, I can do that. If I wanted to take a bus, I'd have to plan well over 2 hours of my day to get on the public transportation line. All to go grocery shopping. It's easier to drive some days, just as it was far easier up north. 

You may ask yourself, "what's the point already? Why have we deviated from the original plan?" and I'll tell you. 

I bought beer bread mix and made it. 

Actually, I bought beer bread mix and made it with carbonated sparkling water. 

It was interesting. 

I didn't add melted butter to the top, as it was optional, so the bread's surface was a little hard. 

Inside, it was slightly soft (the chewy, yeasty, good kind) but it wasn't that bad. I think it's because I might have over mixed it. I added Craisins in the batter, for kicks, as I figured the liquid was cranberry clementine, why not add a little fruit bonus? If "raisins are humiliated grapes", then "craisins are humiliated cranberries". I have to say, the Craisins were an added flavor for sure, but the overall profile was still lacking something. Maybe if I did add the butter as it was cooling, it would have been a better bread and the fruit would create a better (sweeter?) profile? 

Although, when I cut myself a couple slices (once cooled), one slice had peanut butter on it, and another slice had cream cheese. I'm weird like that, and I don't stick to butter sometimes for my bread. Even though I very well tried butter with this at another point. The bread did crumble a bit when adding the toppings, but it didn't completely fall apart. Each spread gave a different type of complexity, and I don't know what was better or what was worse. Out of the three, I think the butter was what we think of as "normal" for this type of situation, but the cream cheese was just as good. It wasn't indulgent by any means, but it served a new benefit. Something different. The peanut butter wasn't messy per se, but the nuttiness hid the fruit and yeast flavor, so it was a hard judge. 

I think I would try this again, only changing the carbonated drink. Since I don't have alcohol in the house anymore, I'm up for trying other things. Maybe another type of carbonated water. Who knows; I did buy two boxes...

Turning this ship in another direction, I ended up watching the news the other morning and they were talking about the weather. 

It happened to be that the television was on when I walked by it. It was the perfect time, because obviously, someone didn't quality control their job as the discussion of the next 24 hours was on display. 

My question is: 

What is "Brezzy"?

Especially in relation to temperature, such as "warm and sunny"?

This, my friends, is what the meteorologists  are teaching us; how to use new words in a sentence and not correctly spell others. Considering the person giving the weather report did, in fact, say it was going to be "warm and breezy", someone on the control end didn't catch the oopsie. 

It wasn't like this was a fully live (one hour, local) broadcast; it was one of those cut in "here's your local weather" segments from the morning national show. Someone might have had enough time to check the visuals before it went on air. I hope. Especially if the weather person was being prepped for the minute he was on air, the tech would have had opportunity to input the information correctly. 

Who am I, though? I've had my fair share of oopsies, especially on here. We all know that. 😒 But I admit to it and if caught in time, fix it. Sometimes I don't want to be bothered, while other times I know I must. 

However, to go "live, on air", is something different. Yes, people are probably absentmindedly listening and not paying attention to whatever screen the weather is on, but you still need to have your words correct. There are people who are learning things by the day, and if something is out there for them to pick up on, they will soak it in and put it back out. 

Don't throw rocks at glass houses, I know. Don't remind me. I'm not out there in the media world right now, pushing out sound and vision items to the masses. Yea, excuses, excuses. 

Maybe I should attempt to get back in to the Communication field and apply to the television stations... start on the ground floor as a little higher than an intern and work my way up to the control room. Make sure the stuff going out is on the up and up. 🙈🙉🙊

As it is, there's rumbling about the big governmental science department going away. The weather people we rely on for keeping tabs on major storms that could impact our lives (rain, hurricanes, snow, etc) and by that getting shut down, there will be no accuracy in the local channels that can deliver the information to the citizens. We're coming up on rain and hurricane season in Florida; we can't afford guess work (even under normal circumstances), considering how active the summers have been lately. If the radars aren't getting fed the right models, a lot of people could be in real trouble. 

I am trying to tread light right now, please excuse me. I don't like getting too political in my posts unless I really have to, and given some national news about sites getting shut down, I'm not about to have that happen here. 

But truly, if we can't get the information (good, bad, in between), how will we know what's right? Then again, the misspell is common around here. I'm always being told how the local news anchors can't even pronounce the simplest of words correctly, and they don't know, or realize, they've just said something wrong. The other anchors continue with the conversation like it's nothing and they keep going. It's not a "tomato / tomahto" situation. It's far worse than that. To also have cue cards with bad spelling is on the same level of not knowing how to speak (in a way). Like I said, this isn't the first time and I know it won't be the last. 

There's a big reason why I have ill feelings about some of the "ways of life" down here. This adds to it. I feel bad for the ones who need the education, but the people who earn a proper living with proper education and still have errors should know better? 

Again, I know I've done bad things. I am not excusing myself. I do try to fix and apologize. This may be a public blog, but I'm not "live and on air" and putting things out there that are all together bad. Or at least that's my attempt. I could possibly write something that can be misconstrued, and I really am sorry for that. It isn't my intention and I tend to free write and not thing too clearly. Which is why sometimes I tend to ramble and have the mistakes. I circle around things because it's how I think most days. At least I'm trying to improve myself, my education, and not speaking in front of people with poor language skills or push out a piece of information on the screen with a word that doesn't exist ("teh" doesn't, but it's a rip on someone in my expansive circle from when this blog started. There's a backstory). 

It's just one of those things where I wish there was better opportunity around. If I can catch the wrong, who else is? That's a good question that I can never seem to answer. I don't think I ever will be able to answer it. 

Which is also why a lot of people can't stand watching television and movies with me. I catch the small stuff and have to make a comment about it. Yes, its needless knowledge, but if they didn't catch it, surely I didn't mistake the scene? Rewind, backtrack, talk it out. Yup; after explanation, they caught it too. Strange... 

I have been working on this post for five hours because I keep getting squirreled. It's sooo past my bed time right now, I think I'm at the point of making stuff up. So in order to maintain some sense of everything making sense, I'm going to end it here. 

It's going to be 80 something degrees tomorrow, so if you're in the heat, stay hydrated. If you're in the cold, stay hydrated and warm. If you're in between, choose your own adventure. 

Until I get a proper rest, stay safe and cool. 

Cheers;

See Also:

* MOJO Magazine via Amazon

* UNCUT Magazine via Amazon

* Trader Joe's Beer Bread Mix via Amazon

* The "Humiliated Grapes" reference is from the movie, Benny & Joon. 

I'm not good at math or measurements

 .. so I stay out of certain industries.

However, someone failed to do their job correctly when mass producing an organization system.

The machine wasn't correctly level or numbers not properly put in correctly to make the overall inside rods fit in the holes.

Okay, back up for a minute. 

At some point last year, my mother saw on her Facebook feed, a random user bought a "True Living Compact Closet Shelves" organization system and converted it to a bottle holder. It was purchased by the user at Dollar General for around five dollars (it's now listing at close to nine) and she liked the idea enough, she decided to try it out for herself.

The only thing I could find on Amazon is the Whitmor 4-Tier Compact Closet Shelves - Gray. It looks really similar to what my mother ended up buying but the A to Z version is "not currently available" to purchase, unless you use a third party vendor. 

The reasons for Amazon not making it available for purchase with them?

"No featured offers available

We feature offers with an Add to Cart button when an offer meets our high standards for:

Quality Price,

Reliable delivery option, and

Seller who offers good customer service

“No featured offers available” means no offers currently meet all of these expectations. Select See All Buying Options to shop available offers."

Apparently this doesn't meet their standards, and based on what I'm going to say, I think they're right. Especially since I've stumbled on other bad reviews of this same looking product (even the DG version).

Although "hindsight is always 20/20", she bought the Dollar General contraption so we could clean up our washer and dryer area a little bit. Cases of water are everywhere, and there seemed to be a lot of positive reviews about turning a shoe rack into a more economical bottle bottler rack. 

Once home, she puts the thing together, it lasts okay, and now that we're using the bottles more frequently (because the "best buy date" is coming up... yes.. plastic bottles!! We also don't drink as much as we should from the plastic containers as we use the contraption in our fridge for H2O consumption), we are noticing some defects in the organizer. 

Overall, yes, it's nice and slim, but the rods aren't long enough. They keep sliding from the holes, making everything fall into the middle and mound upwards. It's a big pain in the butt because nothing is lining up properly and holding steady. 

It's like whoever designed this organizer, didn't expect things to sit in the middle. If they did, they were expecting feathers. The rods are literally a hairpin short on each side, so the second you get it lined up right, it falls out the second you turn away. Let alone when and if you try to balance something on it.

So this week, I got tired of looking at the water bottles piling up and decided to take action. 

I got some tape, made little arms from the tape, and then stuck it in each end of the rods. Then I taped around the rod ends and onto the little arms I made, making a little more stability. From there, put the rods back on the holder. 

Seems to be working. 

It's like, "how can you mess up something this badly and mass produce it?", like the upside down "Made In America" sticker on my laundry machine. (Someone failed to quality control that one too). 

Why is this okay? Because it's "cheap enough", people won't mind? 

I fail to see the logic behind it. Why should I have used tape to secure the thing together? Like bubblegum and shoe strings, this thing got Macgyvered (for those who may not know the reference, do yourself a favor and watch the Richard Dean Anderson series). 

On another note, I got new shoes!

Ground Up came out with a new pair of Nightmare Before Christmas shoes, but they're not on Amazon, sadly, but there are new Crocs.

I wore them today, and they're comfortable. I just need to wear them in a little more and break them in. They're not canvas like the other ones I have. They're a leather material, so they squeak a bit when I stand still and move my feet a bit. More reason they need to be worn and broken in.

The bottom back says "Pumpkin King" and the inside has Oogie Boogie. The tongue says "JACK" and has a pumpkin on it. It looks like the eyelets, bats and "Pumpkin King" may be glow in the dark, but I don't know. I'll have to see if I notice it tonight, since I have that other pair that surprised glowed for me. 

That's about it for now. Photos taken on an iPhone 11 and put into Photoshop to have my name on them. My window is open and it's been cool in the mornings. Summer is trying to show its face, but the humidity hasn't stayed all day yet. It's coming, though... it's coming. 

Guess for now, stay warm if you're in the colder regions, stay dry if you're in the wet regions, and do take care of yourselves. Be happy and research everything (before you buy it)!!

Cheers; 

I was too late...

 ... to get the "red moon" last night and tonight, but I still captured enough of a full(ish) moon this evening, that I am able to post a bunch online. 

Everyone is talking about how bright red then orange this natural satellite was, and sadly, I missed it. I wasn't about to go out between 2 and 3 this morning to get pictures. I didn't realize there was an exact time to get the absolute perfect shot, and adding the fact I took a sleeping pill (Natrol Soothing Night), I definitely wasn't about to wake up. 

Yes, I'm now trying other natural sleep medicines to help me sleep the night away. I think I need to take this nightly, instead of every few nights, because it doesn't seem to be helping for the random times I need it. I mean, I'm sleeping at least 7 hours with it, but it feels far less than that. 

I find myself oddly waking up at times and only for a minute or two. Maybe that's also because I'm wearing my watch, and I'm seeing if I've been asleep for an hour or three hours. Or, it's because it's been cool enough out, and my window has been open. All the local street noises and lights are waking me up (a neighbor has a big vroom vroom pickup truck that needs to be fixed and he refuses to get it looked at. He leaves the house at all hours of the day and night. Last week, he left at 10:30pm, came back, and left again at 2:30am. Due to his muffler or tail pipe or whatever is wrong, the noise woke me up. Rattled my room, and he's not even in front of my window. He's about 70 feet away [?]. Across the street. Needless to say, I was up for 90 minutes after that). 

Overall, I can't explain it. I'm just waking up at various times. It's weird and maddening at the same time.

Anyway, back to the non moon landing.

I was out earlier with my mother and one of her friends, and where we were in the city, the moon was big, bright and semi reddish orange. My phone couldn't get a great picture of it, so I'm not posting it. By the time we got home (15 minutes later), the moon was back to regular programming: whitish gray. 

I put our packages away, got out my Canon T7i with a EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens and went outside. Yes, I also used a tripod, since I shot in manual mode. Must you ask? Haha.

Yup; I shot in manual mode, something I still need to work on. Out of 83 photos, I am only posting 20 something. Which is a lot for one object, I know. But you'll see I moved around a bit and did a little different focusing on this glowing celestial object. 

I still need practice. I admit to that. I am chock full of excuses as to why my photos aren't national prize worthy, but I take credit in what I've got. True, I did a minor edit of "sharpen" on these, slapped my name on them and posted them, but I've still got a long way to go with learning various other tricks to digital photography. That, and invest in proper materials such as a computer meant for creative work such as editing photos and video. As I don't have my monitor calibrated to do any editing, WYSIWYG with them. So on my laptop, it'll be different on your phone or when I decide to view them on my Vizio TV. Nothing is color matched to each other. 

It is what it is. 

But as evident in the photos, yes, I moved around. I zoomed in, I zoomed out. I got trees. I tried opening the focal lens a little more, I closed it a little bit. Just to attempt a decent picture. It is what it is. 

It is now 10:22pm and I've used up my time for the night. I'm sitting here squirreling away at other things instead of writing a blog post about how crazy the moon was last night and tonight. I've got to get to bed before my head lands on the keyboard (it's past my bedtime. I'm old. LOL).

Until I can sort my stuff out, go catch a falling star and put it in your pocket *.

Cheers;

* Track 46 - Perry Como, Catch A Falling Star, Today & Yesterday

It's not coffee, it's not tea

It's something else entirely.

My mother belongs to a coupon site where you have to watch the item closely, as it's only available at certain stores. Thus, you can't pick the item up at one Big Box retailer (let's say Walmart) and tell the site you got it at different location (another Walmart). It has to be picked up at the store you said you'd buy it at. All because you're needing to submit a receipt as proof of purchase.

Why? Because you either get your money back 100 per cent or you receive a percentage back (25-50 % back). However, it's not "cash back" in either form. It's the money back in a gift card form. In my mother's version, she chooses Amazon. 

All she has to do is look at the weekly offers for what's being provided and select what she'd want to try (for free or for a per cent off). Once selected, she chooses her store, providing they have it, and off she goes during the week to get it. She then submits a receipt and waits a day to see if the coupon site accepts the receipt. Then she gets her Amazon code and puts that money in her gift card balance. 

What's the catch? She has to then review the item. The site asks for a star rating (1-5) and several lined comments describing said item. What was good, what was bad, etc. 

This last round of samples (the site calls what you get a "sample", even if it's a full sized item), allowed my mother a "half off" coupon from Teeccino to try their "coffee alternative". 

We picked up the 11 oz bag (normal size?) of Almond Amaretto because she felt that would be a great afternoon or evening alternative to a glass of decaf coffee. 

As we got it at Sprouts, the retail price is $14.99, so my mother's total was $7.99 or something like that, since she was getting some money back. It wasn't a full 100% back, which is fine, as the other flavors were a few dollars more and she thought this one would be more interesting of a try.

Just a quick cost comparison (and disclaimer):

• Amazon sells the brand for around the same price point as Sprouts, depending on what flavor you're looking for. There is also "tea" for sale too. Prime members get free shipping as this storefront qualifies as a small business. There is a small discount on subscribe and save options on most of the flavors. This link earns me commission on every sale.
• The Teeccino website lists samplers, teas, coffees, variety packs and gifts for the same amount ($14.99+), so you can choose whatever site might be easier. I do have a referral link for Teeccino, so if you go that route, you can get $5 off your first order. Shipping is free at $59 and over (plus a free gift at the $25 mark). There is a subscribe and save option for a smaller price point. With every complete order (referral), I receive $5 off my next order. 

Back to the "coffee".

We had a bit of a struggle opening the bag, as I didn't want to completely go cutting crazy and lose the nutrition facts or instructions on brewing this. There is no sealing option, as the only thing you can use is a sticker that is on the back of bag. So no zipping line or anything else to make it easy to tear open. 

Once open, whew! The whiff of the amaretto is over powering. I got a little dizzy from it, considering I've not had any alcohol in quite a while. There's a reason why the brand website says it is "[a] sensory indulgence of roasted chicory over golden roasted almonds with hints of cherry and apricot. Subtly sweetened with dates and figs."! I don't know what chicory is or what it would smell like, so I can't comment on that aspect. I know the aroma was more on the "liqueur" side, while I even made the comment to my friend Shawn (who also tries not to imbibe in alcohol) about how much punch this gave. He said his partner uses a specific "floor cleaner that is almond scented" and when the floors are being clean, he is "so tempted to drink it," as "it's that convincing". He went on to say "it's even brown like Disaronno. This is coming from a guy who knows his stuff; he worked at a liquor store for over a decade) 

It begs the question: If products are being made to conjure up certain feelings, emotions or memories, the ones that shouldn't be ingested aren't doing anyone any favors. Especially if the scent makes you want to eat or drink it, when you fully know it is toxic to consume. How many warnings do we have on solvents that say "wash hands immediately" or "do not get near face or eyes". "Contact Poison Control if...". 

The products that are body safe.. well... can people who abstain from certain things really trust themselves in eating or drinking something with "natural flavors of [...]" without worrying it's going to damage to any type of sobriety (enter type of recovery here - alcoholism, drugs, eating disorders)? 

I know people have their levels of "it doesn't affect my overall sobriety" while others say "once I think it, I can't stop it". You have to find that happy medium where you know an amaretto scented floor cleaner is toxic to drink, but you also won't go to the bar or stop at a store and pick up a bottle of whiskey. Same goes with coffee; you can handle the smell and know it's a natural flavor added to the mix, but you won't go nuts (hehe. No pun intended) and restart your issues. 

Which is why I had said to Shawn I think I don't want to tempt the fates. I wish my mom had gotten one of the other flavors, but this was her choice - her coupon, her coffee. 

Especially since she said "it really does taste like an amaretto cookie" once she brewed a cup of it. Adding basic creamer, she was off to the races and texted all her friends about it. There is one friend who can't drink coffee due to its acid profile, and my mother thought this alternative would be great due to it's lack of caffeinated beans. 

According to the Teeccino website, the ingredients are:

Roasted organic carob, organic barley, organic chicory, dates, almonds, natural amaretto flavor*, organic figs. Contains: Almonds.

*All Teeccino flavors are extracted from plants and comply with organic standards.

The health benefits are:

• Naturally caffeine free - no processing or chemical residues
• Acid free - helps restore alkaline balance
• Natural energy boost - from nutrients not stimulants
• Antioxidants from carob, barley, dates, figs and almonds
• Contains heart-healthy potassium and soluble fiber
• Prebiotic - inulin from chicory root feeds your probiotics, the beneficial microflora that improve digestive health, regularity and supports your immune system. Inulin extracts naturally into your cup from chicory roots during brewing.

Again, I don't know what chicory root does or is, so I can't give any information about it. Anything you read on this website is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read it on my blog. 

I am providing this information due to this Teeccino product being used in my household. It was purchased and tried and is something new to try and enjoy as we drink a lot of coffee and tea in my house and we also drink decaf. This is a new and novel idea, and if it's something that can be had at night and not give us the jitters or keep us awake, we'd love to use it. 

Which my mother did. She was so enthralled of the taste and texture, she can't wait to make it daily. She also can't wait to see if her friends like it (she gave some away for a few people for them to try). If I can get her to purchase this again, maybe we can try another flavor. I'd love to try the Chaga Ashwagandha

Butterscotch Cream Mushroom Herbal Coffee (which is $15.29) or the Java

Chicory Herbal Coffee ($14.99), but we have to finish the coffees we have, first. 

Chaga is something that Tay always talks about, and warns me "you have to be careful when buying it". There's a specific type he buys for him and his step father and if I can remember what that is, I'd mention it here. Sadly, I haven't talked to Tay in a while, as he's on another ghosting expedition.

The synopsis that Teeccino has for their Chaga Coffee states:

Chaga, Siberia’s heal-all wild mushroom, compliments roasted ramón seeds and chicory softened by creamy butterscotch from India’s restorative ashwagandha root.

Medium Roast - Gluten Free - USDA Organic

I don't know what ramón seeds are, but according to the website, the ingredients list is:

Organic carob pods, organic chicory root, organic ramón seed, organic ashwagandha root (Withania somnifera 1000mg), organic dates, organic Indian sarsaparilla root, organic chaga extract (wild harvested Inonotus obliquus conk and mycelium blend: 500mg) organic butterscotch flavor. 

Produced on machinery that also processes almonds. 

*All Teeccino flavors are extracted from plants and comply with organic standards.

I already see and use Chaga in the OM mushroom blend in my smoothies, so I have no problem in trying this coffee alternative. Considering Tay would remark on brewing Chaga as a coffee all the time, and would say how his step father loved it, since he couldn't drink regular coffee anymore. Chaga was an amazing way for the step father to have a morning brew and feel human in the mornings. 

The Java version is:

Deep balanced body with a stronger coffee bite from roasted chicory and barley softened by the sweetness of dates & figs. 

Medium Roast - 75% Organic

With ingredients of:

• Roasted organic carob, organic barley, organic chicory, dates, almonds, natural coffee flavor*, organic figs. 
• Contains: Almonds. 

*All Teeccino flavors are extracted from plants and comply with organic standards.

So it contains natural coffee flavor, whatever that is, although chicory is prevalent in all the products. Must be some sort of enhancer or substitute. The Java can't be 100% caffeine or coffee free if it's using a coffee flavor? What is that? Just like the amaretto version - a natural flavor means the alcohol wasn't cooked off completely in processing this brew. 

I'm not judging by any means; I'm just trying to figure it out as I do want to try some of the versions. 

Oof. I found an answer in the FAQ section of the Teeccino website:

Is there caffeine in the natural coffee flavor in Teeccino?

There is no caffeine in the natural coffee flavor in Teeccino. All Teeccino flavors are derived from compounds extracted from plants using steam distillation or alcohol extraction in order to create natural flavors. In the case of natural coffee flavor, the components of coffee flavor are extracted from a number of ingredients that include chicory root and other roasted herbs.

So they get the natural flavoring through science - steam distillation or alcohol extraction. I'm sure there are every day products we eat and drink that use the same processes and we don't think about it. I never looked too deep into when a company says "natural flavor" or "scent" because what is "natural" anyway? If you watch the documentary Stink!, we really don't know what is "natural" anymore, because companies don't have to provide that information. Which is nice when and if they do.

Since I went down a rabbit hole, I searched for chicory. 

According to the internet, chicory is a "woody herbaceous plant" that's "primarily found in Europe and Asia", even though you can find some traces of it in the United States. It has a "distinct earthy flavor" and can help dilute some of the bitterness in normal coffee. However, in abundance of caution, as it's a diuretic and can cause bathroom challenges. 

Again, I'm not a medical professional. Please seek out more information on your own, as I am sure the things I've culled together aren't an entire list. I know they're not, so please do your own research and ask questions to your own medical team. 

So much to look in to, so little time. I kind of want a regular cup of coffee now, even though I should get some water instead. I haven't stayed hydrated enough today. Maybe I'll go do that... find some liquid libation and figure out how I can get some new food in my house.

Until next time..

Cheers;