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Yummy Links: From Party Palettes to Marcel's DUI

partysugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:45:55 -0700

Black, white, and yellow makes for a sophisticated party motif. - Simply Stated
The top 10 ways to chop onions without crying.- The Epi-Log
Get a virtual taste of Starbucks mocha dark chocolate. - Baking Bites
Free ice cream! 90210 helps you cool off. - Serious Eats
Lucid absinthe is a tasty way to get acquainted with the green fairy. - Chow
Interesting tip! Use a serrated knife to slice tomatoes. - The Kitchn
Krispy Kreme cheeseburgers surface at the Google cafeteria. - Slashfood
Plan a patriotic beach party for Labor Day. - Hostess With the Mostess
In case you missed it, Top Chef's Marcel arrested on suspicion of DUI. - TMZ

Does Coffee Dream of Electric Chocolate? New Starbucks Chocolate Reviewed

YumSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:30:31 -0800

This summer a press release went out with limited fanfare. The folks at Hershey's were teaming up with Starbucks. At the time there was very little news available, other than an upcoming Starbucks-branded premium chocolate. The news piqued my interest, but there was no word on when the products would hit the shelves. Turns out it's today.

Using the expertise of Artisan Confection Company - a division of Hershey's that includes Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt - Starbucks has created a line of products to sell in stores. There are three types of chocolate bars, tasting squares and filled truffles. Thanks to FabSugar - who hand-carried these samples back from New York - we were lucky enough to give them a try. If you want to learn more about each flavor, as well as what we thought of them, read more.

The box the samples arrived in was dramatic. It was a high quality brown box filled with all sorts of goodies. There were six different tasting squares, four truffles, three chocolate bars and covered coffee beans. I thought the bars were better than the squares, and that the truffles were a bit overpowering. The beans on the other hand, were absolutely delicious. Overall, the flavors that paired coffee with chocolate were highly successful, the other tea-inspired flavors, not so much.
Truffles

Dark Chocolate Vanilla Bean Truffle: A rounded chocolate-covered-cherry sized truffle with a large dollop of vanilla bean cream in the middle. It was creamy and smooth, slightly buttery. Overall very nice.

Milk Chocolate Chai Truffle: This was the least favorite truffle. It was super heavy-handed with the cardamom and tasted more like sucking on chocolate covered cardamom pod, than it did like chai.
Milk Chocolate Caffe Mocha: The chocolate is slightly waxy. I thought it seemed rather Hershey's-like. Reminded us of the Hershey's Treasures, only better.
Dark Chocolate Espresso: This was by far our favorite truffle. The dark chocolate was smooth - almost too smooth - and it had a great melt, with a hint of smokiness. The espresso really came through, but was not overpowering. We'd definitely eat this again.

Milk Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans
This was my favorite thing in the box. FabSugar - who is a bit of a chocolate snob and hates on milk chocolate - even thought they were delicious. Unlike most chocolate covered beans, these are more like ground up beans covered in chocolate. It's a big coating of chocolate on a lovely amount of crunch.

Tasting Squares

Milk Chocolate: This was sort of generic. It would hit the spot if you craved chocolate, as it was tasty, but there was nothing special about it.
Dark Chocolate: Strangely, we liked the milk chocolate better. We thought it was a bit waxy. Again, tasty, but nothing special.
Mocha Dark Chocolate: This was our favorite square, the flavor pairing was really nice. There were bits of beans in it. I almost wished they offered this in a milk chocolate version too.
Chai Milk Chocolate: Like the truffle, there was way too much cardamom going on. Some of the folks here liked it because of that, but I was disappointed by how much it didn't taste like chai.
Passion Dark Chocolate: This was the worst thing in the entire box. Some of the folks thought it was okay, but I hated it. It was highly floral in taste, and there were bits of things in it that were just too much. It sort of tasted like artificial powder stuck inside of the chocolate. I say pass this one off to your friends, so you can eat the others.
Citron Dark Chocolate: Like the passion square, this one is also infused with tea. It was nicely flavored and okay. However at the end, it started reminding me of cleaner. If you love lemon/chocolate pairings you'd probably like it, but once again I say pass this one and eat the others.

Chocolate Bars
There are three flavors of chocolate bars - milk, dark and mocha dark - the flavors are reviewed above, but it should be mentioned that they tasted much better in a thicker bar format. It was nice to have something to sink your teeth into.

So, have you seen the new Starbucks Chocolates - they'll be in large grocery and drug stores retailers soon. If so, have you tried them?

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'Wich of the Week: Pecan Pumpkin Cakewich

YumSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:00:10 -0700

In Autumn I welcome the arrival of all things pumpkin, whether it's pumpkin lattes at Starbucks, pumpkin chocolate cookies, or pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. So why not pumpkin sandwiches? Inspired by carrot cake with cranberries folded in, this sweet sandwich would make a great dessert or an afternoon snack with cider. Just in time for Halloween, you can make your own pumpkin bread or use a mix from a store like Trader Joe's, which is where I found the apple-cranberry chutney. Get this comfy Fall recipe now.

Starbucks Chocolate

YumSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:22:18 -0800

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My Afternoon as a Starbucks Barista

YumSugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:10:52 -0700

Chaotic as things may appear behind a Starbucks counter, every drink is made custom and to order in a systematic, organized way. I know this because I spent an afternoon as a Starbucks barista. Laurel Village Starbucks store manager Deanna Barbagiovvanni put me to work yesterday behind the espresso machines.

The trickiest part of being a barista is deciphering the code on the side of a Starbucks cup. It was like trying to read an unknown foreign language. "That's a nonfat, two-pump white mocha," Deanna said, reaching for espresso shots, as I stood there, still trying to make sense of the notations. Customers rarely place orders for standard drinks, she explained: "One girl comes in every day and orders a venti Coffee Frappuccino with a grande scoop of ice, double blended, with light whip and just a little chocolate drizzle." Find out what else I learned and check out a video of me as barista when you read more

What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:30:59 -0700

Seriously, make this cherry pie: it's the best you'll ever have.
Party plans a "birthday paw-ty" for FabSugar's cutie-pie French bulldog.
Starbucks is changing the names of several of its stores.
Check out Summer's collection of cool, creamy ice cream cakes.
We conducted a side-by-side test of two European raisin-and-nut chocolate bars.
Find out why Texans love the soft filled pastries known as kolaches.
An inside look at the food at a rustic wedding hosted on the banks of Northern California's Russian River.

Tampa Named the Most Caffeinated City in the US

YumSugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 03:00:53 -0800

A recent poll shows Tampa is the most caffeinated city in the United States. In the study, the Florida city is closely followed by Seattle, birthplace of the coffeehouse culture and coffee titan Starbucks, with Chicago placing third. Rounding out the top five are the top two most populated US cities, New York and Los Angeles. The poll looked at all caffeine consumption, including coffee, tea, energy drinks, chocolate, soda, pain relievers, and caffeine pills. The firm that conducted the study, Prince Market Research, also generated a list of the least caffeinated cities in America. The sleepiest city turned out to be the California twin cities area of Riverside/San Bernardino, followed by Atlanta, San Diego, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Dallas. Overall, 49 percent of all people surveyed said they drink caffeinated coffee on a daily basis. A surprising 20 percent admitted to drinking cola every day, tied with tea.

I'm taken aback to hear this, since everybody - from friends to people I pass on the street - seems to be more tired and less wired these days. What do you think of these numbers?

Source

Starbucks to Do Smoothies, Subway to Do Coffee

partysugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:15:47 -0700

With reality stars posing as fashion designers and singers turning into restaurateurs, it's no surprise that Starbucks and Subway would expand into something other than caffeinated beverages and sandwiches. Tomorrow Starbucks is scheduled to launch a new smoothie line. Called Vivanno Nourishing Blends, the smoothies come in two flavors: Orange Mango Banana and Chocolate Banana.

Scrambling to increase sales with innovative new products like smoothies, Starbucks has reason to worry: Subway is testing out a cafe concept. The Subway cafes will be larger than the existing sandwich shops with comfortable seating, wi-fi, espresso drinks, gelatos, and paninis. Subway isn't the first fast-food chain to expand into coffee, both McDonalds and Burger King have been heavily promoting coffee drinks.

What do you think about these announcements? Will you try a Starbucks smoothie or Subway coffee?

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What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:30:30 -0800

If this homemade vanilla hot chocolate mix looks like your thing, wait till you see the rest of our 12 Days of Edible Gifts.
Late with holiday shopping? Check out our last-minute gourmet gifts.
Our favorite foodie moments on Top Chef this year.
PartySugar plans out a Christmas Eve inspired by the traditions of Italy.
Whether you're new to cooking or an expert in the kitchen, latkes make festive holiday fare.
Starbucks has announced it will be selling Seattle's Best in Subway stores.
We had so many to choose from, but these were our favorite cocktails of the year.

What's Cooking at Slashfood

YumSugar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:45:29 -0800

We love Slashfood so much that every Thursday we round up their most delicious stories. Here are this week's finds:

Bottled tap, the latest water on the market, claims to have a smaller carbon footprint.
Taste tested: Pinkberry's new pomegranate yogurt and booster.
Virginia ham, a regional American favorite, is perfect for the holidays.
Would you drink beer or wine out of a baby bottle?
Melted gelato is the secret ingredient to a cup of insanely decadent hot chocolate.
Coffee lovers rejoice: Starbucks is having a holiday sale.

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