Megan's Minute Rad Reviews

Love My Coffee! Tassimo Coffee Maker Review and Giveaway

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Tassimo.

I'm a big coffee drinker and I like my coffee strong, dark, rich and hot--just like my men.

So when I got the chance to review the Tassimo home coffee brewing system, I was excited.

Setting up the system took a bit of time because you have to use a cleaning disc for the coffee maker and then set up the water filters as well. 

Once that was done however I had a whole host of coffee drinks to try out.  The system works with small coffee or tea discs that are inserted into the top of the machine.  You fill the tank in the back with water and then turn the machine on. 

Each coffee or tea disc has a bar code that tells the coffee maker how long to brew it and how much water should be used.  So for example an espresso disc will use less water than a regular house blend disc.

Being a big Starbucks fan, I first tried the Starbucks Verona and I wasn't disappointed.  It was strong and rich, just the way I like it.  It seems Starbucks doesn't make a decaffeinated Tassimo version and because I often drink decaf I'll be looking forward to that coming out soon.

I did try the Gevalia brand house blend decaf but it was too weak for my taste.  I then mixed one Gevalia decaf with a Starbucks Verona and that gave me a nice cup of halfcaf.  I see that Maxwell House makes a Tassimo decaf also, so I'll try that one when I get the chance.

The Twinings Chai Tea Latte came with milk creamer and Chai tea discs.  So first you make the tea and then you swap discs and add the milk to the same cup.

You do the same thing for cappuccino.   The coffee discs come with matching milk discs, so first you brew the espresso disc and then you use the milk disc in the same cup to get cappuccino.  I didn't really love the milky taste with the cappuccino, but it was fine with the Chai tea latte.

The Milka hot chocolate was just okay.  It had a decent chocolate flavor but it wasn't sweet enough.

Intel Viliv S5 PC Review and Giveaway

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Intel.

I don't go crazy over every tech toy that comes on the market but when I find something I love, I love it for life!  I had heard about the Intel Viliv S5 so it was a kick to get a chance to try it out.

First some background.  The Viliv S5 is a 4.8" touchscreen media-on-the go device using an Intel® Atom™ processor.  With it you can take your music, HD movies, office documents, digital photos and more with you while you're around town, on vacation, at home or on campus.  It's got 3G or WiFi connectivity options and a humongous 6 hour long battery life.

It's available at Amazon.com for $499+.

Megan's Game Night: Win A $100 Visa Gift Card from BlogHer and Arbor Mist

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Arbor Mist

My friends and I love game nights, especially in the winter.  Just picture it:  it's a Saturday night, it's cold outside, the fireplace is going and there's nothing nicer than having some friends over to shake off the work week, relax and engage in some friendly competition.

That's why when I got this assignment to put together a party theme basket including Arbor Mist's sparkling wines, Raspberry Sparkle and Peach Sparkle, and using a $200 Visa gift card, I knew my theme would be a game night.

When my friends and I do a game night, we don't generally have dinner but we have lots of appetizers and snacks, and for later in the evening, desserts and coffee.  And when it comes to the games we play, we're pretty old school.  Scrabble, Sorry, Trouble, Taboo, Risk--you name it. 

Once in a while we'll even play cards and our favorite is an old one that my friend Lucy's mother taught
her in Ecuador called Quaranta.   We sometimes try to keep her mother from playing though because when she does, she's merciless.  You think she's this sweet little older lady, but when she's playing Quaranta, we call her Shifty Madonna.

When I was putting my Arbor Mist party basket together first I started with some bottles of Raspberry Sparkle and Peach Sparkle from my local liquor store.  Then I went over to Trader Joe's because they have great hot snacks you can just pop in the oven.  They also have fabulous crackers, salsas and dips so I stocked up on those as well.

Since I'm a big Starbucks fan, I got a Starbucks gift basket that was on sale at Staples and voila:  I had a basket, coffee and plenty of cookies to snack on later in the evening.  (photo above and right)

Because Legal Eagle and her husband The Architect came over last weekend for a visit, I decided to do a little Arbor Mist taste test before our upcoming game night.  Since this was the first time I was tasting Raspberry Sparkle and Peach Sparkle also I thought it would be fun to see what we all thought.

"Dollhouse" Season One DVD Giveaway Winner!

This is way late, but congratulations to Cheryl W for winning the "Dollhouse" Season One DVD Giveaway.

One entrant meant an easy choice for a winner and that was Cheryl W.

Chery has already received the DVDs and is hopefully enjoying them. 

Congrats Cheryl W!