Review: Coffee Day Cueqa Nachos in Tangy Jalapeno flavour

Despite its not-so-tasteful ambiance and pathetic music, Cafe Coffee Day doesn’t entirely suck. The menu has a couple of good coffees and a tasty dessert or two. The brand deserves a lot of respect for almost single-handedly bringing the café culture to India and making our otherwise busy lives a little laidback. After living in Chennai where even the IT areas display serious lack of ‘hangouts’, my respect for CCD has grown several-fold. I began tasting packed food sold across the counter in CCD outlets and this was a recent try.

Product: Cueqa Nachos in Tangy Jalapeno flavor



The only Indian product which is remotely like nachos that I have come across is Bingo Mad Angles. The urban Indian has already equated nachos to popcorn, chips and other paraphernalia that accompanies one to a movie hall and most multiplexes are cashing in on it. Cueqa appears to be CCD’s answer to the likes of Cuppa and Taco Bell.

Looks

The nachos come sealed in a sturdy jar which is an obvious win over selling them in flimsy plastic. About 20 pieces are neatly stacked inside, with few broken ones. The pack I tried was manufactured nearly four months ago and the contents seemed extremely fresh. Thumbs up on packaging.

Taste

The nachos are extremely thin and crisp, very close in texture to their Mexican counterparts. The lack of oil is apparent (and a little disappointing) as the product seems dry at the end of the day. After five years of eating Indianized nachos at Fresco's, this doesn’t quite hit the spot. Cueqa is exactly like the nachos you get at multiplexes, only round in shape. They don't taste great dry but are surprisingly excellent with toppings.

Fixes

• Mix and match with dips like mayo, cream cheese and salsa.

• Remember the Monaco-with-toppings ads from the 90’s? Try topped nachos.

• Replace papdi in your bhel with nachos.

Or just serve them the conventional way, with cream cheese, salsa spread and a simple garnish.
Exhibit A:




Cueqa Nachos: What Works

• The idea of selling nachos a la Pringles.

• Tangy jalapeno flavor is subtle and delightful..goes well with dips and salsa.

Cueqa Nachos: What Does Not Work

• Extremely dry texture: it is impossible to eat without moist toppings/dips. Although that’s how authentic nachos are, it doesn’t really suit a samosa-loving palette.

• Overpriced, as is expected with CCD. Even movieplexes offer a larger quantity with salsa for a similar price.

Consumer Gyaan

Nutrition (amount per serving, serving size unspecified)


Energy: 186.56 calories
Carbs: 27.12g
Fat: 7.3g
Protein: 3.10g
Sodium: 438.49mg


Price: Rs. 50 for a 40gm dabba

Other flavors: Zesty Spice

Available at: CCD outlets and some online shopping sites

OE Rating: 3/5

Thoughts on repurchase: Uncertain

Open. Sip. Tzinga: Review

I’ve never been into energy drinks. In fact, I’ve only ever had a sip of Red Bull (politely offered by somebody else) and hated it. Not oddly enough, I had begun branding every energy drink as a tasteless, pointless beverage and that’s when Tzinga happened.

It all started when Pagalguy did a feature on Tzinga’s creator: an MDI alumnus who went on to get another MBA from –wait for it- Wharton. The feature actually influenced me to give the beverage a try and here’s the review.

Product: Tzinga Energy Drink in Lemon Mint flavour

Looks

The first thing you notice about Tzinga is its innovative packaging: no one has sold a beverage in a ketchup squeezy pack before. A friend is also of the opinion that the idea was probably influenced by arrack sold in sachets. :D It feels weird to drink out of a ketchup tube, but in a good way. However, I’m not a huge fan of what’s written on the pack.

“potent.positive.energy.

guarana.taurine.ginseng.”

Pray tell me if the intention was to create a simple verse, limerick or rhyme.

Kills it.

Taste

This flavour of Tzinga claims to have real lemon juice but it is obviously derived from a concentrate. The drink tastes exactly like a virgin mojito made from preserved ingredients. The mint is there but it’s not overwhelming. The sugar seems right, too. Overall, they have quite nailed the flavour.

Tip: Do NOT drink warm Tzinga or anything that is not straight out of the fridge. I cannot describe the taste to you but can only request you heed the warning.

Other Tzinga flavours in the market are Tropical Trip and Mango Strawberry..will check them out soon.

Fixes

After about half a pack or so, I started getting bored and decided to make a Tzinga mocktail shot. What you see below is two parts of Tzinga with one part of Tropicana Pomegranate and a part of Tropicana Guava.

This flavour of Tzinga works great in mocktails, as it does not lose its own taste when mixed. If it worked in your cocktail, put a comment with description. :)

Tzinga Lemon Mint: what works

• Tastes great. A little acidic but very refreshing.
• Has ginseng which is supposed to reduce stress and anxiety symptoms.
• Looks cool and the price point definitely works.

Tzinga Lemon Mint: what does not work

• Poor shelf life.
• It’s a pain to unscrew, and by pain I mean literal pain. The cap breaks off with sharp edges.

Consumer Gyaan

Core ingredients: Water, sugar, lemon juice concentrate (told ya!), taurine, caffeine, ginseng and guarana extract. Apart from this, it has the usual acidity regulators and stuff. Seems safe.

Tzinga nutrition (per 100 ml):

Energy	48 kcal
Carbohydrate	12g
--Sugar	12g
Protein	0g
Fat	0g

*Contains 30 mg of caffeine in every 100ml

Purchase price: 20 INR

Shelf life: Three months

Available at: Every store that sells Coke and Pepsi. :D

OE Rating: 4/5

Products like Tzinga: Gatorade, Red Bull, Cloud 9

Thoughts on repurchase: On a warm summer day out, I’ll purchase Tzinga over carbonated beverages.

A New Jar of Nutella: Review

Nyootella?

Nutrela?

NO.

Nut-ell-ah.

One of the quickest food fixes is a Nutella-dunk. For those of you unfamiliar with this heavenly hazelnut-butter from Italy (think Ferrero Rocher), it is more than the chocolate-flavoured spread it is marketed to be. Nutella is to the rest of the world what Hershey’s chocolate syrup is to the U.S. Use it to replace jam on your toast/roti or as dessert topping..it goes best with anything that has neutral or fruity flavour. Or whatever taste you have acquired.

I have been loyal to this stuff for about six years, right from the days it used to be sold in ‘select stores’ for a princely sum of 80 INR. Ferrero has now revamped the packaging and the product also retails in a stately glass jar, along with its heavier screw-top cousin.

The new Nutella jar is sealed with gold foil and must NOT be refrigerated on or before opening, as the ideal spread is gooey. It also comes with a literature booklet affixed to the lid that contains details about the product. This is futile as it is pasted in such a way that it tears while opening.

New Nutella: what works

• It's old wine in a new bottle..thankfully! Wouldn’t want them to change the flavour anytime soon.
  

• I’m a sucker for glass bottles and jars and this one made me drool.

New Nutella: what does not work

• The slide-on lid is tactlessly designed. Once you open the seal, you basically have to finish the contents in a go (easy-peezy) because the lid is flimsy enough for ants to party. Oh and forget traveling with the jar.

Tips

• Cannot stress this one enough: ALWAYS buy the small jar. It will be emptied in less than a week anyway, just like the big jar.

• After the jar is licked clean, throw away the lid, peel off the label and use it as a glass. I’m looking at a collection here.

Fixes

The sober:

The not-so-sober (and possible inspiration for this blog):




Nutella hamburger

Consumer Gyaan

Nutella nutrition per 100g

		Energy		538 kcal
		Protein		6g
		Carbohyrate		57.3g
		Sugar		56.7g
		Fat		31.6g
		Fibre		3.4g
		Vitamin E		6.7mg
		Magnesium		70mg

Quite obviously, this can be a death trap if you overdo it. Limit portion size to a spoonful every other day and you're good. Oh and Nutella is not for people allergic to nuts or lactose.

Shelf life: 12 months. Do not refrigerate.

Purchase price: 125 INR for 180g, 195 INR for 350g

Available at: Most supermarkets such as Reliance Fresh, More, Food Bazar and such

Products like Nutella: Crumpy, a Belgian hazelnut spread

OE Rating: 4.75/5 (the lid ruined perfect-5 prospects)

Thoughts on repurchase: Hmm..think I'll buy Crumpy over Nutella. Bazinga. :P

Image sources 1, 2.

Hello, World!

Weird food in a weird pack? I'll probably eat it. And talk about it here.

Urban life is unimaginable without the crackle of a plastic wrapper or the snap of a carton that holds a snack. Or an entire meal. I tend to consume substantial amounts of such food everyday, some healthy and most that make me happy. Such an important entity definitely deserves dedicated literature and hence this blog.

Here's to judicious snapping of plastic, cutting of cartons for those impatient yet wholesome meals.