Every week I watched the price of the Hillside Coffee self heating drinks. After 3 weeks of seeing them at 4.99 each, the price was finally lowered to 2 for $5.00. I bought a French vanilla latte and a mocha latte. I decided to drink the Mocha Latte first. As soon as I got home I read the directions, step one was to open the bottom of the cup. Once I pulled the tab off of the bottom I saw white plastic with a green button in the middle. Step two was to hold the cup upside down, and push the green button until the water drains. I pushed the green button however I did not know when the water was drained. Whenever I turned the cup right side up and looked at the bottom of it, there was still a hint of green. I also wondered what was keeping the green stuff from going into my coffee. Step 3 is to let it sit for a few minutes until the pink circle on the side turned white. I walked away for about five minutes, and when I returned, the circle had turned white. The final step was to twist the cap and enjoy the beverage. I picked up the cup and it was far too hot to hold.
I believe this self heating beverage was designed for people on the go. However holding this cup would be impossible because it is far too hot. The coffee itself was also hot. I waited a while until it cooled down, and what I swallowed did not resemble coffee at all. At best it tasted like hot chocolate milk, with extra sugar, and a metal like after taste. After anticipating the purchase of this product, I must say that I was disappointed, with the product. The concept itself is great however the quality of the coffee and the temperature of the cup made it a bad experience. I would not recommend this product. I was very curious about what was keeping the green liquids from getting into the coffee. I peeled off the label to see if I could open it and see how the inside was designed. After I peeled of the label, I exposed a black cup. I tried to pry the top off of the black cup, to see if I could peek inside. The lid was so tightly glued, that I could not even chisel it off.
After doing a little research I found that Hillside Coffee Company also makes self heating tea, soup, and hot cocoa. I have not tried any of the other products however, I am a little hesitant to do so after my first experience. Although I the product was hot, and did not taste very good I still was able to find some good in the product itself. It is a brilliant idea for people on the go, and the steps were very user friendly and easy to follow.
