The Good: Easy to prepare, Good scent, Tastes good.
The Bad: Poor environmentalism of the single serve packages, A bit pricey by the single-serve packets
The Basics: Hills Bros. has a flavorful winner with its Cappuccino Irish Creme flavored drink mix!
It is worth noting up front that while I enjoyed the Hills Bros. Irish Creme flavor instant cappuccino, I encountered it in its single serve packet form. From there, I found myself underwhelmed both by the environmentalism and expense of the packets. I understand that this product is available in canisters and in that form, I would certainly recommend it higher than the individual packets. But, for those for whom expense and environmental responsibility mean nothing, regardless of the form one finds the Hills Bros. Cappuccino Irish Crème, the company has produced a delightful and delicious beverage!
Basics
Hills Bros. Cappuccino Irish Creme instant coffee is part of Hills Bros.'s new premium instant coffee line and one suspects that the company is trying to compete with the flavors from the International blends instant coffee line. This mix is a powder that comes in a .95 oz. paper envelope for the single serving. The single serving packages come three to a box. The mix is very fine and I could not find it in bulk locally, though I understand it is available in that form.
The individual packets are environmentally irresponsible and proportionately exceptionally expensive.
Ease Of Preparation
Hills Bros. Cappuccino Irish Creme instant coffee mix is fairly simple to make. The single serving is one packet of dry mix, added to eight oz. of water. One does not need to measure out the product, but they need to mix this product. This is a very simple beverage to prepare.
After pouring the mix into a mug, simply pour boiling water over the powder and stir. Stir the powder until there are no blobs of coffee granules visible in the water. The beverage will have a very light tan color to it; it is almost white it is so light.
Taste
The Irish Creme flavored instant coffee has an aroma to it that is delightfully spiced. While it does not smell at all like coffee, it smells very much like rum cake and cream, which might be the embodiment of the scent of Irish Crème!
The Irish Creme Cappuccino flavor is very sweet, with a creamy vanilla aftertaste. The cinnamon and vanilla flavor is instantly recognizable to the tastebuds as Irish Crème; it is a flavor which defines itself and from the first scent to the last sip, this beverage embodies that flavor wonderfully.
As the Irish Crème Cappuccino cools, the sweetness fades and the beverage takes on a much drier flavor. It is not at all unpleasant, but the coffee flavor asserts itself a little bit more when the drink is colder and the result is a drier beverage. The dry aftertaste dissipates within a minute, though.
Nutrition
Hills Bros. Cappuccino Irish Creme instant coffee is a coffee mix and therefore is mostly lacking in nutritional value. There are 120 calories in this drink, 45 of which come from fat. With 5 grams of fat (8% of one’s RDA), the Irish Creme Cappuccino gets all five grams from saturated fat, though it only has 105 mg of Sodium. The 19 grams of carbohydrates prevents this beverage from being appropriate for those doing low-carb diets and the gram of protein is not nutritionally significant. The only vitamins and minerals in this drink are 2% of the RDA of Calcium. This is a nutritionally underwhelming beverage.
Made primarily of sugar, creamer, and nonfat dry milk, the Irish Creme drink is not Vegan compliant, but is marked as Kosher. It contains milk and soy ingredients.
Storage/Cleanup
So long as one gets Hills Bros. Cappuccino Irish Creme instant coffee mix sealed, it ought to stay usable. Visiting my local supermarket, most of the packages of this instant coffee had an expiration date a year away. The box of Irish Creme I picked up in early December had an expiration date in February 11, 2014.
Cleanup is very easy as well. If the product spills while dumping it into the mug, simply wipe it up or brush it up with a dry or damp cloth. If it has already been reconstituted with water into coffee, simply wipe it up. Light fabrics are unlikely to stain if this gets on them, but consult your fabric care guide to clean it up if that occurs.
Overall
Hills Bros. Cappuccino Irish Creme is good and anyone who enjoys other brands’ Irish Crème instant cappuccino would do well to try Hills Bros., though they might want to go ahead and get the canister instead of the packets!
For other Instant Coffee drinks, please visit my reviews of:
Taster’s Choice French Roast
Nescafe Caramel Latte Memento
Starbuck’s VIA Columbia Coffee
5/10
For other food or drink reviews, please visit my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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