There are shops that sell chocolate and then there are the Cacao chocolate shops in Portland. The latter can inspire even the most hardened and cynical among us. When we first heard about the Cacao chocolate shops, it clearly sounded like it was worth our attention. Serious enough to warrant not one, but two reporters – Read more…
Product and Portland Metro Business Review Archives
Now and then I do a review of a store or commercial product. You'll find the archive of those stories here.
Best Tonic Water – Are the Gourmet Brands Worth the Price?
We’ve all seen expensive tonic waters in the grocery store, but are they worth the price ? [8-2016 – because I’ve noticed some of the ingredients have been tweaked a bit, I’ve brought our tasters together and repeated the comparison from a few years ago. This review reflects quite a few changes and some additions. Fever Tree – Read more…
What are the Best Coconut Waters – We Rate 20 Brands
Coconut Water Ratings [updated 7/17 – Zico has a new formula. Updated 4/17 – Taste Nirvana changed the label, so we retested and found it the same. Also retested Harmless Harvest and found it better – it moved from #16 to #2, but it proves our point that it tends to vary widely from bottle to – Read more…
Review: Fentimans Tonic Water
This review has been superseded by my tonic water roundup, which you can find here. Continuing my interest in tonic waters, I decided to review another brand which is appearing on store shelves: Fentimans Beverages. You may have seen their other products, such as Curiosity Cola, Shandy, and Victorian Lemonade. Fentimans describes their tonic as – Read more…
Interview: Steven Smith Teamaker
“Portland is a beverage town,” Steve Smith says simply. And his beverage of choice is — and always has been– tea. Note: sad to report that Steve Smith died in 2015. However, Steven Smith Teamaker is still in business Back in the early 1970s, Smith started Stash Tea, which sold teas and herbal infusions to – Read more…
The Meadow: Singing the Praises of Salt
“Everyone’s Lives Would Be So Much Better If They Just Used The Right Salt.” Mark Bitterman, Local Selmelier A wonderful thing about Portland is our growing community of small specialty food purveyors. Many of these are based on single obsessions: the perfect latte with foam so pretty and detailed that pictures of it could be – Read more…
Benessere Olive Oils and Balsamic Vinegars
Updated: 12/11 – 2nd store. I happened to walk past Benessere yesterday, but I could only take a quick peek, because I had the dog with me. Though the store has been open a month, I never heard about it, so I sent a friend in today to check it out and take some pictures. – Read more…
Q Tonic vs. Fever-Tree Tonic
In January, I reviewed Q Tonic. Now Fever-Tree, another gourmet version has hit local store shelves. I thought it was time to go back and update this post with a comparison between the two.
Gin and tonic – what my dad would call “an honest drink.” No fancy juices; direct and to the point. Just about anyone should be able to take the two ingredients and, measuring, come up with a good cocktail.