RSSAspall Classic Organic Suffolk Cyder Eco Product Review
March 17, 2010
As I’ve mentioned before I like a drop of cider in the summer and try to have organic as much as I can. When I spotted theis ‘cyder’ on the shelf in the supermarket Waitrose I thought even though it’s winter I’d give it a go.
Aspall Classic Organic Suffolk Cyder is made from feshly pressed English apple juice and has been winning awards since 1728 supposedly. Maybe that’s the brewery, this cider did win something at the 1921 Daily Mail Imperial Fruit Show though – so has been around a while.
At 7% abv its quite strong and from the first sip it tastes like it, but subsequent drinks mean the flavour comes through more. As one would expect it’s very apple tasting and not as gassy as some other ciders which makes it very easy drinking.
Even though it’s winter I still drank it over ice but it doesn’t affect the flavour that much, it still comes through quite strongly.
At a very reasonable £1.87 for a 500ml bottle, Aspall Classic Organic Suffolk Cyder is available from supermarrkets including Waitrose.
Duchy Originals Organic Select Ale Eco Product Review
March 10, 2010
I’ve reviewed a Duchy Originals beer before (here) and was quite impressed with it. Duchy Originals is a brand launched by Prince Charles, HRH the Prince of Wales, and spans a huge range of products from bath foam (which I reviewed here) and this, its Organic Select Ale.
The brand is only sold online in the UK or through supermarket Waitrose so remains quite exclusive. Its products are usually organic and made with quality ingredients which mean they’re not cheap. And this is the case here, the Organic Ale isn’t much cheaper than buying a pint in the pub – it’s £2.15 in Waitrose – and it’s made from Plumage Archer barley harvested from organic farms around the UK. One of those farms is High Farm at Highgrove – the Prince’s country home.
This is a fuller-bodied (ie heavier) beer than the ‘just’ Organic Ale and is quite strong – 6.2% as opposes to 5%. And it’s immediately noticeable in the taste. It’s more flavoursome and feels more substantive. It claims to dried fruit and toffee flavours with bitter citrus notes but as anyone who has ever read one of my beer reviews will know, I find it hard to notice those flavours. I would say there’s maybe a hint of toffee but gnerally I’d say it has a nice flavour!
I suppose it’s best to compare this to its less alcoholic counterpart and should you pay the 16p extra for it? Well it’s probably worth it, I would say that’s better value than the cheaper ale as it’s stonger – the bottle is nicer (if you care about that sort of thing!) and it is more flavoursome – something to be savoured. I doubt I could drink many of them in a go though and the other ale is a little lighter and fresher.
Duchy Originals Organic Select Ale costs £2.15 for 500ml from Waitrose and is 6.2% abv.
Duchy Originals Organic Ale Eco Product Review
March 3, 2010
Duchy Originals is a brand launched by Prince Charles, HRH the Prince of Wales, and spans a huge range of products from bath foam (which I reviewed here) and this, its Organic Ale.
The brand is only sold online in the UK or through supermarkets such as Waitrose so remains quite exclusive. Its products are usually organic and made with quality ingredients which mean they’re not cheap. And this is the case here, the Organic Ale isn’t much cheaper than buying a pint in the pub – it’s £1.99 in Waitrose – and it’s made from Plumage Archer barley harvested from organic farms around the UK. One of those farms is High Farm at Highgrove – the Prince’s country home.
Anyway, enough of all that, how does it taste? The night before I tried it I went to a real ale festival and had quite a few ‘golden’ beers so my first tast of this proper ale had me thinking it was far too heavy. But actually it’s not heavy at all and ornce you get into it it’s very pleasant. There’s no aftertaste or sharpness, it’s very easy drinking.
As mentioned in my other beer reviews I like my ale cold but you may want to wait a while after taking this out of the fridge as the flavour seemed to come out the warmer it got. A really nice beer that’s definitely worth a try.
Duchy Originals Organic Ale costs £1.99 for 500ml from Waitrose and other supermarkets and is 5.0% abv.
World’s Best Cat Litter Review
February 24, 2010
A review of something I haven’t personally test per-se, but my cat has. World’s Best Cat Litter has a great name, and has some claimed green credentials. Most normal cat litter is made from natural clay (or sodium bentonite), which is formed into pellets and dried. The clay is strip mined from the earth in a destructive process that leaves a indelible mark on our environment.
The corn used to produce the World’s Best Cat Litter are the same corn varieties approved by the USDA /EPA/FDA, and EU European Union for food use. This corn is also used to produce many ingredients, including corn sweeteners, food starches, corn oil, used in the production of high quality food and pharmaceutical products. This corn and/or its components are also used in the production of animal feeds.
Since the corn used is all natural and biodegradable, it is very safe for people, pets and the environment. There is no silica dust for you and your cat to breath in, if your pet ingests the litter it is digestible (so no need to be concerned about intestinal blockages), and over time the litter will naturally degrade and not be sitting in a landfill 100 years from now.
It claims to have unsurpassed odor control, and while it wasn’t the best in the world on that score, it wasn’t bad and not really noticeable as we clean the box regularly. Some people said their cats have not liked the texture, but ours didn’t seem bothered. It’s flushable but I didn’t try that as there’s no point (and I think it’s still not recommended in California at least).
Clumping was pretty good and scooping not a problem, overall it worked well. I would prefer to some degree that it wasn’t made of edible whole kernel corn that could be used for human food, rather than cat’s waste, perhaps looking at using some sort of inedible corn by-product.
You can buy it now from Amazon and pet stores of course!
Traidcraft Fair Trade Rubber Gloves Eco Product Review
February 17, 2010
Just a quick review this week as it was something I bought not planning to review but because I needed a pair of rubber gloves. I picked up this pair of Traidcraft Fair Trade Rubber Gloves from some supermarket, I actually can’t remember, but when I was using them recently (during a blocked up sink incident I’m trying very hard to forget) I thought I must write about them.
Traidcraft work with a company in Sri Lanka called Firstlight (named after the fact farmers tap the rubber trees first thing in the morning) to pay farmers a regualr and fair wage and offer them assistance with equipment and technical support.
There’s not much else to say about the the gloves, they fit nicely (size medium) and have a little bit of grip on the fingers to help. I don’t really know why you would but non-Fair Trade rubber gloves, especially as they’re only around £1. You can learn more about Traidcraft here and buy the gloves from supermarkets and online from places like Big Green Smile.
Fresh And Green Toilet Cleaner Eco Product Review
February 10, 2010
I don’t tend to buy environmentally friendly products from the supermarket, but this caught my eye so I thought ;why not?’. Fresh and Green’s Eco Friendly Toilet Cleaner and Limescale Remover is part of TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson’s range of cleaner products, and there’s quite a range, is derived from natural plant extracts and promises to have used sustainable agricultural practices in making it.
The problem with reviewing toilet cleaner is that if you use a different one regularly and your toilet is clean, all the cleaner you’re reviewing needs to do it keep it clean, rather that get rid of a lot of limescale etc. But as most people are in that situation, where they regularly clean the toilet, then I decided it was fair enough to review it this way.
The cleaner is clear and has a nice citrus-like fragrance which stays around after a couple of flushes but as with all the varieties I’ve tested it tends to disappear after that. Once you squirt it on you can actually just leave it for up to two hours and just flush before using it, but I like to use a toilet brush too. And it worked really well, no problems at all with it, it’s easy to use and left the bowl looking nice and clean – you can’t say much more than that eh?
Fresh And Green Toilet Cleaner is available a supermarkets like Adsa, Budgen and Waitrose, as well as smaller stores like the Co-op and Robert Dyas. Prices vary, but expect to pay around £3.00. For more information you can check out the Fresh and Green website.
Water by Steven Solomon Book Review
February 3, 2010
Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization
Not having time to read it all I dipped in and out of it’s chapters and found it fascinating. With freshwater use growing twice as fast as population growth, water is rapidly going to replace oil as the world’s most valuable resource (if it hasn’t already) and there is going to be bigger battles between those who have access to it and those who do not.
Water famine could outstrip famine and religion as the cause of wars and the scenario played out in the book is pretty bleak indeed. Researched in great detail, Solomon shows enormous understanding of the issues and gives us the history of water’s role in shaping of the world as we know it today. Interspersed with maps and a set of photos, the understanding of the past is critical to understanding the present situation. Egyptian, Roman, Islamic and Chinese sea and water power are explained; the building of the great canals; “The Sanitary Awakening” that lead to a massive clean up of the way water was treated; and much more.
With humans requiring two to three quarts (~2 liters) of fresh water a day to stay alive, population projections for 2050 to be in excess of 9 billion, and only 2.5% of water on earth being freshwater, the challenges are enormous.
If you’re interested in the issues surrounding water in the 21st century and how the issues came to be, I don’t think there is another single book that encompasses all the issues in such great depth and detail.
You can buy it from Amazon for around $18.50. Now I just need to finish it!
