Tag Archives: Fred Meyer bottled water

The Fun Of Taste Tests

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Back in the 1980s, Pepsi gained the upper hand over Coke in the Cola Wars by staging public taste tests. Called the Pepsi Challenge, the beverage company would set up blind taste stations in public places and allow consumers to sample the rival colas and determine their favorite. Pepsi was preferred.

Because of that experiment, the concept of a taste test became mainstream and people realized that you didn’t need to be a billion-dollar company to conduct them. Even relatively normal people like yours truly could do them…and do them I did.

Over the past 10 years, I have staged/taken part in numerous taste tests. The reasons to do them are plentiful: they are educational, fun, and make really good blog content. For a family looking to do something on a rainy day or seeking to test assumptions, a taste test is a wonderful activity.

I wanted to highlight five taste tests I have been involved with over the years…

Jalapeno Chips – In 2019, my brother and sister-in-law helped me pull off a taste test for my favorite type of chip—the jalapeno variety! I sampled three different brands of chips as it was interesting to compare thickness and spiciness. I definitely sweated it out through the competition and in the end Tim’s Cascade (which I consider the all-time best potato chip of any flavor) came out the victor.

Sitting down to take the jalapeno chip taste test!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream – This was a really fun taste test with surprising results. I “let” Sidney try five different cookie dough ice creams in 2016. Although the creaminess of the ice cream proved to be a major factor, the frequency and size of the cookie dough pieces was a fun thing to track. Against all odds, the Great Value ice cream topped giants such as Ben & Jerry’s and Blue Bunny as the favorite.

This is the lineup of different cookie dough ice creams I used for the taste test.

Lemon Lime Sodas – When Starry was introduced as Pepsi’s lemon lime soda replacement (bye bye Sierra Mist), we knew we had to try it. However, we wanted to sample it in the context of other lemon lime giants. Sidney and Sloan took the reins as supreme taste testers as they sampled Starry, 7Up, and Sprite. The winner? Split decision! Sid preferred 7UP while Sloan opted for Starry. In addition to the blog post I wrote, you can also watch this video that I created of the contest.

Sloan received the opportunity of a 5-year-old’s lifetime when I told her she would get to sample three lemon lime sodas.

Bottled Water – Staying on the topic of beverages, I even participated in a bottled water taste test. Orchestrated by my sister-in-law, she challenged my palette to see if the bottled water brand I preferred (Fred Meyer) actually topped other competitors. News flash: It didn’t! If you think all bottled water tastes the same, you really need to read this blog post.

I didn’t know the taste of Fred Meyer water like I thought I did.

Knockoff Vs. Generic – The taste test of all taste tests was actually the first one I ever did for Don’t Blink. Back in 2015, I had Sidney blind taste test five premium products against generic counterparts. I had Sidney try Cheetos vs. Cheez Doodles, Cheez-Its vs. Tangy Cheddar Squares, Pop-Tarts vs. Toast’em Pop-Ups, Fruity Pebbles vs. Fruity Dyno-Bites, and Kraft Mac & Cheese vs. Greenbrier Mac & Cheese. Guess what? The premium brand was graded higher by Sid every time. But even though I spoiled the outcome you still need to read the blog post because it was pretty epic!

On this table are the products I purchased for the Premium vs. Knockoff Showdown!

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So friends, what taste test are you going to do? If you are looking for a family-friendly activity this weekend I encourage you to try one out. And if you do, PLEASE tell me about it. Most people hate tests, but a taste test is something everyone can enjoy 😉. Don’t Blink.

Bottled Water Delusion

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When we travel to Spokane to visit my family, my mom always asks me for a list of food/drink and personal care items she can purchase before we arrive. Her goal is to make us feel at home and, of course, spoil us.

Aside from the ice cream, jalapeno chips, Costco muffins, cheese tray, Oreo cookies, Papa Murphy’s pizza, Blue Moon, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch requests, I also ask for a case of bottled water. However, I always specify that the bottled water should be of the Fred Meyer brand. My mom, who thinks I make the request solely to be annoying, goes out of her way not to accommodate it. Even though she does her shopping at Fred Meyer for 80% of the items listed above, she doesn’t buy Fred Meyer water.

About seven years ago, I started to prefer Fred Meyer bottled water. When I would return home for the holidays, that was the brand my mom had in the refrigerator. I grew to like this particular bottled water because the spout/cap size of your typical 16.9 ounce container was a tad larger than your typical bottled water spout, inspiring me to call Fred Meyer bottles of water “big mouths.” The green labeling was also aesthetically pleasing to my eye.

Over six years ago, I documented my love of Fred Meyer bottled water on Instagram.

Up to that point, I didn’t really have a favorite bottled water preference. But after my introduction to Freddy’s water, my attitude changed. Since I haven’t lived in a city with a Fred Meyer location since I graduated high school, the only time I would get to enjoy a “big mouth” was when I returned to Spokane.

However, over the years, something happened to my favorite bottled water. Although the green labeling is still as green as ever, the wide spout size is no longer a thing. A bottle of Fred Meyer water is the exact same size dimension-wise as a Great Value 16.9 ounce bottle or a Kirkland 16.9 ounce bottle.

Knowing that my main reason for preferring Fred Meyer water was no longer valid and that my secondary reason wasn’t particularly convincing (green isn’t even my favorite color), I started to champion a different reason:

It just tasted better!

Of course everyone in my family called BS and it likely motivated my mom even more to start buying Kirkland water. But I held firm to my claim that Fred Meyer water tasted better. Did I actually believe it? To a very small, psychological degree – yes.

For the past half of a decade, after the spout size no longer mattered, I lobbied my mom to buy the Fred Meyer water based on my opinion that the water simply tasted better. The more I told her that I needed it, the more she told me NO.

Well, I was finally put to task. Sidney and my brother’s girlfriend basically said “enough is enough” and made me prove my claim that Fred Meyer water is in fact better than bottled water competitors. The last night we were in Spokane during the holidays, they organized a taste test for me!

Controlling for all variables, they provided me with six plastic cups. Two cups contained Fred Meyer water, two contained Kirkland water, and two contained tap water. In front of my whole family, they had me taste the water samples and identify the Fred Meyer H20. It was time for me to put up or shut up!

My bottled water preference was put to the test!

I bombed the test.

I identified one Fred Meyer sample as tap water and the other as Kirkland water. I identified one tap water sample as Fred Meyer water and the other as Kirkland water. Sure enough, I identified one Kirkland sample as tap and the other as Fred Meyer. I could not have performed worst.

I didn’t know the taste of Fred Meyer water like I thought I did.

I was a little embarrassed and, rightfully so, I received some good-natured teasing from my family. I have final admitted that Fred Meyer water isn’t all I cracked it up to be. Does that mean I will stop bothering my mom to buy a case when we travel to Spokane?

All of my guesses were wrong!

Absolutely not 

Don’t Blink.