May 2015 Product Reviews

thumbsUp!
High Class Cuppa
thumbsupuk.com
Attached to the craft-cocktailing craze seems to be a preference for vintage and “classy” in décor and accoutrements. It follows, then, that as this trend subsumes other types of beverages, teacups should thus revert from any dressed-down, earthy, hippy-dippy guises and reassume the poise of stiff-upper-lipped high society. ThumbsUp! offers an elegant, long-necked teacup with the High Class Cuppa. It holds 170 mls., and its description on the back of the box asserts that it’s made of “high quality ceramic.” Mostly, it’s a cup that interacts with the wordplay of its namesake, which underscores the fancy comportment with which one may drink from it. The cup holds its handle very much akimbo, and the side-winding grooves recall faux seashells. The package includes a fairly wide saucer. If one removes the tea and saucer and replaces it with cognac (which is similar in color to a rooibos tea), they may repurpose their pomp and circumstance. It’s made in China, and Amazon lists it for $27.83, but if your tea-drinking (or on-the-sly-cognacdrinking) swagger requires the novelty, why not? The High Class Cuppa will make your shoes look incredible. –Honk Carnie

thumbsUp!
Touch Mini Boombox
thumbsupuk.com
ThumbsUp! has taken a different approach to wireless speakers: The TouchMini Boombox simply amplifies your phone’s speaker output. Not only is this tiny, portable speaker louder than anything of its size on the market, it is quite possibly the easiest to use. There is no need let the word Bluetooth enter your mind—simply power it up, slide your phone into the slot and enjoy your tunes. Of course, there is a wired option, but you will be hard-pressed to find a use for it— it also doesn’t come with an audio cord. I quickly found how useful its simplistic design was when it was her night to choose the music and we had no time for Bluetooth pairing. Within seconds, our evening soundtrack was bumping and drowning everything else out. With a 10-hour playback time per charge, we were able to get two days’ worth of slow jams before it died. I can also see myself bringing this along with me for summertime beers in the park with the homies— hell, it is smaller than a cold brew. The only annoying thing about its design is that sometimes you need to position your phone or tablet just right to get the best output, but even that is a fast fix. Gear up for summer and score one online for under $30. –Granato

Two Tumbleweeds
Foodie Dice
foodiedice.com
Are you looking to shake things up in the kitchen? Foodie Dice are the answer. Raising $156,000 on Kickstarter, two sisters from Sonoma County developed and marketed Foodie Dice—the minimalist’s answer to a library of cookbooks. The kit contains five primary dice and ones with seasonal veggies. Shake up the dice, drop them and get cooking—there are over 180,000 possible combinations. They are even vegan and vegetarian friendly; each protein die has both meat and vegetarian options, so everyone can play (and eat!). The dice: grill / beef or tempeh / rice / corn / cilantro / onions. The meal: Grilled marinated tempeh with a zesty Southwestern rice salad. Delicious! An ideal gift for foodie friends, newlyweds and the perfect kitchen accessory, Foodie Dice are made in the USA. –Amanda Rock