Hillside Self-Heating Beverages

Reviewed by Andrea Steffy
January 26, 2007

Manufacturer: OnTech Website: Click Here Review Rating: 6 out of 10

Hillside Self-Heating Chai Tea and French Vanilla Latte. Photos by Andrea Steffy. Click image to enlarge.

With an assortment of flavors to choose from, this self-heating innovation is sure to find its way into your hectic fast-paced life. Americans are consumers, and most of all they want things to be convenient. This is exactly why Wolfgang Puck created this exothermic beverage.

The array of choices you can choose from are: Chai Tea Latte, Double Shot Latte, Hazelnut Latte, Mocha Latte, French Vanilla Latte, Hot Chocolate, Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow, and Green Tea Latte.  I was feeling adventurous and being a fan of tea, I had to try the Chai Tea.

The concept is fairly simple. Take the can, pull the bottom cover off, force the raised center down to cause the water and quicklime to flow in the central cylinder to heat the surrounding beverage you have chosen. Then you wait five to eight minutes for the heat sensitive notification area to change from pink to white.  Turn the can over, turn the top.  It's simple enough preparation, you never have to touch the liquid. No fuss, no muss.

The temperature of the can wasn't scalding hot, a plus in my book, but it was definitely warm.  The flavor was mild, I had hoped it would be a bit sweeter, and taste a bit more like the Chai that I am used to. The quantity that the container holds is a bit deceiving. The dimensions are almost like an illusion. You think you’re getting a pint of tea or coffee, when in reality you’re actually getting 9.5 ounces. A typical small cup of coffee is about 12 ounces.

The price may be daunting to some, but I think it is pretty comparable to buying a cup of swill from your local coffee kiosk. Some interesting facts I learned in the whole experience: quicklime is calcium oxide and the addition of water causes a heat producing reaction. The result is slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) also known as a component of mortar in cement.

It's a fun experience, and I think it would make a difference on a cold brisk morning, especially when you’re in a hurry, or there's not a place for you to get something to melt away the frigid chill from your bones.

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