Today, I did a review on BJ's Discount Warehouse Club on Living Social. I bought my membership through them as I felt they offered a real good on it. You got a 1 year membership (which normally costs $50 though I have seen them offer them for $25) and a $25 gift card for $35.
This is the first time I've belonged to their club though I have bought stuff from them years ago (pickled pepperoncini peppers).
Living Social gave me 2 ratings to choose from: great and not great. To me, BJ's doesn't rate either. BJ's rate as ok, middle of the road. They have some very good products that apparently they only sell vice Costco and Sam's Club (which I also belong to) like Belle Sole Cooked and Marinated Asparagus (see my review on it) as well as Virgil's Root Beer Party Keg (see my review on it).
Membership price wise, BJ's seems on par with the other 2 clubs. Like the other 2 clubs, they offer an elevated membership where you get a 1 or 2 percent back reward though I suspect you'd have to buy a lot of stuff there to make that worth it (I don't).
Customer Service is pretty good too. I had to deal with them today to get my latest coupon booklet and, I was very pleased with how courteous they were.
One big downside in my book is they seem to be chintzy with their specials. You'll only be able to get one whereas you might be able to get 3, 4 or more at Costco or Sam's Club. Example: Both BJ's and Costco had Magnum Double Caramel Bars on special. BJ's allowed you to get one at their special price. Costco allowed you to get 3 or 4 (I forget the exact number). So, they don't wow me on this.
BJ's does offer free WiFi at their clubs though I've had a hard time connecting to it when I've tried to use it unlike Sam's Club which seems to work better. Costco doesn't offer WiFi at all for some reason (annoying that).
They sell terminal lottery tickets like Mega Millions and Powerball at one check out counter and have a scratch off ticket machine that sells various scratch lottery games. For some reason, neither Costco or Sam's Club sell any kind of lottery tickets. For me, this is a plus as I do like to play the scratch off games.
Overall, I've been pleased with BJ's but not wowed. I think they're ok and depending on which club is close by, they could be worth joining in your case. They are definitely cheaper than standard supermarkets (I found that out recently when I bought some Lloyd's Bar-b-que ribs at Giant). Keep an eye out for deals on their memberships and when you see one, try it for 1 year and see what you think. I think they do offer enough to make it worth being a member. I know I'll be renewing next year even though I'm not keen on belonging to THREE clubs. Jeez. Happy shopping all!
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Trader Joe's Sweet Tea Review
Today, I stopped by the Trader Joe's at 6610 Marie Curie Drive in Elkridge, Maryland (close to Columbia). I wanted to buy another 1 gallon jug of their Sweet Tea so, I could write this review.
According to Trader Joe's, the sweet black tea is kettle brewed (I don't know what difference that makes) and sweetened with cane sugar vice high fructose corn syrup. I do like that they use cane sugar with it. I'm not a fan of the corn syrup Coco-Cola uses in their soft drinks.
Price wise, it sells for $3.99 for a 1 gallon jug of the tea which seems a decent enough price to me though I couldn't tell you how that stacks up compared to other packaged sweet teas.
Taste wise, the tea isn't overly sweet. I think McDonald's sweet tea might be sweeter. This disappoints me a little as it is supposed to be SWEET tea.
Overall, I think Trader Joe's Sweet Tea is ok. It isn't outstanding and, it's terrible. It's more in the middle i.e. decent stuff. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy (though I did in this case solely so I could write this review) the stuff but, I wouldn't turn it down if a glass was offered to me. I'd recommend the same to you. It's decent sweet tea. Happy sipping all!
According to Trader Joe's, the sweet black tea is kettle brewed (I don't know what difference that makes) and sweetened with cane sugar vice high fructose corn syrup. I do like that they use cane sugar with it. I'm not a fan of the corn syrup Coco-Cola uses in their soft drinks.
Price wise, it sells for $3.99 for a 1 gallon jug of the tea which seems a decent enough price to me though I couldn't tell you how that stacks up compared to other packaged sweet teas.
Taste wise, the tea isn't overly sweet. I think McDonald's sweet tea might be sweeter. This disappoints me a little as it is supposed to be SWEET tea.
Overall, I think Trader Joe's Sweet Tea is ok. It isn't outstanding and, it's terrible. It's more in the middle i.e. decent stuff. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy (though I did in this case solely so I could write this review) the stuff but, I wouldn't turn it down if a glass was offered to me. I'd recommend the same to you. It's decent sweet tea. Happy sipping all!
Sunday, May 03, 2015
Trader Joe's Pomegranate White Tea Review
Another Trader Joe's tea I decided to try recently is their Pomegranate White Tea. The tea calls itself an "antioxidant powerhouse." It gets its antioxidants from the white tea part of the blend. At the same time, the white tea doesn't give a huge caffeine high. White tea in general is a very weak tea with a very faint flavor to it. In this case, the pomegranate extract Trader Joe's uses in the tea totally overpowers the white tea flavor though this isn't a bad thing. The pomegranate extract actually in my opinion gives it a better taste than if it were a straight white tea. As far as their antioxidant claim, I don't know how I could tell if that is true or not.
Price wise, the tea is very reasonable. A box of 20 tea bags costs $2.49 (this is the price I paid at their Elkridge, Maryland store).
The tea has 94% organic ingredients including organic white tea leaves, organic hibiscus flowers and organic lemongrass (Source: the box of the tea I bought) and is certified organic by the Quality Assurance International. The tea is made in Canada.
Trader Joe's recommends customers brew a bag of the tea for 4 to 5 minutes and sweeten if they so desire though I didn't feel it needed it.
Overall, I was pretty pleased with this tea. I like the pomegranate taste and appreciate the antioxidant benefits it gives drinking it. Also, I like the low caffeine levels. It's a tea worth checking out when you're visiting your local Trader Joe's store. Happy drinking all!
Price wise, the tea is very reasonable. A box of 20 tea bags costs $2.49 (this is the price I paid at their Elkridge, Maryland store).
The tea has 94% organic ingredients including organic white tea leaves, organic hibiscus flowers and organic lemongrass (Source: the box of the tea I bought) and is certified organic by the Quality Assurance International. The tea is made in Canada.
Trader Joe's recommends customers brew a bag of the tea for 4 to 5 minutes and sweeten if they so desire though I didn't feel it needed it.
Overall, I was pretty pleased with this tea. I like the pomegranate taste and appreciate the antioxidant benefits it gives drinking it. Also, I like the low caffeine levels. It's a tea worth checking out when you're visiting your local Trader Joe's store. Happy drinking all!
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