Amp Energy with Black Tea: Rebuild
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Well, it’s 92° in Cleveland right now and I need something to cool off. The most refreshing looking thing in the mini-fridge right now is Amp Energy: Rebuild, one of Amp’s energy drinks that’s been infused with black tea and a hint of lemon. Rebuild comes in a gold and brown oriental looking can, and has what appears to be a dragon on the front, in addition to the Amp logo. Additionally, the can boasts “intense hits of black tea and lemon.”
Let’s open this puppy up, it smells like, well, it smells like black tea, what else? Amp Rebuild also has a great taste. I was surprised that its carbonated, I assumed that the drink, being black tea based, wouldn’t be carbonated, but it is. This gives it an interesting taste. Rebuild also has a nice hint of lemon, as the can suggests, and it’s extremely smooth and refreshing. It also seems to have a slight hint of ginseng, and the ingredients confirm this.
Each 200 calorie can of Amp with Black Tea contains 180mg of caffeine, some Vitamin B, 296mg of taurine, 248mg of guarana, and 34mg of ginseng. Amp Rebuild delivers a nice boost of great tasting energy. It’s a great drink, and it’s perfect for a hot day like today!
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Ávitāe Energy Water
A lot of people consider water to be essential for life. Well, I consider caffeine to be an essential substance as well, so I’m set with Ávitāe energy water. That’s right folks, it’s just water and caffeine; no flavors, no additives (besides caffeine), just water (and caffeine). Each bottle of Ávitāe comes with half a liter of water and 45 mg of caffeine, which is about the same amount of caffeine in a soda. It’s a great concept really, it’s great for athletes, there’s no sugar to crash from, it won’t cause cramping, and it hydrates well too. It’s like the ultimate sports drink!
Ávitāe comes in a triangular, cylindrical shaped bottle and the bottle diffuses from gray to clear. The bottle displays the name of product and the world “vitality” appears in yellow over the “v”. It’s a really simplistic design, so there’s not that much to say about the bottle.
As for the actual product, Ávitāe tastes likes, well, it’s water. It has the kick of a cola, but doesn’t taste like anything, so it’s just water with a kick. Ávitāe is a really simple product, no gimmicks, no additives, just water with some caffeine. If you want to learn more about Ávitāe, you can head over to their site.
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Max Velocity
I picked this drink up a while back at Albertson’s, when I was on the west coast. I had never seen this drink before, and due to the price of $0.88, curiosity got the best of me, and I bought a few. Max Velocity is a generic energy drink produced exclusively by Albertson’s, and can’t be found anywhere else(many thanks to Blue Fielder for pointing out that Albertson’s distributes this to other chains). I have to admit I don’t know what to expect from this drink, as it looks a little bland.
The packaging features a Cheetah running and the can reads that it’s an Energy Drink with taurine enhanced with B vitamins; that sounds very generic. The can is a dark brownish red and is 8.45oz. Each can contains 120 calories, 33g of sugar, lots of Vitamin B, taurine, and caffeine. Upon opening the can, the smell and the caramel-color jogged my memory and I realized what this was – a “poor man’s Red Bull.” Max Velocity, like many generic energy drinks, smells and tastes just like Red Bull, only a little less strong tasting. To be quite honest, it’s not bad like I thought it would be, it goes down smooth and doesn’t have any bad aftertaste or anything else that would make me not like it. Additionally, the fact that it’s only 88 cents is great! You could buy 3 of these for the price of one Red Bull; this basically is Red Bull without the name. The can also has a quality promise on the back, and offers a refund if you don’t like the drink. I’m happy to say that I won’t be calling that number, as while a generic drink, Max Velocity is worth the 88 cents and may come in handy when you need a cheap boost of energy.
Unfortunately, the caffeine content isn’t listed on the can, but I’ve contacted Albertsons, and I should hear back from them soon!
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GURU Full On: Lemonade
GURU Full On is an “all-in-one energy drink and isotonic sport drink that will let you push it to the max while staying perfectly hydrated.” Think of it as a caffeinated Gatorade, only a lot better. Like the Green Tea variety, Full On comes in a bubbly looking, blue and green can, and is non-carbonated, making this beverage stand out from the rest. Currently Full On only comes in one flavor, lemonade. Before I sampled this drink, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew that it was marketed as a sports drink, and that it was non carbonated, so I knew I would in for something different. What I didn’t know was how it would taste, as the only hint I had was that it’s lemonade. With clues like that, the only thing I could conclude is that it wouldn’t be mango flavored.
Upon opening Full On: Lemonade, I instantly recognized the lemonade scent. Having it be that GURU Lemonade is USDA organic and all natural, it’s smell is exactly like that of organic lemonade: a strong lemon one that is not overpowered by artificial sweeteners and sugar. As a fan of organic lemonade, I realized that Full On would woo me with its fantastic smell and taste. If you’ve had organic lemonade before, you know exactly what Full On tastes like. If you haven’t, it’s like normal lemonade, but a little more bitter and lemony. Don’t think of bitter as being bad in this case, it’s not unpleasant; it’s just not overly sweet. The lack of fizzy in Full On makes for one smooth drink that’s great for any occasion, especially sports. It’s not too sweet like other sports drinks, it has salt (electrolytes) in it, and the lack of carbonation won’t upset your stomach while you wipe the field with your awesome skills, or whatever you’re doing at the time.
It’s an interesting concept, really. It’s just like organic lemonade, but it has 145mg of caffeine per 12oz can, guarana, panax ginseng, ginkgo biloba, and Echinacea flower extract; it’s everything a normal energy drink is without the additives and carbonation, which makes this a great drink.
If you want some for yourself, you can use GURU’s store locater, or you can buy it through their online store. If you use he latter of the two, be sure to treat yourself to a sweet 10% off and free shipping! Just use the coupon code: Caffeine_GURU10% at checkout.
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GURU Lite
GURU Lite, while not certified organic, is, like the others, 100% natural and made with sparkling water and cane juice. GURU Lite is based off of GURU Original, it’s not a juice or a tea; it’s a low carb, low calorie version of GURU. As such, Lite’s can looks similar to the original’s (as it has the same wavy image on the can) but instead of being red, Lite has a whiter, simpler color scheme to it. The packaging makes this drink appear purer and even kinder; while there are some energy drinks I would dread coming across in a dark alley, I wouldn’t mind seeing this one.
GURU Lite has a very similar aroma to GURU Energy’s. It has an interesting berry smell to it like the original’s, and while it’s good, it smells a little less sweet and you can tell that it’s a light version of the drink. The taste is a little blander than the original flavor, as GURU Lite doesn’t contain the white grape juice that its non-lite counterpart has. Lite, who’s taste is comparable to Sprite’s, has a hint of lemon in it, and possibly some luo han guo. Having it be that I have no idea what luo han guo tastes like, I can’t be sure; all I know is that GURU Lite contains luo han guo juice.
While the taste and packaging of Lite differ from the original, GURU Lite’s energy blend and caffeine content do not. This drink packs the same 145mg of caffeine per 12oz can that its more caloric cousin does. It also contains guarana, Echinacea, panax ginseng, and ginkgo biloba in a 1285mg/serving energy blend. Lite also only contains 10 calories and 2g carbs per serving, making this a very smart choice in beverages. While GURU Lite isn’t as sweet as the rest of the family, the fact that it can come with so few calories and sugars without tasting awful or cutting back on caffeine makes this drink a great choice for anyone looking for a healthier energy drink.
Guru Lite, like all of its counterparts, is available in stores and online. If you shop online, be sure to use coupon code: Caffeine_GURU10% for a hearty 10% off your purchase, in addition to free shipping!
GURU Natural Energy
GURU is “for the active mind and body that needs to perform.” This is the original GURU Energy drink, manufactured by GURU Beverage Co, that spawned multiple varieties and flavors due to its success. GURU Energy, like its kin, is 100% all natural and uses cane juice, as opposed to sucrose or high fructose corn syrup, as a sweetener. While it’s certified organic, it also claims its 91% organic. I never knew they assigned percentages to organic content, but either way GURU Energy is the only 100% natural energy drink out there.
The can it comes in is 12oz can and is recyclable, which parallels the organic and natural aspects of the drink. The design has the same vertical GURU logo as their other drinks and the color scheme reminds me of Van Halen’s Frankenstein Guitar. The can also includes a few certification labels, such as a certified organic logo. GURU Energy contains 97mg of naturally occurring caffeine per serving (about 145mg per can), which is better than most of its competitors, who only have around 10mg of caffeine per oz. Additionally, GURU Energy contains an energy blend of: guarana, panax ginseng, ginkgo biloba, Echinacea flower, and even a little salt for some electrolytes.
GURU Original has a fantastic aroma due to the white grape juice in it and it smells a lot like Mountain Dew Revolution (RIP my friend). It has a white grape taste to it with a hint of lemon, which complements the sparkling water (as opposed to the carbonated water other drinks use). It also tastes remarkably similar to MD Revolution, for those of you that were crushed by the fact that MD Revolution lost to Voltage. The sparkling water is a great idea, as it helps this drink stand out by making it more of an energized juice than a basic energy drink. The low carbonation also allows GURU to go down smooth and won’t upset your stomach if you drink it too fast. Overall, GURU Energy is a fantastic drink due to it’s flavor, organic traits, and low carbonation.
It’s the season for giving and GURU Beverages has been kind enough to offer Caffeine Guru readers 10% all online purchases at GURU Energy through the online coupon: Caffeine_GURU10% . Additionally, you can give a friend a free 12-pack of GURU when you buy something for yourself! More details here.
GURU Iced Tea: Green Tea Honey-Lemon
I just got my hands on a case of Guru energy, and before I OD on caffeine, I’d like to tell you all about GURU Energy. GURU is the first 100% Organic and Natural energy drink I’ve come across. While some other beverage companies, such as AriZona, claim that their products are natural, they still use high fructose corn syrup, which isn’t natural at all. GURU, on the other hand, utilizes cane sugar to sweeten their drinks, and all of the caffeine is naturally occurring from guarana seed extract, so now Hippies can join in on energy drink consumption too! Also, while I’m not affiliated with GURU Energy, I have to say they know how to name a company (kind of like CaffeineGURU, for those of you that didn’t catch that). Because GURU is natural, I won’t feel bad about downing several of these at a time, so expect more Guru products to appear here in the near future!
The first of one of their wonderful varieties is: GURU Iced Tea: Green Tea Honey-Lemon. Honey-Lemon comes in a green, bubbly looking can with a USDA certified organic label on the back. The drink itself has a light brown, honey color to it, and it smells just like iced tea with a hint of lemon and honey, as the name suggests. Because most tea smells the same, it was hard to determine whether or not this drink would impress me, or fall flat on its face like some of the organic teas on the market do. The result? This stuff’s great! GURU Iced Tea tastes great and goes down smooth, as it’s tea, not a carbonated beverage, and the added guarana gives it an extra kick. Each 12oz can comes with 145mg of caffeine, and 1927mg energy blend consisting of: guarana seed, Echinacea flower, panax ginseng, and ginkgo bilboa. This drink has set the bar pretty high for the rest of the GURU drinks, as I’m very happy with this one, and looking forward to the rest.
You can get GURU Energy products at their online store, and they’re kind enough to offer free shipping with every purchase. Additionally, GURU is offering CaffeineGuru readers 10% off their purchase! Just enter the coupon (valid through Feb. 2009): Caffeine_GURU10% at purchase! And for those of you that want to treat someone else to GURU, they have a promotion going on this December that allows you to send a friend a 12-pack of GURU for FREE with any purchase on their website.
24:7 Cherry Berry
24:7 Energy is one of the many available energy drinks on the markets and one of the many flavors is Cherry Berry. You can find 24:7 exclusively at Walgreens for about 3/5$, which is a little steeper price than it’s worth. Either way, no matter how high the price, I feel an obligation to society to try any product I cross paths with. Now that I’ve ranted about prices and societal obligations, let’s get to the actual drink. 24:7 Cherry Berry comes in a can similar to the other varieties; the can has a Matrix-like print style on the lower half, and a large digital 24:7 on the top half. This drink doesn’t live up to it’s name, as if it did provide 24/7 energy I would stop reviewing other drinks and invest all of my assets in PriLabs Inc (the manufacturer). However, if you constantly drink this you will stay up 24/7. Well at least until you stop drinking it, or die of an overdose of caffeine, whatever comes first!
Appropriately, this drink has a red color, but it’s a little lacking in the flavor. While 24:7 Cherry Berry does down smoothly due to its low carbonation, the taste is sour and kind of tastes like cough syrup. It’s not as nasty as cough syrup, it’s just the same cherry flavor, although the sourness makes this just as enjoyable of Kid’s Tylenol Cough Syrup (which isn’t good at all). The drink seems more like diluted cherry syrup than a carbonated energy beverage because it tastes artificial and unhealthy. Part of me thinks this may be a bad can, and it expired before the expiration date or something, and I may try it again in the future to confirm whether or not it’s this bad. Neither the site, nor the can, list the caffeine content, although I’ve read elsewhere that each can contains 160mg of caffeine. I think this may keep me up 24/7 after all as I might have nightmares from this.
Rubyy: Blood Orange Energy
Today we have a new energy drink, Rubyy. Rubyy is “the first ultra-premium luxury energy drink developed to appeal to sophisticated, stylish tastemakers.” I have to agree, as Rubyy comes in the most beautiful packaging I have ever seen and it blew me away as soon as I saw it! It comes in a 12oz aluminum bottle, and the front design glows under black lights (hopefully I can get a picture of this soon). The aluminum casing is 100% percent recyclable for all of you “green” people put there, so you can feel good about yourself, and caffeinated, at the same time. It’s the brainchild of Maurice Kanbar, founder of Skyy Vodka, and is making it’s way into the after hours club scene. Rubyy is becoming increasingly popular among celebrities and CEOs, as CEOs can feel secure taking Rubyy to a board meeting without looking like that dropped by a BP station to grab an energy drink.
Now that I’ve overloaded you with some background information, let’s get to the drink. Rubyy instantly gets off on a good foot with me because it’s resealable, and I love drinks with screw off caps. It has a light pink-orange hue to it, the color is very similar to that of a grapefruit. The first thing I noticed when I tried Rubyy was that it’s very lightly carbonated, and goes down smoothly. It has a light citrus orange aroma and taste, and it’s not too sweet either. The taste comes from its blend of blood oranges, tangerines and Valencia oranges, and the fact that it isn’t loaded with artificial flavors gives it a very calming and natural taste.
Now that we’ve covered Rubyy’s fantastic taste, it’s time to move on to the final (and most important) part – the caffeine content! Each 12oz serving of Rubyy contains a full amount of Vitamin B, 130 calories (a diet version is coming in 2009 as well) and 80mg of caffeine, not bad at all. Rubyy also contains guarana extracts and taurine to give it an added kick. I have to say that I’m both impressed and pleased with Rubyy. It has a great taste, low carbonation, good caffeine content, and breathtaking packaging. Currently it’s only available in Los Angeles, Miami and W Hotels across the US, and goes for about $3.49 a bottle. It’s worth the price though, and if you ever cross this fine specimen in the wild, I certainly suggest that you try it out. If you want to know more, check out Rubyy.com and you can buy Rubyy online here.
FRS Energy: Peach Mango
Today we’ll cover the fourth and final FRS Energy product. The last FRS product is the only one that’s an actual ready to drink energy drink, unlike the other ones. I have to say that the FRS product line is pretty repetitive, as they’re all the same product basically, but in different forms. The FRS Peach Energy has a very nice peach-mango scent, and it contains the same yellow-orange color as the FRS powder and syrup. Of the four products, I have to say this one is my favorite; not only do you not have to prepare it, but it’s the best tasting. The drink has a nice, although somewhat bland, peachy mango flavor to it. It’s not bitter in the least bit, and it doesn’t taste artificial or bitter as it contains mango puree and peach juice. This drink is great for people who need some energy without all of the sugar and artificial flavors of some energy drinks. The Peach Mango only has 25 calories, it’s non-carbonated, and contains the proprietary FRS vitamin blend. Additionally, it contains 48mg of caffeine and while it’s still a smaller amount than most energy products, its a good amount and is a step up from the other FRS products. Overall this drink is pretty good, it packs a nice bit of energy, tastes great and is pretty healthy.
