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Where To Buy
Red Panax Ginseng Extract
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I’ve had this case of Red Panax Ginseng for a while (back to when I got the Chinese RedBull and the Korean Ginseng Drink), and it’s about time I get around to writing a review of it. Ginseng is a common ingredient in many energy drinks due to belief that ginseng may help increase alertness, longevity, and overall health (some studies have shown it to help reduce risk of cancer and act as an anti-biotic). Regardless to whether or not this is completely true, ginseng is found in almost every energy drink on the market. While ginseng is a fruit bearing plant (little berries, not fruit like pineapples) the extract comes from the roots, and can be bought in liquid form, or the root as a whole. This ginseng isn’t nearly as bad as the last stuff I tried, and can be taken several ways.
1) Pure Extract: The case comes with a bunch of little straws, so you can just drink the ginseng straight from the bottles. If you use the straw, it only takes a second to finish a bottle. If you don’t use the straw, and pour it into your mouth, you’ll get the taste while you’re drinking it and it’s pretty strong and bitter. In my opinion, it’s better to get the aftertaste after you drink it, not while you’re drinking it.
2) Ginseng Tea: The sales person told me that the most popular way to drink ginseng was in tea form. You just heat a cup of water and pour the ginseng in the cup; it’s as simple of that. The tea has somewhat of a bitter, root-like, taste to it, but it actually was pretty good. The dilution gets rid of the strong taste and makes it milder, and at the same time more enjoyable.
3) In Coffee: If you don’t want to drink it plain, and don’t feel like boiling a pot of water, why not just add it to your coffee. The taste of coffee is able to mask most of the ginseng’s taste, so the coffee only tastes a little different. This works well as you get the caffeine and the ginseng (like in energy drinks) without having to shell out money for an energy drink.
Overall, this stuff isn’t half bad, and makes a pretty good tea. Also, the case (total of 300 mL of ginseng) only cost a few dollars, so it’s not pricey at all. I know it’s not caffeine, but it’s so common in energy drinks, and shares some properties of caffeine that it would seem almost wrong not to review Red Panax Ginseng!
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AriZona Rx Energy Herbal Tonic [Updated]
I love AriZona Beverage Co and everything they make, and their Rx Energy beverage is no exception. AriZona’s Rx Energy isn’t like other energy drinks though, because the Herbal Tonic doesn’t contain carbonated water (or any carbonation for that matter) or artificial ingredients. This drink is made of: Green Tea, Mango (which gives this drink an amazing flavor), Pear and Lemon Juice, and Honey, so there’s no nasty aftertaste or weird chemical tastes in it like those low end, generic, energy drinks have. After drinking this stuff, I felt the effects of it right away. I became more alert, and was no longer tired. I became disappointed when I ran out of it, because the mango taste is absolutely amazing, and the fact that I cannot drink anymore of this until I go buy more upsets me. What makes this drink so great and interesting is the fact that it contains AriZona’s premium brewed green tea, which is found in their other products, giving Rx Energy a very distinct taste. Rx Energy comes in a 24 oz can, or in a 20 oz glass bottle (picture here) for .99 or 1.99, respectively. Buying the can is a much better deal, but the bottle is great if you are out and need to put it aside for a bit, which I would never do because I can’t not (hooray for double negatives) drink it. Herbal Tonic also contains Caffeine, Panax Ginseng and Siberian Ginseng, and Guarana, giving it the properties of an energy drink, which is why it’s labeled as a Tea and Energy Drink. I don’t know how much caffeine is in this, but I emailed AriZona earlier asking for the answer, so I’ll update this when they reply. A 24oz can of AriZona Rx Energy Herbal Tonic contains 90mg of caffeine (30mg per 8oz), which isn’t as much as some drinks, so it’s perfect for people that can’t handle too much caffeine that still want an energy boost. Arizona Rx Energy Herbal Tonic is absolutely amazing, it’s cheap, great tasting, natural, and delivers a good kick. This drink is something that everyone should try.
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Mountain Dew: Voltage
Today we’ll cover the second of the three new limited edition flavors introduced to Mountain Dew. This second variety is called Voltage. Voltage, like SuperNova, also contains ginseng and the normal amount of caffeine in the other Mountain Dew beverages (36mg/8oz or 91mg/20oz). Voltage is tinted with a dark blue hue and is Raspberry and Citrus flavored (why are products always blue when they are flavored raspberry? Raspberries are RED not blue) and upon opening the bottle, I could already tell by the scent that I would like it. Unlike some sodas, whose scent and taste are on the weak side, Voltage has a powerful taste (almost as much as SuperNovas) and it tastes just like a Blue Raspberry ICEE (which don’t have caffeine by the way). If you don’t know what that tastes like, you need to go buy one, because there’s no better way to explain Mountain Dew Voltage. Being the lover of Blue Raspberry ICEEs that I am, I like Mountain Dew Voltage very much, and because it has caffeine It’s superior to ICEEs in every way. I would go and vote on this flavor (remember, you can vote to decide which of the 3 flavors gets permanently added to the lineup), but I still have one more flavor to try which, according to DEWmocracy, is the underdog in this race.
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AriZona Lite Green Tea Lemonade
It seems like AriZona Beverages is constantly adding new products to their lineup. This happens to be the case with AriZona’s new Lite Green Tea Lemonade, and according to the information on their site, there is an Arnold Palmer variation (much like the Arnold Palmer 1/2 Iced Tea 1/2 Lemonade Product) so it seems that AriZona may have replaced the Iced Tea Lemonade with Green Tea Lemonade. Nevertheless I am quite pleased with this product as even with only 22.5mg of caffeine what it lacks in caffeine it makes up in taste. The taste does seem to lean more towards iced tea then it does towards green tea, although this may be due to the lemonade in it. An easy way to sum up the taste of this product would be to compare it to Lipton Brisk or Nestea, basically it is just a lemony iced tea. Even though this product lacks originality, the fact that it contains 1/3 the calories (and it does contain less sugar) in addition to its low cost of 99¬¢ for 24oz. will appeal to many people. So if you are looking for a healthier, more natural (AriZona does not use preservatives and uses all natural flavoring unlike its competitors) and certainly cheaper alternative to Brisk and Nestea, AriZona Lite Green Tea Lemonade will hit the spot.
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