bHIP Energy Mix
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A lot of companies seem to be marketing energy drink mixes online now, and we’ve got our hands on bHIP energy. bHIP markets itself as a “New Breed of Energy,” and comes in individual 9.3-gram packets. The whole idea behind the packets is to allow for a more convenient, more portable energy drink that just requires some water. The company also tries to make the drink a social thing, and allows people to market the drink and to sell it themselves online. (We don’t sell any though, we just review, and we don’t entangle our reviews with profit) The directions say to mix one packet with 8oz of water, and we followed directions accordingly.
When you first open bHIP, you notice the dark red/brown powder. The powder itself doesn’t look all that enticing, but the powder smells a bit like fruit punch Kool-Aid, hopefully this stuff will have the same taste. After pouring this stuff into 8oz of water, I stirred the concoction up, let it settle and then put my taste buds to work. This drink mix still has a hint of the fruity smell from earlier, but it’s not as strong after being mixed with the water. This stuff also turns into a dark red concoction after being mixed, but I need to stop boring you all with details, it’s time to try t already! This stuff has a tiny hint of a fruit taste in it, but is also pretty bitter, and doesn’t taste as good as it smelled. In addition, some of the powder granules won’t dissolve, which leaves a bit of a grainy texture to this drink, and makes the last few sips really overpowering.
As for the nutrients and such, bHIP contains 24 calories per bag, 2g sugar, 30mg Vitamin C, 120mcg of Vitamin B12, and a 3000mg energy blend. bHIP is marketed as a natural energy supplement, and contains Acai berry and stevia leaf. The fact that it contains few calories and sugar helps boost this drink ratings, and it comes across as a similar drink to FRS.
Overall, it’s tough to say what I think of this stuff, its taste isn’t the best, but some people prefer a more natural tasting drink, it’s really all preference. We obtained this stuff from the bHIP Global website, where you can get 30 packets for $42 if you’re interested.
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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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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.
Redline Ultimate Energy and Power Rush
Today we have a double review. Redline Energy is a drink that comes in an 8oz bottle and a 2.5oz energy shot. Both of the bottles are berry flavored and come in a blue bottle with a screw on cap.
Starting with the energy shot, this variant of Redline comes in the 2.5oz bottle and contains 350mg of caffeine per bottle, which is quite a lot! The bottle suggests only 1/2, or 1/4 at a time, as to avoid over stimulation. Because I’m checking out two drinks today, I think I’ll follow their advice. The Redline Energy shot smells fruity and ‘exotic’ just as the bottle advertises. The taste is pretty good at first, but after a few seconds, it becomes extremely sour, as there’s no sugar in this. The bitterness will go straight for your cheeks and cause a soft of an involuntary puckering. While the taste leaves a bit to be desired, the kick is worth the flavor. Redline Power Rush! also contains 2083% of your daily B12 (per serving, so double that if you have the whole thing). The nice thing about the Power Rush! is that there’s no sugar so there’s no crash after the energy boost.
Moving on to the Redline Triple Berry Ultimate Energy Rush (that’s quite a mouthful). After I opened this, I realized it smells just like the Power Rush!, but smells sweeter. Lo and behold, this drink is a lot less bitter than the other power shot. While this one is sweeter, and less bitter, there is still a small hint of bitterness that will make you pucker just a little. Once again however, there is a trade off; the Triple Berry Redline contains only 250mg of caffeine per bottle, 100mg less than the power shot, even though the Triple berry is 3x the size. The kick of Redline Energy Rush is still good though, as 250mg is still a hefty amount of caffeine.
Both of these products are worth it, while I don’t like the bitterness them, there’s not much else that can be done with their low sugar content and high concentration of caffeine. Both are worth it though if you need a quick boost during the day.
Buzz Bites: Chocolate Energy Chews
The folks at Vroom Foods were kind enough to send a sample of two of their products, Buzz Bites, for review (just a side note, that I don’t bias reviews even if the supplier provides the product). Buzz Bites are caffeinated, chocolaty, candy chews that pack a whopping 100mg of caffeine, some taurine, and some ginseng per piece. Each tin contains 6 chews (only 25 calories a chew for anyone out there watching their figure), and costs around 4.00, or less, depending on how many you buy. This makes each chew average to a little over 50¢ a chew, which is a steal considering the chews contain more caffeine than some energy drinks and as much as a cup of coffee. So while 50¢ may be a lot for a plain old piece of candy, it’s worth paying for 100mg of caffeine instead of paying 2.29 for a less caffeinated Red Bull, or 2.00 for a cup of coffee. Buzz Bites come in two flavors: Chocolate, and Mint Chocolate. The chocolate ones taste like chocolate and have an ever so slight hint of bitterness after you chew it, which is to be expected considering the amount of caffeine in each mint. The mint chocolate ones, in my opinion, are better than the plain chocolate ones. They pack the same kick as the chocolate ones and are the same in every way, except for the flavor. They taste a lot like those Andes Mints, and they don’t have any bitterness, as the mint masks it. While I do prefer the mint ones, I really enjoyed both of these products a lot! The chews melt in your mouth and you feel the kick right away, faster than the kick from a cup of coffee. The chews are individually wrapped and easy to open, making Buzz Bites a great product to keep handy for when you need a quick boost. Finally, Buzz Bites didn’t give me a crash, making this product one of the best I’ve come across. You can get these Buzz Mints here, and they are becoming more available as they increase distribution.
Red Panax Ginseng Extract
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!
