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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FRS Powdered Drink Mix
Next in the lineup of the FRS Products is the diet orange powdered drink mix. The FRS trial comes with a box of 14 individual packets of the mix, and each packet makes one serving. Each packet of drink mix contains 35mg of caffeine, and they suggest you take 1-2 servings of the drink 30-60 minutes before your workout. While not high in caffeine content, the moderate dosage will help in aerobic activities like running if taken during the recommended time before. The box suggests you mix one packet with 8oz of water, but I normally just pour a packet in a water bottle and shake it up. The powder itself doesn’t smell that great, it has an orange-yellow color similar to the chews, and it looks a lot like Sunny-D. Once the powder’s been mixed in the water, it doesn’t smell as bad. As for the taste, it’s quite good; especially for a sugar free drink. Like the packaging suggests, it’s orange flavored, and while it’s a tad bitter, it tastes a lot like Sunny-D too. As with any health/energy drink, the FRS diet orange drink mix comes with your favorite vitamins, such as Vitamins A, C, E, B6, and B12. It also comes with 250mg of the anti-oxidant Quercetin. Overall, I’d say the FRS Drink Mix is worth it, it gives a sufficient boost for strenuous activities, and for free, it’s certainly worth a try!
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.
Wired X3000: Mango Passion Fruit
Well, I got this drink on the West Coast and have never seen this in my area; the can is bright yellow and has red stripes stretching vertically along the can. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this drink, because I wasn’t sure if it was a generic drink or not as I’ve never come across it (it isn’t by the way, it’s a brand name drink) but I was pleasantly surprised by it. When I first cracked the can open, a familiar aroma over came me, this drink smells just like NOS, and so far, this drink is already doing quite well in my opinion. Wired X3000: Mango Passion Fruit also tastes a bit like NOS, a very fruity and smooth taste. The taste is a little weaker than NOS, but still very good. The color is a light yellow-orange, and the drink isn’t overly carbonated, but isn’t flat either. Another aspect of this drink that certainly isn’t flat is the kick; this drink contains a whopping 3000mg of Taurine, 188mg of Caffeine, 100mg of Inositol and lots of Vitamin B, putting this drink ahead of most of it’s competitors in caffeine content. The kick stayed with me throughout the day and I didn’t crash from it. It is only available in a 16oz can, and the price was a little less than $2.00, making this drink one of the best deals I’ve come across to date.
Stewie’s Mind Elixir
Okay, this is the last novelty drink for now, I promise. Today we have Stewie’s Mind Elixir, an energy drink that’s based off of FOX’s Family Guy. The can shows Stewie Griffin rubbing his hands maniacally and it reads “Victory Shall Be Mine!” Like the last two novelty drinks from Xoxide, Stewie’s Mind Elixir is geared more toward fans (in this case, Family Guy fans) as it carries the pricey cost of 2.99 for an 8oz can. After opening the can, I noticed that Elixir smells a lot like Red Bull, only a little less strong. As for the actual taste of this drink, it’s fairly hard to describe, because it doesn’t really seem to have a taste. Stewie’s Mind Elixir does have an after taste though, it tastes a fair amount like Red Bull, only a tad more sour with a hint of raspberry. I’d say that this drink’s overall taste is best described as being ’slightly sour’ raspberry I guess. The kick’s not bad, with 120mg of caffeine, you can’t go wrong, but it’s still too pricey for me. The can also reads “Stupefaction Guaranteed”, probably because they’d loose a lot of money if it read “Satisfaction Guaranteed”. While I’m sure plenty of people will buy this because of it’s affiliation to Family Guy, I wouldn’t recommend buying more than one because of an unoriginal taste and high price, as tempting as it may be.
Duff Energy Drink
Doh! Introducing Duff Energy Drink, that’s right, it’s the same Duff from the Simpsons (only this is the Energy Drink version of it, not the Beer in the show). This is the second novelty drink I’ve had and I was worried it would taste just like Power Up! (they are both made by Boston American Corp and available from Xoxide). Luckily, Duff is it’s own drink, not a generic formula with a different label. Duff looks just like the Duff in Groenig’s the Simpsons and carries both Groenig’s signature and the Simpsons logo. This clever energy drink version of Homer’s favorite beverage has an orange citrus taste to it; it smells and tastes a lot like Orange Crush. When I had this drink, it didn’t seem to be thy carbonated. However, one I had finished it, I couldn’t stop burping. Once it gets in your stomach, it seems to stet bubbling and you can’t control the burping! I’m not sure if this is intentional – Homer always burps after having Duff, maybe they do this to make it more similar to the show – or not. Duff Energy contains 120mg of caffeine (the can is 12fl oz) and isn’t any worse than the kick of name brand drinks. Duff energy tastes great, but it’s a little too carbonated for me to drink on a day to day basis, and while the 2.99 price may be worth it for Simpsons fans, it’s a little too pricey for me.
Power Up!
Mamma Mia! As if it isn’t enough to appear in 200+ video games, Mario now has his own energy drink! Power Up! (produced by Boston America Corp) comes in a blue can with a picture of Mario and a mushroom. Power Up! is clear and smells like raspberry with a hint of a Red Bull like scent (kind of like Sweet Tarts) to it. Power Up has a fairly tart taste to it, a bit of a sour (like Nerd) raspberry taste, again with a hint of a Red Bull like taste. Power Up! costs 2.99, so it’s more of a novelty drink than a mass marketed drink, maybe something to appeal to the young gamers, but ironically the can reads, “not intended for children”. Mario’s new drink also seems a little more carbonated than other drinks, but it goes down smooth without any problems. The kick is pretty good as well, with 120mg of caffeine per can (8.4 fl oz.) this drink gets you going and you’ll be stomping Koopa Troopas and Goombas in no time! To sum things up, Power Up! is a small drink that comes with a big boost of energy. It has an interesting taste, and is a fun idea (and I expect a Luigi drink in the near future Boston America Corp). However, for 2.99 for an 8oz can, I won’t be buying too many of these in the near future.
Nerd Energy Drink
Nerd. It used to be a term to describe that one kid in high school that now makes millions from computer software, and then it became a term to describe the kid that always got pummeled by dodge balls in gym class. Now it’s an energy drink. Nerd is one of the energy drinks I received in my latest product shipment and I’m really glad I got it. Nerd Energy has a light lime green color (like Mountain Dew, but much lighter) and smells a lot like the Orange flavor of Hi-C. It also has an interesting flavor, it’s a citrus blend, and has a lemon-lime twist and a slight amount of bitterness/tartness. Nerd is not unpleasantly tart; it’s just the right amount to make the flavor interesting and good tasting. The concept of this drink is just as interesting as the flavor, Nerd energy drink aims to “Increase mental alertness, acuity and focus by increasing oxygenation and blood flow to the brain…maintain proper mental focus, memory function… and mental clarity”. Nerd energy delivers the same ingredients as it’s competitors, but in addition, contains Vinpocetine, Huperzine A, DMAE, and Ginkgo Biloba to help with memory. A medical student and an engineer researched other dinks combined the best ingredients from them to create Nerd back in the summer of 2006. Nerd delivers a good kick like other energy drinks, and does increase focus and alertness. This great drink contains 165 calories, 1500mg of taurine, 120mg of caffeine, and the memory retention ingredients, adding up to an Energy Blend of 2.64g. I was really surprised by how great Nerd is, and I’m going to get more soon! Unfortunately, Nerd is hard to come buy in most states, so you may need to check out NerdEnergy.com (currently offering free shipping 24-12oz cans for 48.00) or Xoxide Caffeine. Overall, Nerd is one of the all around best drinks I have come across, and I highly recommend this.
Snickers Charged
I like Snickers and I love caffeine, so as you can imagine, I nearly wet myself with excitement when I learned I could get Snickers and caffeine together. Snickers Charged only cost me .79 and comes in a light gray wrapper with a rhinoceros on the front. The wrapper says limited edition, but I’m not sure if that means the product as a whole is limited, or just the wrapper is, but I’m leaning toward the thought that the product is limited. Snickers Charged is slightly smaller than a normal Snickers bar, and has 250 calories (normal sized bars have 280). It also contains 60mg of caffeine and 250mg of taurine per bar, and I was also glad that this limited edition Snickers tastes just like the normal bar and consists of the caramel, peanut, chocolate, and nougat that snickers has always had. The kick isn’t bad either, even though 60mg of caffeine isn’t that high compared to what other products have, it’s decent for a small candy bar, and very decent for less than 80 cents. The kick hit me after I finished most of the bar, and while it’s not a huge rush of energy, it’s enough to be noticeable and beneficial. Unfortunately, there’s bound to be a bit of a crash as Snickers is packed with sugar, but for the short term, Snickers Charged will deliver a kick. I found Snickers Charged at my local CVS, back in the drink section; so if you don’t find it at first, keep looking. I’d definitely recommend trying out Snickers Charged, it’s cheap, tasty, and gets the job done.
