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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Loud Truck Energy Gummies
Well, what do we have here? The generous folks at Chemical Evolution sent us some awesome products to review, and, well, we plan to review them! The products in the limelight today are Loud Truck Gummies; two different flavors of caffeinated, fruity, gummies!
The first of the two varieties are the citrus blast gummies. The bag is white and orange, features a green dragon, and boasts both no-crash energy and U.S.A pride. Each bag of the citrus blast gummies comes with 9 (the bag claims 9, but I lucked out and got 10!) energy packed gummi bears. Yep, that’s right, they’re gummi bears! One bag contains 32mg of caffeine, 36mg of taurine, 220mg of Vitamin C, and 60 calories. For a pack of 9 (or 10) gummi bears, that’s not bad! Upon opening the bag, there’s a great orangey, citrusy smell. As for the taste, the gummies have a great taste, there’s a hint of orange – they’re not overly powered, and they’re not bitter either. I like these a lot, and for 99 cents, it’s not a bad deal either.
The second bag contains the red blast variety, the stronger, cherry flavored variety of the two. This variety boasts twice the kick – 64mg of caffeine, 72mg of taurine, and 450mg of Vitamin C. The great part is that these are only 99 cents as well, twice the kick for the same price. These are just as good as the other variety, they have a mild cherry taste, and a great cherry aroma as well.
This is a great product, they’re caffeinated gummi bears, what’s not to love? If you want to try them out you can get the citrus blast ones here, or the red blast 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.
Maxxed Energy Pop
I came across this oddity the other day at a gas station when I was out of town. Being it the first energized lollipop I’ve seen, and being the sucker I am (haha), I couldn’t resist buying it (or making that terrible sucker pun). Maxxed Energy Pops are an “alternative energy source” for anyone that wants convenient energy on the go. Each pop comes in a small cardboard Pringles can type tube with a tabbed top for easy opening. The suckers, manufactured by Charms, LLC, are larger than your average Blow Pop and contain 40mg of caffeine. Maxxed also contains taurine, guarana, panax ginseng, and vitamin B12, putting it at the same level as many other energy products.
Maxxed Energy Pops are colored bright, neon green and come individually wrapped in gold foil. They are a little bitter from the high concentration of caffeine and the lemon-lime flavoring. If you don’t mind the slight sourness of the pop, then you’re good to go. If, on the other hand, you cringe at the thought of anything remotely sour, then I’d move on to something else if I were you. The site claims that Maxxed Pops are “50% larger” than ordinary lollipops, and they’re right in their statement. This thing takes quite a while to finish (without biting it of course) and as I write this, I still haven’t finished it. The point of this product is to provide energy, and I do feel a little more wired since starting this, and the fact that you don’t get all the caffeine at once helps provide a consistent source of caffeine. If you want to check this out for yourself you can go over to the Maxxed Website, but as of right now the site’s a little outdated and glitchy.
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.
Rip It Energy Fuel: Power
I have to admit, as a 99¢ drink, I didn’t expect much from Rip It. However, the drink pleasantly surprised me all together. Rip It Energy Fuel is an energy drink by National Beverage Co, and can apparently be found at Wal-Mart, but I got it at Xoxide (it cost 1.09, but the 10¢ extra was worth it to not have to go out and look for it) and has a light greenish yellow color. Rip It has a strawberry taste to it, but the taste can best be described as ‘artificial’. You can tell Rip It uses HFCS because the strawberry flavoring is a little too sweet, and leaves a fairly nasty after taste. Other than that, this drink exceeded my original expectations! A 16 oz can of Rip It Energy delivers 180mg of caffeine, 2000mg of taurine and 20mg of guarana. While the energy blend as a whole is a little lacking in variety, 180mg of caffeine puts this drink ahead of your average energy drink caffeine wise. Rip It’s carbonation is also pretty nice, it’s not too carbonated, and it’s not flat, it’s the sweet spot right in between the two. The energy was surprising, while the ingredients show it’s not much more than a caffeine injected generic soda, the energy boost was actually pretty good, long lasting and more gradual than sudden. While Rip It energy is a little lacking in taste and ingredients, if you need a quick boost and only have a dollar, Rip It Energy is worth the 99¢.
AMP Energy: Elevate
Mountain Dew has a brand of energy drinks called AMP Energy, and one of their varieties, Elevate, gets the spotlight today. AMP Energy Elevate promises to help you keep focused, connected and alert, in addition to make your reflexes more sharp. When I first opened Elevate, a familiar aroma over came me. AMP Energy Elevate smells just like Mountain Dew Revolution! So for those of you upset by the fact that Revolution is only going to last a short time, you can just get AMP Elevate. While AMP Elevate does taste a lot like Mountain Dew Revolution, it seems to taste a little more artificial, there seems to be a hint of a chemical taste (possibly the L-Theanine?), not bad, but noticeable. There’s not much of an after taste either, so you can only get the flavor while drinking AMP. This drink is a dark purple in color, the color being very similar to SuperNova. AMP Elevate has a nice kick though, 160mg of caffeine per bottle (10 mg caffeine per fl oz.) so it’s the average amount found in most energy drinks. AMP Elevate also contains Guarana, Taurine, Ginseng and, in addition, L-Theanine (has been shown to help boost T-Cells in immune system) in it. Overall, AMP Elevate delivers the benefits it promises, but the taste is mediocre, so it doesn’t stand out. As only one flavor in the entire AMP lineup, I can’t make any assumptions about the other AMP varieties yet, but I do look forward to the rest of them.
Joker Mad Energy
Wow. Déjà Vu. Today we have Joker Mad Energy, an energy drink that only cost me 99 cents. I’m having a Déjà Vu moment because it seems like I’ve had this before. Oh, I know why – it tastes EXACTLY like Monster Energy, only sweeter. This stuff isn’t bad, although it seems really carbonated, although I can handle discomfort if I only have to pay 99 cents. It’s hard to describe the taste, it almost seems to have a hint of a vitamin (like the Finstones chewable ones) taste, but it’s not strong and it doesn’t taste bad. The kick is great too; it has an Energy Blend of Glucose, Caffeine, Guarana, Inositol, Glucuronlactone and Maltodextin. That’s the same energy blend as Monster! This is too weird. It tastes like Monster, has the same energy blend, has the same warning label in the back, both drinks say ‘Ball’ on the back (the canning/packaging company I think) and they look the same too. A quick Google search revealed my suspicions: if you go to Beverage World you’ll read “Joker Mad Energy, a beverage born out of its [Circle K] partnership with Hansen Beverage Co”. Hansen Beverage Co is the company that owns Monster Beverage, meaning that Monster and Joker Energy are both owned by the same company. Okay then, Joker Energy is a lot cheaper and tastes the same, so why would any one buy Monster anymore? I’m also a little confused and disappointed that Hansen can’t come up with more than one flavor for it’s energy drinks, but that’s beside the point. Joker Energy is pretty good and delivers that kick that energy drinks should, its also cheap too! I’d recommend trying this, especially if you’re a Monster fan that doesn’t feel like paying as much, because it’s basically the same.
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.
Citrus CRUNK!!!
I’m probably going to pass out any moment here from the heat, but before my internal organs fry and my body shuts down, let me tell you about Citrus CRUNK!!! As I said earlier, its pretty hot here, so I picked up Citrus CRUNK!!! because it claims to contain real lemon lime. Hopefully, this will taste like lemonade and cool me off. After buying this drink at the local BP, I noticed something odd about the top half of the can. It reads “Energize – Replenish – Stimulate – Refresh – Invigorate – Arouse”. Yes. You read that correctly, Citrus CRUNK!!! has Epimedium in it, which allegedly has the properties of a mild aphrodisiac. Strange. The bottom of the can lists some of the ingredients, including “Ashwaganda – Horny Goat Weed – Ginseng – Guarana – Skull Cap – White Willow”. Now, is it just me, or do “Skull Cap” and “White Willow” sound like street names for drugs? (don’t worry, they’re not drugs, just plants) Nevertheless, I am going to drink this. Pop the top and it smells just like Gatorade Lemonade, and it keeps its promise with its twist of lemon lime. It’s a little on the sour side, but it tastes fantastic! It’s also great for you because there are no artificial colors or preservatives. The can states that the energy blend consists of 97mg of caffeine, but doesn’t state is it’s per serving or can. There’s two serving per can, so I’m guessing that there is 194mg of caffeine in the entire can. So far, Citrus CRUNK!!! is doing quite well in my opinion. The taste, smell, and kick are everything I could ask for. As for the aphrodisiac, I doubt there’s enough Horny Goat Weed in this to do anything (if it actually does anything at all) as last I checked, Pfizer has yet to acquire CRUNK!!! Energy. Either way, Citrus CRUNK!!! really hits the spot, especially on a hot day!
