totally addicted to caffeine and energy drinks. Packaging, buzz and nutrition reviews

Rocket Fizz is, unsurprisingly, one of my favorite places to hang out. I know there has been a whole lot of history to them and how they get their sodas, but that all does not detract from the fact that I can have my very own soda shop right downtown - and a darn good one too. I had not been in in some time, when the salesperson recognized me in the store and handed me a drink to try out. This is not a new drink, and in fact it was a very old one - Triple Cola.

Now Rocket Fizz carried dozens and dozens of colas - many of which have caffeine on the label. However, like Coke and Pepsi, just because you have a little caffeine does not really mean you have enough energy to be reviewed as an energy drink. With the assurances that this was something special, I looked a little deeper into the information about Triple cola - and was very pleasantly surprised.
It seems Triple cola is not just another Olde Tyme Wannabe drink with the name dredged up to make it sound historical. Yes, this is not produced n Orca Beverages soda machines along with dozens of others, but for those of you who like cola - this is a definite Must Try.

Packaging:6
Triple Cola got their look from their old packaging, back when this was made in the 20s and not the way it was advertised in the 60s or 70s. Triple cola has been around a very long time for not really having a whole lot of info about it - except it seems their big selling point used to be that it came in 16 ounce bottles rather than the standard 12, and used to do quite a lot of baseball merchandising in the early 80s. This new look definitely hearkens back to the early years - even using the terms Vim and Vigor. Like most Orca beverages, the bottle looks more novelty than anything - very plain and simple, with barely a listing of ingredients, let alone caffeine content.

Taste:9
For those who like cola taste, this one can not be missed. Yes, it tastes very sugary from the cane sugar used, but the thick earthy flavors come bursting out of this little bottle. This was a rich blend of earthy sharp flavors like ginger and maybe a hint of clove, along with an almost woodsy smell. While I dont want to get too high-handed in tasting Triple Cola, all thoughts that this was just a knock-off brand by Orca were immediately thrown out the window. While it might be a little overpowering for those people who just want their cola to taste like like the brown sugar water of Coke or Pepsi might not like their colas to have such flavor, I really appreciated all the work that went into this flavor.

Buzz:8
Their slogan in the middle of the label tells me that I will be filled with Vim and Vigor, which actually turns out to be quite true! I sucked the 12 ounces down cold, and immediately felt a surge of energy rush through me. OK, I was on an empty stomach, but I could tell after years of reviews that there was definitely more caffeine that in your average cole in here. After a quick call to Orca, it seems that I was definitely right - and the salesperson at Rocket Fizz was on the money. This is the most caffeinated cola Orca makes, clocking in at a healthy 80mg of caffeine per bottle - More than my newest extra-caffeinated soda, Pepsi Max, but a full 11mg. It gave me enough energy to jog from my desk at work back to Rocket Fizz for another one to help me along - and that was as good as the first.

Rockstar energy drink has so many versions of low calorie energy drinks it is hard to keep track of all the versions. That's the reason I was not so excited to rush out and try their latest version, Rockstar Pure Zero. This just seemed like the answer to Monster's Absolute Zero, and really would provide nothing new. And while this is definitely a take on following Monster's footsteps, it does a surprisingly good job at it, coming out with a fairly decent citrus drink.

On their site they list this flavor as Silver Ice, which makes sense from a packaging standpoint, but they forgot to all that extra part onto the label - so it is just Pure Zero, which if you ask me if already a long enough name.

Packaging:9
I think they are done with names for their diet drinks now - having used up Zero, Zero Carb and Diet. The big seller here is the cool crackled packaging which looks really hot and very unique. The lettering chosen and the over overall concept really works. On top of that, they use their new raised printing technology to give the cans an added texture so it feels bumpy when you hold it on the non-logo and star area - pretty neat and subtle.

Overall they perform the mechanics of can design well, double facing the label and putting the caffeine content clearly on the can. Everything is very easy to read, and on my two cans they even repositioned the lids of the can so the logo faces outwards while drinking. Overall its a beautiful thing.

Taste:8
I fully expected this to have that Rockstar energy bite - butthey pulled off something better. It is a lemon-lime drink in the way of a Mountain Dew, only with a little fresca grapefruit bite as well. Rockstar Zero is without a doubt one of the most flavorful Rockstars out there, and definitely one to pick up. I would not normally pick out my favorite Rockstar by taste - usually forgoing whatever flavor it happened to be by the amount of caffeine that it had in it, but I have made exceptions for Rockstar Zero, picking this one out from the pack because it is just so easy to consume and so packed with flavor. While it might not be the most unique energy drink out there, it is certainly delicious.

Buzz:6
You never know from one Rockstar to the next what kind of concoction they are going to come up with for their drinks. The regular flavors of their drinks have around 160mg of caffeine, while their low carb and workout drinks have a massive 240-270mg. Rockstar Pure Zero falls into the 160mg category - being a very standard boost of energy - nothing terribly exciting or powerful.
You got your B vitamins in plethora, some inositol, glucurolactone and ginseng to help with the process, and as a diet drink you can't really cant find a drink that is not sweetened with the sucralose/Ace K mix for a sweetener. Still It is a Rockstar and the power is strangely addictive - not powerful but sustained and just nutritious enough to make you think this is healthy enough to slug down.

I have tried a whole lot of energy shots over the years - as a matter of fact I might even think I have tried more different little 2 ounce bottles than 99% of the country. I have tried over 125 separate kinds of energy shots, and this is the very first one that I have ever had that has such a unique flavor profile, and makes a difference to firefighters.

5-Alarm Energy is Definitely one of the more original energy shots out there - not only is it concentrating on the very small niche of firefighters and fire fighting enthusiasts, but it also gives part of their proceeds to the Sons of the Flag Burn Foundation - A non-profit organization that aims to promote scientific research initiatives for survivors of traumatic burn injuries.

Not to mention is has got to have some of the most unique flavor profiles out there.

Packaging:6
For being about original flavors and donating to fire burn victims, they really don;t stand out as being terribly unique to other energy shots out there. Both flavors they sent me came in the standard 2 ounce energy drink shot bottle - the basic 5 Hour Energy shooter - only with a different wrap on it. The design really not not let me know a whole lot about how this shot was geared to a specific audience or that it did not profit things unless I looked closely. I think they could have done more design-wise to really sell this drink as both having charitable influences as well as be about having the energy and stamina of a firefighter.

Functionally, it was OK. 5 Alarm is easy enough to read, but rather than list caffeine content they put a big overarching line about the total energy contents - without telling how much caffiene there actually is in a shot. Also, it would be nice, since they say they donate a proceed of the sale of this shot to a good cause, exactly how much they plan on giving. Overall it is not a bad shot package, but it really did not impress me much either.

Taste: Peppermint:5 Cinnamon:10
Peppermint: The peppermint was good - some might even say great - but I had a real problem with taking a big ol' swig of something that tasted JUST like Scope. It is just the right amount of sweet and spicy and refreshing - it really is - BUT... I just couldn't swallow it. I have been using mouthwash for years and years and my body just can not swallow the something that tastes like mouthwash. If you are not a person who uses mouthwash regularly then this might not bother you terribly much and could really enjoy it. For me, however, I just could not get past the feeling like I was getting drunk on my mouthwash.

The cinnamon was a different story completely. This was a spicy but not too hot bright tongue tingling sensation that gets even better if you get it icy cold. I could drink this stuff all day. I wish this came in a larger size because this is one of the best energy shots I have had the pleasure to try. If you like the flavor of cinnamon candies or Red Hots, this is right up your alley. I know it might seem a little off to have a spicy cinnamon energy shot - but this is if not the top flavored energy shot I have tried out of the over one hundred different flavors I have sampled, it is very very close. It is an absolutely brilliant flavor.

Buzz: 7
5 Alarm could be a bit stronger than it is though. While there is an OK amount of caffiene (I am guessing around 100mg by my feeling of energy and focus) it could certainly be a bit more powerful. Other than the caffeine there is your usual B vitamin overload, some n-acetyl-tyrosine and glucuronolactone. It definitely gave me a nice boost - but it was a mellow one and left me going for the coffeepot about 2 hours after.

There are few things that call for a good drink than yard work - and this is especially true in our household, where the power tools like fancy lawn mowers and weeders are replaced by more aerobic choices such as the push mower.

For those of you young whippersnappers who have never encountered a push mower, it is akin to going to a barber as opposed to a hairstylist. Rather than straight uniform rows of grass - push mowers cut the grass by sheer ( heh - geddit?) force - as you roll the blade fast enough to chop up your grass into bits. Needless to say, it is a very rewarding bat physically intense process. And after the end of this process, only two things really help you recover. Beer and Energy drinks. When the kids do it, they have an energy drink handy, and I usually can enjoy a 40 of some of Wisconsin's finest malt. However, last weekend there was not a beer to be had - and that eft me the opportunity to slug down Las Vegas Finest - Rockstar Pure Zero, this time in a punch variety.

Fruit punch is one of the easier energy drink flavors to do right, which is the reason that most brands have at least one fruit punch flavor. Rockstar is an old hand at these, having made over a half dozen kinds of punch-y energy drinks in the past - from a mango punch to a fruity orange variety. This one is supposed to be more of a Punch flavor and not really contain any juice, which is a good thing as not only is this calorie deficient, it is also light and easy to pound - unlike their heavy syrupy Punched themed drinks previously released to market.

Packaging:9
This is almost exactly like the other Pure Zero flavor, except for the word Punched on the side in this red lettering. There is the same cool crackled packaging which looks really hot and very unique. I like the new raised printing technology to give the cans an added texture so it feels bumpy when you hold it on the non-logo and star area - although I would have appreciated a bit more something to separate it from the non-punch offering they have.

Overall they perform the mechanics of can design well, double facing the label and putting the caffeine content clearly on the can. Everything is very easy to read, and on my two cans they even repositioned the lids of the can so the logo faces outwards while drinking. It is a very cool design.

Taste:9
I love a good fruit punch drink, and fortunately they are pretty hard to get wrong too. I like them when they are a little sour to the sweet, holding a little back on the sugariness. Not that I like it watered down, but I appreciate more of a tart punch than a super sweet one.

Rockstar hit it right on the money with this flavor, making on of the finer punch drinks I have had to try in some time. If I were to go for a lighter Rockstar drink on a warm day when I wanted more flavor than burst of energy, I would happily pick this one up over most of the other Rockstar flavors out there.

Buzz:6
They have come out with a couple versions of punched drinks before, ut I think this moght be the first that does not actually contain juice - and therefor calories. Punched is a great diet punch flaor, reminding me of the lighter Crystal Light versions of punch rather than the heavier Hawaiian Punch varieties. In terms of energy, these have around 160mg of caffeine, which is what is expected - although I really wanted a bigger boost than what they offered.

You got your B vitamins in plethora, some inositol, glucurolactone and ginseng to help with the process, and as a diet drink you can't really cant find a drink that is not sweetened with the sucralose/Ace K mix for a sweetener. I liked these a whole lot - although the lower caffeine count will probably have me going for their other more powerful combos. still, if I were concerned with flavor, this would be a great one to have on a hot summer day.

I love caffeinated energy water. Since I have been forcing myself to go to the gym I have found that more and more I have been scouring good drinks to take with me during my morning sweat. Working out with an energy drink seems too weird - and does not really give me what I need for a great workout. I still end up feeling drained and like I did not do all I could. What is even better are the hydrating caffeinated kind, though up until recently they were hard to find.

Now, two big energy drink makers have come out with their own versions of an energy water/Gatorade - perfect for taking with you to whatever aerobic thing gets you moving. Nos has come out with a very decent variety of drink - and not Rockstar has too - although it is even more Sports Drink-y than others I have tried.

Packaging:9

The first thing that struck me is all the black and yellow going on. I like the black and yellow, but every time i look at this drink I get that damned Wiz Khalifa song stuck in my head. I imagine in places in Pittsburgh this drink will go well (Their sports teams, Pirates, Steelers and Penguins use black and yellow as their team colors). Other than that - I think this drink does pretty well on the design theme. I get that it is an energy water - can easily see the flavor and caffeine, and it is a very pretty design - managing to appeal to just about everybody from serious gym heads to your occasional lawn mower looking for a little zing in his energy.

In terms of functionality, they did a whole lot right. They caffeine is big and bold on the front, unmistakable that unlike most energy waters this actually contains precious caffeine. Also, it is in a PET bottle - so it is reusable and resealable and looks and acts a whole lot better than just carrying around an aluminum can while you are on your morning jog.

Taste:7
If you like the yellowish green Powerade/Gatorade flavor you will enjoy this well enough, but if you are not one for drinks filed to the brim with electrolytes you will probably not be prepared for the salty sweet mouthful you are going to receive. this Rockstar has that all-too-familiar twinge of heavy doses of salty potassium to help get you through a workout and recover afterwards. But that doe mean that this is not going to taste like your normal Kool-Aid mix.

My advice is that before you take on this flavor of Rockstar, try your hand as some of the classic Gatorade flavors and see if you like that taste. If you ever had that in the past you will drink this and fondly remember those days - if not you will just end up with some salty-sweet lemon water and probably be less than happy.

Buzz:9
I took this to the gym on a very sweaty workout day to see how well it would perform, and I can honestly say that I would not have made it through my 4 mile run if it were not fir the power of a Rockstar energy water. I drank about 2/3 of the bottle before my workout, and judging by the amount of sweat that I wrung out of my shirt at the end of it I sweated out the entire contents. Other than caffeine, taurine and ginseng to help power my way through a very intense workout, there was magnesium, calcium and a full RDA of Vitamin C as well as the usual B vitamins to help me recover.

What was really cool was that at the end of my running days I am usually spent - so tired that the 5 minute drink home is a little too exhausting. Not so much this day - chugging the rest of the Rockstar gave me almost instantaneous energy and recovered my spirits enough to almost fully recover from my hard aerobic morning.

While I would stay far away from this drink if I were not doing a hard workout, for a gym drink this really kicks some serious ass.

Every once in a while even after over a thousand different energy samples I come across something that just puts me on my ear. I am just minding my business in a coffeehouse and see something which seems too good to be true is jut sitting on a corner near the shelf like it is the most common product out there. Coffee Thins are one of those products -these are not only one of the most unique ways to get your caffeine fix, but it is unique enough to really stand out from the crowd.

This is just like a Ghirardelli chocolate square - one of those little delicious squares you find in coffee shops and specialty grocery stores - only NO CHOCOLATE! Instead, these awesome little treats all look like it and taste smooth and creamy and delicious, but they are made instead of pure coffee. Coffee thins come in 3 flavors, Espresso, Americano and Latte - all glorious and strong and so good - advertising a half cup of coffee (or a half cup - depending on where you read it on their site) in each little square.

Packaging:3
The worst thing about Coffee Thins is the silly packaging, looking like a private label and really hides all the great coffee flavors and originality in each smooth silky bite. Rather than really show what is in here, there is bland lettering, a logo best left on cheap private label coffee labels in cheese hotel rooms and not enough information to tell you what the hell is inside. Even though it has a big callout that this was "Made from Natural Coffee," the only real mention that there is something greater than a cheap little dessert is that little hint you get on the ingredients list that there is no chocolate listed.

Still, with the lost-in-the-past generic wrapper, the lack of caffeine listing and the boring lettering it would be near impossible for mot people to really get behind this product. I absolutely love these chocolates - but having it in this wrapper is like sticking a Aston Martin interior and engine inside a used Honda body.

Taste:10
It does not matter what flavor you have - you will be blown away by these little treats. I think I like the Americano best, but it is a close one next to the others too. You will not believe these have no coca in them - they just taste so thick and sweet and yummy -just like a gourmet chocolate square.

The Latte one is definitely the creamiest - giving a great coffee flavor as it melts all creamy and goo ey in your mouth. The Espresso is the darkest and hardest of the bunch, acting like a rich dark chocolate, giving a nice sharp crack as you break off a bit in your mouth. On all of them the flavor is of a great strong but not over-sweet coffee, a flavor that makes me want to come up with adjectives that fit more with italian race-cars that caffeine treats. Don't let the package fool you - these are really heavenly.

Buzz:10
And the buzz kicks some ass too! Although they can not make up their mind how much coffee is in each bar ( some of their slogans say it has half a cup of coffee, some say a full cup in each bar), the difference is really the amount of caffeine the company wants to pretend is in a cup. My first square did not much to m - but I felt nicely caffeinated, like I just had my first cup of morning joe. That changed about 10 minutes after my next square, where I definietly felt a nice buzzing in my system. Of course not knowing when to stop and loving the flavor, I had to savor a third square, which definitely pushed me to the edge of over-caffeination (which I love) getting the feeling of light jitters and bursting energy that I only feel after consuming a prodigious amount of caffeine. Chances are I would have eaten my fourth or fifth soon after if I had any more left - as these go down so easy and the coffee buzz is superb!

In terms of nutrition - meh - it is a dessert treat - not a health food snack. There are about 70-80 calories in each little square, and unless you made the mistake of only buying one you are easily going to wolf down a couple in a sitting. They list the coffee as 100% natural, although with the neat trick of making the coffee into such a cool and delicious shape I really don't care if they pack it full of chemicals or magic or ground unicorns - it is totally worth it.

"When you've had all ya can stands and ya can’t stands no more, grab some of me bestest energy blend and get back in tha’ ring!" - My energy drink tells me today. I'm sorry, but I just don't get the energy connection to Popeye energy drink. I understand a whole lot of tie-ins, but this one escapes me. According to the company,"Erstwhile sailor man Popeye might seem an unlikely new entry to the modern energy drink market, but he was ripping open cans for extra oomph decades before the energy drink was even invented. So it’s not surprising that this new edition of the classic champ still reaches for all-natural solutions"

So because Popeye used to open cans of spinach he is a good fit for a new energy drink company? Actually, when you think about it it's a pretty good fit. Popeye used to get real tired and beaten until he opened a can of veggies and went nuclear. While the buzz in here won't be enough to help you pick up a house or plow through bad guys, this actually makes sense.

Packaging:9
If you had to make a can for an energy drink named after popeye, I don't think you could do better. Instead of going after the newer and more cartoon versions of the muscleman, intead they opted for the comic stripped variety, complete with the newspaper dot printing and olde tyme feel. Strangely enough it works all very well, and the designers behind the brand did an excellent job of everything.

I was also impressed with the functionality of the drink as well. They listed the caffeine contents clearly, as well as all the other vitamins and such in the back supplements. While I still am not sure I get the overall premise, for being a Popeye energy drink I don't think you could possibly do a beter job than this.

Taste:9
Truthfully, I was expecting this to taste about as bland as you could get - like a novelty drink from Boston America, like the Romulan drink or Hello Kitty drinks with the slapped on lables. To my surprise, this was not ALL the case! this was a lovely clementine orange drink, something that was not terribly sweet, and full of juicy goodness. Of course that is because this was all juice - but I was very pleasantly surprised they did not use orange extracts or other such "natural" flavors to kick up the orange-ness of it. If I were looking for something for a lovely energy screwdriver, or something to get me going while feeling the boost of vitamins (like if I needed a hangover drink), I would happily turn to Popeye's delightful blend.

The only thing that got to me was that there was no spinach in here. I expected that with all the other juices in here they could have tossed in some of that as well, but I guess that was not the case for the orange flavor. Later on, I read that their spinach extract adversely effected the appealing colors created by the fruit juices, but they are planning on a spinach/apple drink to be hitting the shelves at your local soda store soon. In the meantime, the orange is a very nice substitute.

Buzz:7
Popeye's drink will not blow your socks off, but it might give you a nice enough boost to make it through your mornings a little easier. It has a very moderate and usual 160mg of caffeine, about as much energy as a Rockstar or Monster. I was really hoping for a bigger boost of energy from this - but I did not really find any rush of energy. The caffeine works well enough with the natural sugars to help you not get sleepy and have about the same amount of energy as a cup and a half of coffee, but for a drink named after one of the most powerful people in the cartoon world I was hoping for something better.

As for the nutrition in Popeye, it's a nice juice-based drink, so there is nothing artificial and everything about as healthy as they can get it, which is very nice.There is a good amount of calories in here, but this is a juice so it is what you expect. There is a ton of good vitamins and minerals in here, and it is nice to have an alternative to sucking down all those chemicals.

I was completely expecting Popeye to be a novelty drink that worked just like any Monster clone. While it didn;t blow me down,at least I stayed strong to the finish.

I love the idea of just taking a shot and you will magically lose wight, like some cool science fiction novel. However, I am sure that if this ever turned into a real product it would end up more on the shelves of Horror that Scifi. Pounds Lost is one of those products that look pretty on the outside, but are dreamed up by Stephen King (I still feel like I can hear the little bottle in my head giving me the "Thinner" curse…)

Fortunately for me, I did a little research into the product and their main ingredient, and it seems harmless enough, if not ineffective. Also, I am not giving the product the Full Treatment, as it says on their website that you are supposed to take this before every meal for 2 and a half months to see weight loss. Oh yeah - that and probably exercise or something silly like that. I just had 2 measly bottles - and after tasting the first one, there is no question I would never make it through a full 10 weeks of knocking down this evil brew of herbs, non-caloric sweetener and chemical stew. I managed to give one a try in the morning before coffee for an energy boost, and then I tried the second like they suggested, before a nice big bowl of chili for lunch the next day.

Unfortunately I did not lose any pounds at all - even though the bottle implicitly stated I would lose 19. I am just glad that the 19 pounds did not come off in sinew skin and bone, as they never actually said it was going to be pounds of fat. Hey - energy shots can be serious magic stuff, and you never know….

Packaging:4
Starting in the ubiquitous 2 ounce 5 Hour Energy Bottle, pounds lost is a spartanly designed bottle, where even the name of the shot is obscured by the "LOSE up to 19 POUNDS. REDUCE INCHES OFF YOUR WAIST" claim covering their wrap. What does that mean?? When am I supposed to lose 19 pounds? 1 week? 9 months? Right NOW? I was left thinking that maybe drinking this will make a my guts slough off. After all, it did not say what the 19 pounds lost were made of. There is also a big berry on the top of the wrap, and all the rest of the writing is so small you will need your magnifying glass to make it out.

What I was able to make out is that they did not bother listing the caffeine - instead hiding it in the vague "as much as a premium cup of coffee" - whatever the hell that means.

Taste:3

Pounds Lost tastes like some awful medicinal root mixed with a chemical lab, with so much fake berry and sweet that it tries to cover the noxiousness of the ingredients - and fails pretty hard. This stuff tastes absolutely awful - made more so because you could tell they tried to do something to mask the horribleness and this is the best they could come up with. It would have been better if they just left out all the fake sugar and artificial berry and just left it tasting like the b-vitamin overload that it is.

It is pretty easy to see how drinking this before all of your meals during the day would help you lose weight The flavor it leaves in your mouth and the deed you would have before tasting anything would certainly put a damper on your appetite. So I guess from a weight loss point of view, the fact that this tastes nasty - and keeps that nastiness coating your mouth for a long time afterwards - is a very good thing (a la ClockWork Orange). I'll bet the experience of having to take this before a bite of ice cream would pretty much stop anyone from eating for a long time.

Buzz:5
The secret ingredient to Pounds Lost is something called Cissus quadrangularis . Pounds Lost have stated that multiple clinical studies prove the active ingredient in over-the-counter supplement, Pounds Lost Weight Loss Shot, is safe and effective for weight loss. And that's sorta true. Cissus quadrangularis is safe - but it also has not really been tested in the scientific double blind study kind of way. According to the internets, it has been used to cure pain in rats, help grow bones faster, and used to be given for scurvy, cancer, upset stomach, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcer disease (PUD), painful menstrual periods, asthma, malaria, and pain. Good to know that even if this does not make me thinner it will help my lingering malaria and scurvy.

How does Cissus work? It looks like this stuff is a gum, and gums can be used before meals to help the food not get as digested before passing through your body. So, I guess it is like a Bulimia in a bottle! Pretty exciting stuff. I only bought the two bottles, so I can not tell you if I would ever reach that lofty 19 pounds of loss body mass.

As an energy booster pounds lost is also a fail. I'd love it if I could feel a marked difference in the energy level I had, especially since I made it through the bottle and I wanted something to show for my efforts, but either the bowl of chili was too strong a sleep inducer for it, or more likely it just got digested slowly with my food and so the effect of the energy ingredients were metered over too much time - but either way the boost to help get over the morning slump never materialized.

My guess, from the stupidly mentioned "as much caffeine as a premium coffee" statement, is that it has between 100-150mg of caffeine. I did get a decent boost from my morning dose without eating anything, so it has to have at least 100mg (about 1 cup of my "premium" workplace coffee), but it did not leave me jittering around the room (so it has under 250mg). Either way, it should probably not be used to substitute for your morning jolt of coffee - and having such a bad taste in your mouth is a crappy way to start off your morning anyways.

EnergyRush PocketBoost is a real mouthful, but fortunately is a decently tasting mouthful that works all right too. I found EnergyRush at a local liquor store, positioned next to all the other cheap liquor shots. I think this was sold as a mixer with other drinks, although I am not sure that with such a strong cherry taste it would be that great of an idea.

There is also no more information to be found online anywhere about this thing, so EnergyRush might be a failed product too - which is decent enough to be a shame. It is like any other energy shot - except it comes in a cool pouch made of paper, foil and plastic that is not like I have seen before. It stood up to the abuse of being stepped on and crushed in my Work Backpack of Death, which is a pretty good test of the rigidity of the package (which did not look like it could stand up to it) as well as provide a decent boost to get me through the afternoon.

Packaging:9

This is one of the more unique packaging ideas, and I am constantly surprised at how much abuse this paper package got and still held up under pressure. This little packet was crunched at the bottom of my backpack for a couple weeks (I completely forgot I bought it) and it was smashed in with shoes and laptops and god knows what else. By the time I remembered it was smashed at the corner heel of my pack and completely spattered in dirt and grime. I thought to myself that there was no way this little paper and plastic package would hold - but it kept all its liquid inside free from leakage and gunk. Very impressive.

As for the design of the packaging itself, it left a little more to be desired. Although the mechanics were great (it cracked open as it should and did not spill a drop), it really bugs me when products state they have as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. This makes absolutely no sense, as coffee can have anywhere between 80 - 300mg of coffee, depending on the brand and variety. Stop being coy, and just list the caffeine content already. Other than that though, the whole design was laid out very nicely and was easy to read (at least before I got it covered in guck and mud).

Taste: 8

The package stated I could mix this with water or just shoot it down, so of course I chose just snapping the top and squirting right in my mouth. Its way more fun that way and really lets me get a good strong taste.

The basic overall flavor is mixed berry - and it is a pretty decent blend for being sweetened with the standard Ace K/Sucralose blend. It was not harsh or chemical, but was not so over-sweet that it tasted like candy. The non-nutritive sweetener actually helped give it a lightness that it needed to brighten up the drink. If I could recommend a slight change it would be to add a hint of citrus to it to help balance out the rest of the chemical sweet tastes.

Buzz:8

While there is no listing for caffeine, there was still a good dose of it in here, I am guessing between 120-180mg. Add to that the carnitine, inositol, tyrosine and gugglesterones and you have one interesting energy mix. Of course there is your usual B vitamin overhead in here too, but then there are even more interesting ingredients - some of which I have not heard of before (which is really saying something). While there is some that I know of , like Chromium, ginseng and Green Tea Extract, I have never heard of using white kidney beans, coleus forskohii extract, Sylvestro extract or cambogia fruit before, and while some of these ingredients are linked to energy production, I am calling shenanigans on them adding White Kidney Beans and Sylvestro extract.

I got a nice decent sustained buzz from this - enough to keep my body humming along for a good couple of hours, and didn't crash when it left my system either. I could see this as a great thing for going on hikes and off into an adventure, as the whole thing can be packed fairl easily, recycled without too much problem and still hold up under pressure.

Rockstar comes out energy drink flavors on a very regular basis - and rarely do they have a whole lot of difference. The latest incarnation is the new Sparkling Energy drinks, which come in both a peach and cherry flavor. And, like most of the Rockstar flavors out there, if you find one you absolutely love, I would stock up now because they never stick around for very long - which in this particular case is a real bummer.

Unlike some of their products (remember the one that had a straw glued to the can?) this one is original enough o stand out from the others on the shelf, and is yummy enough to enjoy for a very long time. Rockstar's Sparkling energy is most reminiscent of New York Seltzer, only with berry and cherry flavor. While Energy Seltzer is not original (Jetset and Hi Ball energy also produce delicious caffeinated soda waters too), this one is, at last for now, readily available.

Packaging;9

Rather than go for their dual over-the-top grunge, or stark metallic designed look, Sparkling Energy looks bright with popping colors and a very clean bright feel. I would feel right at home bringing this out jut about anywhere - from a school outing or any athletic event. This was not made as much to impress your Gears Of War friends as something that would feel right at home in your minivan's cup holder. Truthfully, I love the change in direction with this scheme, and hope this product sticks around for a long time.

Functionally it does well too. Like most Rockstar cans, this is double faced, written cleanly and is easy to read, and lists the caffeine content clearly. The only thing I might do with the package to really sell the clean-ness of the drink inside is to consider putting this into PET bottles (those clear plastic bottles sodas come in). That would really show off the clear liquid and their big differentiator from the rest of the market.

Taste:8

Crisp, Clear and Refreshing sound like advertising words, but i this case it really works. The light fruitiness really works, and the slight hint of medicinal chalkiness actually adds the appropriate tang to the flavor to really highlight the fruitiness of both flavors offered.. As mentioned before, the liquid is totally clear, and very very bubbly. I must have burped a dozen times getting through the can, which is pretty unusual. I liked both the Cherry and the peach equally, although both were a very fake tasting fruit. It is interesting that they used natural flavors to make this - but ether they need to step up their natural flavor ingredients or cut down on their fake sweeteners because this tastes about as natural as a Blow Pop.

Buzz: 7

You never know with Rockstar what kind of blend they will be delivering, as they really work at trying different energy compounds to their niche market. In this case they opted a bit light, going with 160 mg of caffeine and a blend of Glucurolactone, ionsitol a healthy dose of vitamin B, L-Carnitine, milk thistle and ginseng. all in all it is not a bad blend - there re enough nutrients in here to make it a contender in the energy drink arena, but still light enough on the power to be able to drink a couple of on a hot day.

I did not get a real buzz from Rockstar Sparkling, but it did make me feel more wakeful and helped a little with the days concentration. Not to mention I was was able to drink one in the late morning hanging out and coding, and felt fine enough to chug a second later in the day at around the 2pm slump. While I would not take this out partying or for a serious rush, it does make for a nice sparkly pick-me-up.

Packaged coffee drinks usually come in two forms. It is either a drink which resembles coffee, but is actually a mix of oils, non-dairy coffee creamer, instant coffee and a mound of sugar, or it's a specialty coffee drink brewed cold (toddy-style) and concentrated to a point where it is hard to drink right out of the bottle. Both of which have some real tasty drinks, but until now that was about all there was. Now there is a third, and quite delicious, option. Black Medicine is a small batch craft brewed hot process coffee - something more akin to a micro-beer than your usual morning pick-me-up drink. It is a different and very enjoyable spin on your usual coffee.

Packaging:10

Black Medicine does not come in a can or even a PET container, but in a bottle most resembling beer. I had these during my morning meetings and it was great to have everyone stop me and see if I am finally given in and started drink in' early, only to wonder and be impressed at my newfound caffeine fix. It helps that the design of the label is so classy and gives off the feel of a micro-brew as well, enough so that I have had a hard time not collecting the bottle. The design is a very understated black on black with easily readable black text, really making it look sleek and really selling the handcrafted yet professional feel.

Practically, the bottle works too. The cap is a twist off, so it can be opened easily without an opener and can be saved for later if you wish, the fonts are easy to read and the whole printing job is clear and well laid out. While there is no direct caffeine listing, it does state that this has 50% more caffeine than ordinary coffee drinks. The ingredients are laid out nicely as well as a little well written copy explaining what the drink is about without seeming cutesy or full of schtick. The only improvement I could see making is to the cap - which is a plain black metal, and would be cooler if it had the brand logo on it. Overall however, the package design of Black Medicine is quite brilliant.

Taste:10

I have had many cold-brewed coffees before, and I really enjoyed the utter smoothness and concentrated flavor of that brewing method. I have also had dozens of canned coffees, drinks which are yummy in a junk-food sense, tasting like a coffee milkshake.

Black Medicine is different than that - being hot-brewed, like a drip coffee or french press, only they have used a new process involving some sort of crazy alchemy where they keep all oxygen from degrading the coffee - I don't really understnad it, but the results are enough proof. Somehow, they work their blend of 3 different beans (1 organic and 2 others) and the temperature and this nitrogen atmosphere to mimic cold-brewing's smoothness, but keep more flavor and body from the beans. The result is something fruity with a whole lot of flavor, without any real acidity. The closest I can think of is getting a Clover coffee ( found in specialty coffee shops or popping up in Starbucks) with something like an Ethiopian Yergachaffe (they dry the coffee fruit and then peel it - makes for an extra fruity flavor).

The drink comes with no sugar or cream - just straight coffee, and it doesn't it either. Even if you are not a fan of straight black coffee, most likely you will be after having one of these. They have serving directions involving pouring it into a mug and heating or adding a little cream in it if you feel like it - but all you really need is to refrigerate, crack open a cold one and enjoy.

Buzz:10

Producing coffee this way, and really caring about your beans you select leads to a very strong cup of coffee. According to their packaging, it leads to 50% stronger of a cup, and I can totally vouch for that. Black Medicine is POWERFUL stuff! While they don't list a caffeine amount (brewing a hot coffee with the same caffeine content every time is not an easy thing), it is obvious about 10 minutes after sucking a bottle down that this is no ordinary cup of coffee. Even if you are a caffeine junkie this will give you your fix and keep you buzzing for at least a good couple hours.

The other nice thing in regards to their nutrition is the lack of any real preservatives and added garbage. They add a little vitamin C to preserve their drink instead, which I have not seen used before to any great effect. Its also cool to have a little vitamin C with my morning coffee anyways. The lack of sugars and creamers also keeps the calorie content down, so you don't feel at all guilty giving into this little treasure too.

My only issue is that I received 3 samples from the company, and they were gone in less than 3 days (it was hard not sucking them all down the same day I got them). You can buy a bottle online for either 3.50 a bottle or 80 bucks a case, but the shipping adds enough onto it that I can not see realistically buying a whole lot of them, unless it was for a special occasion. However,if you are lucky enough to find this in a store near you, I would absolutely not pass this one up.

What point is there in having a cool looking energy drink if you don't bother showing it off? Energy drinks can come in a very wide variety of colors. I have had some be bright orange, green, fiery red, and in the case of this particular energy drink, cool neon blue. The difference with this drinks it goes the extra mile to show off its unique colors, coming in a clear plastic can - shaped just like an energy drink can should - but as clear as any vitamin water PET bottle. This brilliant idea stopped people in their tracks and started many an energy drink container when it was at my desk. For a long time I did not even want to drink Cool Blue energy because of if was such a great conversation starter.

Packaging: 10

Just for the uniqueness alone this would get a 10, but when you add in all the other details, this can is a sure-fire hit. The wording is easy to read both when the can is full of blue liquid or empty, and the same goes true for the ingredients list and all the other important info on the can. The type is clear and easy to read, and the can stands up well to normal wear and tear like an aluminum can would. The color of the liquid - a neon bright blue was almost shocking in its vividness - I actually tested it under the backlight just to see if it would glow.

But my favorite part about this drink is that the can still looks like a can! Yes, they could have done well going the cheaper route and bottling their energy drink in a normal PET bottle, but Cool Blue took the next step and made their clear plastic drink can look JUST like the metal counterpart. This even has a traditional metal can pop-top, so not only does it really sell the can, but it also makes it more stackable if you were a bar looking to buy cases of it.

Taste:8

This flavor tastes just like it looks - a melted blue raspberry Jolly Rancher. This is not a bad thing - and really I would have been disappointed if it tasted like anything else. I know the label said this was supposed to be berry flavor, but the taste was generic enough of a berry to let my taste memory kick in and I could not shake that Blue Raspberry taste - thats just what blue colored drinks should be like.

I can only dream of the fun you could have when mixing this. Of course I had to try Cool Blue in a couple recipes, and found some interesting color combinations could be had. As expected, it made for a very girly vodka drink - so much so that it needed a chunk of fruit in a straw in it. It was also great mixed a little with some cranberry juice and gin for a yummy Purpletini. Cool Blue would be fun to have in a bar gun - so bartenders could play with this as an ingredient, like blue curacao or ginger schnapps.

Buzz:6
It does not really matter if there is a kick in Blue Raspberry or not, but it is nice that there is a little. There is the usual caffeine amounts and energy drink ingredients like Taurine and such in here, with nothing too spectacular or out of the ordinary. But this is not a drink to pick up when you are just wanting a Red Bull Equivalent, this is a drink you want to show off - to take with you to meetings and parties.

Of course adding that lovely color means hat there are artificial colors and flavors and all that in here, but it is not glow-in-the-dark nuclear chemicals ( I did check it under a black light to see if I could make it glow, but alas) as much as your standard stuff you would find in any soda. While I would not be popping 3 or 4 of these a day, Cool Blue is a fun way to start off your boring social events.

Peak Energy mints are a very unique treat. Some of that uniqueness is very good, but not all of it. Peak separates itself by giving a very nice serious dose of caffeine - not the measly 10-20mg of other products in that category. It is also a fantastic strong energy boost without making you jittery or bouncing off the walls. If you are a caffeine junkie then this is a great product to play around with.

Packaging:8

The actual packaging of Peak Energy mints are pretty basic - you open the paper box to the blister pack of 8 mints inside. It is nothing fancy, but it works like you would usually find chicklets of gum. The layout and design is pretty nice too. They manage to stay gender neutral and look more scientific than Xtreme, going to the healthy audience opposed to the caffeine maniacs out there. I like the overall design - it is clean and bright and easy to read, with only relevant information on the pack.

Functionally it did great too.There is a little bit of explanatory info on D-Ribose, and compared it to coffee as well as putting the actual caffeine in the nutrition label too. Unlike many of the more younger-demographic-skewed energy products I bring to the office, most people I brought it to were happy to give it a go. While it is nothing revolutionary, it certainly gets the job done.

Taste:4

While I have certainly had worse mints, I have had a whole lot better too. I shared the mints around the office - and, lets just say I didn't make any friends that day. I heard people's reactions vary from "It feels like I am sucking on a urinal cake" to "GAH - Its like chewing a menthol ibuprofen!" The best feedback was from my teenage son who remarked that it wasn't all that bad - although he is a teenager who eats about anything in front of him, food or not.

To be fair, mints are hard to pull off at 100mg and full of Vitamin B (the vitamin b is usually the culprit for the harsh chalky flavor found in mints and chews), and there are only a few - like Foosh and ---------- that manage to be both very strong and still have a great flavor. Packing all those nutrients into a hard powder requires a whole lot of work - and I think with some tweaking it could be something great. If they cut back on the mintiness and increased the sweetness a touch - and maybe even took out the B-vitamin mix altogether, this would be a whole lot tastier.

The coating they use is very thick and hard to get through - and the actual powder part of the mint hits and then you gotta either deal with sucking on harsh powerful mints and chomp down and deal with the medicinal aftertaste. Their packaging said to let it dissolve slowly in your mouth, but it is not put together like a sucking candy, and if you do bite down the mint crumbles before breaking, which is not great. I wanted this to either chew apart like a Mentos or be hard enough to get a satisfying crunch - and this did neither. And then there is that flavor - which is way too rough to really be enjoyed. There is no mistaking this is a Caffeine Product - and not a pleasurable candy, which is a shame.

Buzz:9

The best thing about peak energy is the nice 100mg boost you get from a mint. It is not an obnoxious over-the-top energy, like if you just slammed a giant energy drink. the effect is more gradual, and just perks you up and keeps you there. Even after popping down 2 mints - the 200mg of caffeine should have made me a little jittery, but all it did was slowly boost my energy levels for around 4-5 hours.

There was no caffeine crash after that either, just a nice increased energy level for a good half workday. I found myself craving more in the afternoon just to keep that level of energy going for as long as possible.

Their big differentiator in the market is an ingredient called D-Ribose - which I have only seen a couple times in energy product that aren't drinks or shots, like Movit Gummies or Go Fast's energy gum. It is a bummer too, because Ribose is way cool - it reacts with the caffeine and does some great stuff like increase the caffeine's effects on your body and improve endurance. The only other energy enhancing ingredient in here is vitamin B, which thankfully they kept to a minimum ( most energy things pile on enough vitamin b to destroy a small army).

Overall I think Peak has some great things going for it - the buzz is undeniably fantastic - and I if you put up with the flavor then it is a great thing. However, that bitter flavor is a big mis-step, and would make Peak Energy something I would look forward to munching on.

Energems are new treat that s just like your favorite M&Ms only made more awesome. They sent me three different kinds to try - a peanut butter flavor, a mint as well as their original chocolate too. These come in a very grownup package and very hard to mistake as a kiddies treat. When you are looking for something less crumbly and overall tastier than your chocolate covered espresso beans, these would certainly fit the bill.

Packaging: 9

Energems come in a very sophisticated black package, never letting on that there are yummy candies inside. I am sure this is intentional, as I can not imagine many youngsters picking these up as opposed to a primary colored package. This is a good thing - and they pulled it off nicely too. It looks grown-up, without looking pretentious, and silly.

For being a paper box, they did great with the functionality of the box too. There is the calorie count in front like you find on other candy, snacks and spas now, along with a full listing of caffeine and other ingredients, a comparison to a cup of coffee, clearly labeled serving size, all in an easy to read and understand format. The print job is clear and crisp and professional - all around a beautiful product.

Taste:

Mint:10 Peanut Butter:9 Chocolate:8

One of the nice things about Energems is they don't try to pack too much caffeine and other nutritional stuff into each gem - as it can really affect the flavor of the chocolate. No matter what you end up adding to chocolate, you can usually taste any elements that are a bit off, and in this case it leads to a slightly chalky and bitter flavor - most likely because of all the vitamin B, which is quite chalky. While you can not really tell when the flavor is mixed with mint, it becomes very apparent that this is not just a chocolate treat in the straight-on chocolate candy. It also leads to a kinda funky aftertaste that is not what you would expect from a chocolate treat. It does work very well in the peanut butter flavor, as that is just a nice jumbled flavor combo of sweet and nutty, so a little chalkiness is barely even noticed. If I were to make one suggestion here it would be to cut down on all the vitamin B, which would help with the flavor and not really affect the nutritional content of the Gem.

Of the couple boxes of each flavor they sent me, the mint was gone in almost no time - I offered some samples to folks at work and anyone who had mint came back for more. As expected the next to be devoured was the peanut butter - people liked them who like peanut butter candies, but it seems that PB treats are not one of those universally-enjoyed flavors. As for the chocolate boxes, I think I still have one unfinished one somewhere. It is not that the chocolate flavor was bad, it just did not live up to the deliciousness of the other flavors they have.

Buzz:8

One of the nicest things about Energems is that they have some real power to them, but not so much that if you end up eating an entire box you won't get sick. Each little gem has about 25mg of caffeine in it - enough that if you munch three of them you get a nice small buzz, or if you accidentally down an entire 9 candy box you will only get 225 mg of caffeine, which is about as much as you would find in a Low Carb Rockstar or a large breakfast blend coffee. Unless you were to eat 7 or 8 of these boxes in a row could you do yourself any damage, and I am pretty sure that much candy in your stomach at one time would make you hurl before that much caffeine could do any damage. I also like the addition of the other energy drink posse of ingredients, including taurine, glucurolactone and the usual overdose of vitamin B.

Of course one of the biggest problems with eating any sugary candy is that if you eat it for the pick-me-up, soon enough there is going to be the crash, which you will definitely have if you eat the entire box of one of these candies. The theanine was most likely aded to help with the crash, but it would be the same as if you munched a bag of peanut M&Ms though. Overall, for a quick boost that is tasty and fun, I would not hesitate picking up a couple boxes.to munch on.

Arriba energy drink has burst out of the gate and flew into 7-11 stores all around me, and as I am a HUGE fan of the rice-milk cinnamon-y goodness that is Horchata, I knew that I would be knocking quite a few of these back over the summer. I have had a couple horchata based energy drinks before, and truthfully I was excited to have one that taste the way horchatas taste - even though that meant the drink would have to be dairy, and appeal to a very specific market and flavor profile. The people who buy horchata drinks are not necessarily the same people who buy Red Bulls. However, the latino energy drink community in Denver is huge, and I can definitely see this becoming quite popular al around the city.

Packaging:8

Clean and sparse, Arriba energy gets the point across with a minimum of clutter. The can is 11ounces, so it is larger than all the 8 ounce Red Bulls but stands out from the 16 ounce Monsters and Rockstars too. From the first look, you would not think this is even an energy drink - as it looks like it could be a RTD horchata or coffee based drink before you see the word energy on it. Rather than go the XTREME route, they just have the copy and a vanilla bean/cinnamon illustration. I like the packaging, it just looks like a horchata drink that has energy, rather than an energy drink that is horchata flavored. Functionally it works well - listing the caffeine and other nutrients separately and makes them easy to find, keeping the copy to a minimum.

Taste: 9

If you like horchatas you will love it. There is no denying this is a great take on a canned version of one of my favorite drinks. Horchatas usually come ice cold, served from a ladle into a gigantic styrofoam cup. I have had other, more instant varieties (both in cans and the powdered kind) and they have all been failures. I thought that there would be no way to accurately make a RTD horchata drink, let alone an energy drink variety - but I was wrong, WAY wrong.

Describing a horchata flavor is hard, as the flavor is not made up of its parts. Its a mix of sweet rice milk and skim milk, cinnamon and vanilla. I have tried making it myself at the house and have had very poor results. Arriba does the flavor dead on. When served cold, it is creamy sweet deliciousness. You can not even taste the energy ingredients in here - noting but smooth spiced heaven.

Buzz:7

While I appreciate the gesture, the 75 mg of caffeine in the 11 ounce can is pretty standard fare. When you keep in mind that your average Red Bull is 80mg in an 8 ounce can, I would take finishing off a couple of them before you felt any real pep from it. For people who regularly consume energy drinks, I think you will find them wanting more from their beverage. While I am not sure you would need a powerhouse of caffeine, I would hope for a bit more power behind it.

Nutritionally, Arriba is sitting solid. There is an undisclosed amount of energy drink supplements in here, including inositol, taurine, ginseng and a mix of Vitamin B. There is also potassium so it is hydrating. That being said, this would make an awful post workout drink. Firstly, it has 200 calories, as to be expected with a milk-based drink that is as delicious as this.Having that milk base also means it is full of preservatives and such ( although it does not taste like it at all). I like the convenience of finding my horchata and my energy together at a 711. It is real horchata and flavorful too.

It has been proven time and time again that the best way to keep your energy going for an extended period of time is not to down a ton of caffeine at one time, but to take a small bit of caffeine and keep it rolling for hours. Not only will this help with building to a great amount of energy, but also eliminates the crash until you can take it. Soldiers are given caffeinated gum in their rations - and are supposed to ration it out to keep up their stamina. Slow release caffeine has been scientifically proven to help everything from nausea to traffic accidents

I have tried something like this on a number of occasions, such as sustained release energy tablets, delayed release energy pills you take at night , energy strips you put on your tongue to dissolve, and lots of gum that you are supposed to eat eatery couple hours, like Stay Alert. However, I have never heard of time release energy drinks before.

This is the idea behind Zum XR, a new energy drink that has little caffeine beads floating in it that release caffeine slowly in your system over hours. At first, I was expecting something like the old Orbitz drink (it had big gelatinous balls floating in it - didn't last very long) or something akin to Boba - the asian dessert drink with floating gooey tapioca balls. But Zum XR's little pellets were something very new, as they were infinitesimally small beads - sorta like soft chewy white poppy seeds, floating at the bottom of the bottle in a pile.

Packaging:8

Zum XR looks great and healthy when you check out the bottle. It is clear and large, with enough of a color difference to let you know what to expect from their very large taste profile. I like how they got across the caffeine buzz plainly, so you knew how much energy you would be getting from the drink itself, and how much to expect inside all those little floaty things at the bottom.

Of course the thing that really sets this drink apart are the floaty things - and at first people I showed it to thought of it as a turn off. Most people don't like floaties in their drink , regardless of what it is. On two occasions I found people drinking the juice portion of the drink but drinking only from the top and letting it settle, so they did not have to deal with the energy beads. Those that did work to swallow did not really mind them, but still found the whole experience of dealing with these little balls a put-off.

Taste:6

Zum comes in a huge range of flavors (Alpine Berry, Blackberry Pomegranate, Lemon Ginger, Mango Green Tea and Wild Mandarine), all of which are tasty and very subtle. The fruitiness and the bite were well done, overall drink was light and refreshing. The drink reminded me of a Functional beverage, like Vitamin Water or Neuro. I definitely have a preference for the more citrusy flavors - especially on their diet varieties, but they are all pretty tasty. The only one I did not like as much was the Alpine Berry one, which did not really have that little flavor punch I was hoping for (I think it needed a bit more sweetener). I enjoy that their diet versions used stevia as a sweetener and they still managed to make it taste light, crisp and refreshing.

The little caffeine beads were definitely something do deal with though. They sat on the bottom of the bottle - and unless you shook it while drinking (actually shaking the bottle while it is being poured in your mouth), there is no real way to get all of them out. As these balls were the encapsulated caffeine and the reason for the drink, I did not want to have them sit unused and wasted at the bottom of my bottle. The only way I found to completely consume all the caffeine in the drink is to either use a straw (a double Big Gulp straw works great), or to plug it with your tongue, turn the entire bottle upside downing your mouth and wait for the beads to settle, and chug the whole bottle college-dorm style. The flavor and texture of the pills were fine - it is just the transport into my mouth that was a issue. Even if you use a straw and end up with a big mouthful of them, they are completely tasteless and as long as you don't mind little floaty dots in your mouth its fine.

I think the problem here is unlike other drinks-with-stuff-inside, these balls are too heavy to deal with. The fact that they don't mix up with the liquid and constantly sit at the bottom makes it very hard to consume. If the density of them were a bit lighter, or the liquid was a bit heavier then a quick wrist snap would get all their pellets into a much more drinkable form and stay blended.

The drink itself is great - and the caffeine beads are fine as a taste and texture. These is just a little work needed in how people are supposed to get all of them out of the bottle and into your mouth.

Buzz:9

Once you get all those caffeine pellets in your mouth though - the rest of the drink starts to shine. There is a quick boost of caffeine in the liquid - about 60mg per bottle. That is just enough to give you a little of what you need until the good stuff starts kicking in. The crazy thing is, you never feel the rush - you just don't feel tired.

That is one of the most interesting things about Zum XR. At no point do you feel buzzed or hyper - instead you have a nice flow of energy for about 3-4 hours - and barely even notice the taper off. The whole effect is very gradual, so even through there are 200mg of energy in here you never feel it. It is akin to drinking about 2-3 cups of coffee over 3 hours - so yo never feel a huge buildup, but no crashing either, and I love it.

Zum XR is innovative as the only drink in the world that has time-release caffeine. Basically, they wrap the caffeine in a light food-grade film. Because this food-grade film does not dissolve in your stomach at the same rate that regular caffeine does, by varying the micro-encapsulation you can get your caffeine dosage spread out over a much longer time.

On top of the caffeine, there is a daily serving of vitamin C in the bottle, and it is loaded with electrolytes, so it really helps if your activity is a marathon, not a sprint. About 20 minutes into a day of yard work I was hot, sweaty and tired - and grabbed one. After about 15 minutes, I was ready to go and got a good productive 3 hours of manual labor before I started to feel beat.

If I were needing to stay awake in a meeting or driving or working out, I would want something a bit more powerful that delivers a bigger punch to start off with. Truthfully, the 60mg for the initial boost is barely enough to keep me functional in the mornings until the energy beads kick in. If I were going to suggest anything, it would be great if they came out with a formula with a slightly higher kick - for those of us caffeine fiends that could really use that burst as well as sustained energy. After downing the Zum, I still felt a little pull to the coffee machine to help get me through my mornings.

If you are looking for something to keep you rocking for a while (and have a long straw to drink with) I would definitely recommend it.

The first time I tried Madrinas coffee drink I had some real issues. One of the biggest ones is that they did not really take themselves or their drink very seriously, hoping their branding would pay off into RTD coffee drink sales without putting much effort into it.

However, the newest incarnation of Madrinas is a smooth natural coffee filled with delicious creamy flavor and a brand that is much easier to get behind. If you are looking to go for a brand of coffee flavored energy with some real flavor and a decent amount of energy, this is a smart choice. I had a chance to talk with the new team at Madrinas, and they have really devoted quite a lot of time and energy into their latest offerings, and they get it - The way to make a great ready-to-drink coffee is to provide the consumer with something that looks great, tastes delicious and provides a bit of power. For a can of convenience-store based coffee drinks, I would choose this over the usual canned Starbucks/Monster/Seattle's Best humdrum stuff variety any day.

Packaging:8

The new Madrinas has accelerated their packaging to a point where this is something I am looking forward to seeing more on shelves across the U.S. While they still have some hispanic themes to the drink (A couple sayings in spanish and using more unique lettering choices) it is way turned down from being a coffee drink aimed towards hispanics and more to a coffee drink aimed at everybody. They is more going on without being busy, and I am not hesitant to bring this canned drink with me to my morning meetings and look out of place. While I appreciate going after the hispanic market for a coffee drink, this toned-down version still does the trick.

Taste: Cafe Vanilla:9 Cappucino:8

Madrinas coffee now comes in three flavors, the usual chocolate, espresso and vanilla (with almost no exceptions, every coffee drink is in one of these flavors). All of them are a marked improvement over what this drink was in the past - tasting creamy and sweet, yet not overpowering or too much like a shake. The old version was a mess, but you can actually taste real yummy coffee in here. The regular espresso flavor tasted a little watery, but the Cafe Vanilla was the perfect blend of sweet and strong coffee flavor to really work.

Still this is a canned coffee, so don't be expecting the same thing as an iced version of a gourmet shade-grown rainforest blend. But I would certainly rate this higher than anything put out in cans by Starbucks, Monster, Rockstar or a dozen other brands out there.

Buzz:6

Again, there is a marked improvement from the old version to this one. While the original might not have had any caffeine in it at all, each can has 100mg of caffeine from coffee in it. While that means it is about half as powerful as a regular drip coffee, it still can satisfy - as you just can not help but swig this stuff down fast. I really like what Madrinas has going on here, and was told that a more turbo drink is in the works, something with a bit more power for guys like me who need that morning rush to have more Oomph.

Seeing how much this small drink company has improved in the past months in just about every field, I'm excited to see in store for them in the near future.

YOU CAN READ THE EARLIER REVIEW HERE:

http://www.possessedbycaffeine.com/2012/10/madrinas-cafe-con-leche.html

One of the most important point o any new energy drink is a good hook - one that separates itself from the hundreds of other energy drinks out there in the market today. One interesting angle that has not really been pushed now is the idea of a "local" energy drink, one where the entire process from manufacture to marketing is solely based on the state it resides.

This is the angle for 5280 energy drink, made by and for Coloradans. For those who have never been to the Mile High City, Denver is 5280 feet above sea level, not because of the new marijuana laws ( although that fits the moniker too). One of the big selling points about 5280 is that it is Colorado made, colorado produced and sold in the state only - so unlike big national brands that are made here in Colorado (Vuka, Go Fast, Bing, Boa, Recon, Bazi and others), it is not only a local business, but all the money for the drink stays in the state.

Packaging: 3

So for all that hype about being local, I would have expected a whole lot more than a plastic wrapped energy drink can. Maybe this was all left over from a party at the Denver Chamber of Commerce, where it is obvious they ripped off their logo from.

Rather than spend actual money to get a professionally done can, 5280 went for a plastic wrapped variety - a cheaper form of packaging than an actual printing job - so it is akin to those Happy Bunny and other novelty energy drink cans you find at Hot Topic and RocketFizz , usually churned out by Boston America. This is one of the cheapest forms of energy drink packaging, and can easily be picked out by having the label easily peeled off the can. It is hard to be taken seriously when you don't even spring for a real printing job and just go for the novelty drink wrap.

I have some real problems with the wrap too. The font choices are a little silly, using an XTREME font for some of the writing, futuristic writing for other parts, a fat futura font for the logo, and a super stretched slogan at the bottom in yet another font. While The design is fun for a Colorado themed drink, I would LOVE to see what would happen if this was brought to one of colorado's professional design agencies and let a real package designer come up with something. Not to mention, one of my most important pet peeves - there is no listing of how much caffeine is in this 8 ounce can.

Taste: 4

Big Surprise, its another Red Bull clone. It is not a particularly good one - and reminds me of the hundreds and hundreds of other Red Bull cones that have flooded the market over the last decade. 5280 tastes like any other energy drink wannabe company asked a drink manufacturer to bottle their standard energy drink flavor in a can and call it a day. I seriously doubt anyone at this company even tasted the drink until it came to them already done and packaged up in cases.

There are SO MANY THINGS you could do to make this drink special and unique to colorado in the ingredients. How about using Rocky Mountain ayer - like Coors, or fresh ingredients sourced locally? How about dumping the crappy Red Bull flavorings for something local - like Palisade Peach or Grand Junction Grape? Instead, going for a knockoff flavor off the shelf is a HUGE copout.

Buzz:5

Because of the cheap 8 ounce can and the knockoff flavor, it is pretty easy to guess that the energy ingredients are off-the-shelf too, so I expect there are 65-80mg of caffeine in the can, which is sort of the standard for private label energy drink cans like this. If you were going to get novelty energy drink cans for a Bar Mitzvah and got a stock energy drink flavor, this is pretty much exactly what you would get - and those all have a very small caffeine and energy boosting ingredient level. Sure, if you pound 4 of these cans you are going to feel it, but the same holds true for drinking several hundreds of calories of any soda.

If you are in denver and looking for a tourist drink to send home to your kids - there are so many better ones out there from Colorado to choose from. The only real benefit to this drink that I can see is that if you are passing through the state and hit a truck stop - getting a can of 5280 is a bit more funny than getting a crappy postcard.

I still find drinking vitamin waters as not much more than expensive Kool Aid. Now you might ask what the difference is between that and an energy drink being expensive soda, and you would be dead on. This is especially true if your drink does not have anything particularly unique to it - like adding in lots of vitamins and minerals and other stuff your body needs. I even get Powerades and Gatorades, as those have potassium and really do help after a long workout.

Vitamin Water energy has been at the forefront of the Functional Water Category since it was a category. Some variety of caffeinated Vitamin Water has been on the market for over three years now - and probably longer than that. This one is a little different, in that it is in a can and not a pet bottle, and it is also lightly carbonated - so it is like an expensive Kool Aid AND an expensive energy drink.

This drink is also one of 711's exclusive products, which means they decided to go with a soft launch and see if their product was good enough to hit national. However, from the look of how short this run seems to have lasted at the 711s I visited was, I seriously doubt this will ever make it to national launch - it is just not good enough of an energy drink or unique enough from the other drinks to do much other than confuse people.

Packaging: 7

For being a can of Vitamin Water, it is not too shabby. This is the first time I have seen a vitamin water in a can, and if it were not for the color I would be totally down with this as an energy drink. THe colors are not your normal for an energy drink, instead coming into the market with dark green or pink - and a very simple logo. I would have expected an energy drink to be in something more eye catching, and instead this can gives off a more subdued feel.

Other than that it is about what you would expect. There is the caffeine listing as well as all other ingredients, and I would have preferred i the can was double faced, so it wold be easier for the people working in the 711 stores would not have to face their cans all the time. Also, double facing means that you can show off what drink you are holding without having to position your hand. Not awesome, but decent.

Taste:Orange-Mango:7, Fruit Punch:7, Strawberry Lime: 8

I tried both Vitamin Water energy flavors, and they were both very OK. I like that they were lightly sparkling, unlike most Vitamin Waters. It tasted light and fruity, and I enjoyed them all. Vitamin Water comes in three different varieties - a strawberry lime, berry punch and orange mango.

The orange mango tasted like orange soda - straight on. I could not really detect much mango - but it is of no concern really. It is a decent orange soda as orange soda goes. It is not over-sweet or bitter, and did not leave my mouth sticky as most orange-y drinks do.

The Fruit punch was also what you would expect - a mix of fruitiness that reminded me of a fruit lollipop.

The best one of them all was the strawberry lime - if for no other reason than this one took a change on a flavor that was more sour and less sweet than the others, and was the most unique. If you have tried this and loved it or hated it, it would have been because of this one. I like a less sweet and more sour drink, so I really enjoyed it

It is nice seeing them go out on a limb a bit with the flavor profile. They managed to balance the sweetness and the light flavor without getting bitter, which is made more difficult to do when using stevia as one of their sweeteners (stevia is pretty bitter tasting).

Buzz: 6

There are certainly good aspects to Vitamin Water Energy that are pretty well thought out. They kept the sugar content down by using a blend of stevia and cane sugar, so there was a nice amount of sweet and tart and still kept the calories down to a minimum. I also like the idea of using caffeine extracted from raw coffee beans, just because it is new and cool. You know, caffeine is caffeine is caffeine, whether you get it from tea or made in a lab - the only real difference is that this is the latest trend of cool energy sources. I also like the natural ingredients and no preservatives - which makes this much healthier than a caffeinated Kool Aid.

Problem is the same as their other caffeinated drinks - there is just not enough power in here to really do much. There is 80mg in a 11.5 ounce can, and while that's more than you can find in a soda, it is 4 ounces more liquid for the energy contained in a small can of Red Bull. I know their forces is health and vitamin and not just an energy rush, but the vitamin content was very low too. I was hoping for a real contender in this category - as this is a Coca-Cola product and you think they would have done their market research, but this Vitamin Water did not give me a whole lot to be excited about.

Still, I do not see any real reason for these drinks. The can is modest, the flavors are decent but nothing amazing, and the buzz is pretty weak. I was hoping when I saw those interestingly pastel-colored cans I would get cool energy drink flavors - but it seems like this was just churned out, without giving a whole lot of thought to the mart or their place in it.

Every once in a while I find myself wandering the aisles of an Asian food market, and end up with cans and cans of strange coffee drinks in my cart. While there are the occasional cool energy drinks to be found, the amount of canned coffee drinks that come out of Asia are staggering. Some can be quite good - although most range from the ridiculous to the ridiculously bad.

In the case of Super Bull Extra - Coffee with Milk, this little 6 ounce can was one of the worst coffee drinks I have ever had. This awful rancid piece of garbage was so bad I am surprised it even made it past customs. I have a hard enough time someone would spend the time producing it, let alone cart it all the way here from Thailand. But, thanks to the Anhing Corporation in Los Angeles, It made its way into the US. You would think that somewhere along the way, from the bottling plant to my cart, someone would have drank a can of this and decided it was not worth the bother.

Packaging:3

This small 6.08 o can is what happens when you stick to only one color for your printing job - and goes the range from reddish brown to brown to yellowish brown - all in one hard to read mess. First - you gotta love the name Super Bull, which is most likely a play off Red Bull, even though other than both being liquid have nothing to do with another. Secondly, by printing brown on top of yellowish brown, you miss such things as their illustrated stamp on top of their bad picture of what I am guessing is coffee on ice. IF you look closely, you can read that they are excited that this was made "FROM ROASTED COFFEE BEANS" which is much better than using them raw or microwaved. They do have an easy to read nutritional label, and thats about it. You could tell before opening the sturdy aluminum can that this drink is going to be pretty sketchy.

Taste:1

Have you ever left coffee in the pot so long that it got that nasty sludge on bottom from cooing all day? Well, take that sludge, add a little bit of sugar and reconstitute it with some water and powdered coffee creamer and thats about what you have here. Basically a slightly sweet canned burned mess. If you like coffee, or your tastebuds I would pass this one up.

No reason to continue ranting, just no. Big bad no.

Buzz:2

If you manage to finish the can of slightly sweet reconstituted burned coffee sludge, it is only 6 ounces, and not even enough caffeine to register even a hint of energy. I like canned coffee. I like Asian canned coffee - I have even had some great Thai canned coffee, but this is barely drinkable. Please Anhing Corp, taste your products before you end up bringing crap like this to my awesome Asian food market.

Triple Cola Soda

Rockstar Pure Zero energy - Silver Ice energy drink

5 Alarm Energy Shots - Extinguish and Blaze

Rockstar Pure Zero Punched

Rockstar Energy Water - Tropical Citrus

Coffee Thins

Popeye energy drink - Clobberin Clementine

Pounds Lost Energy shot

EnergyRush PocketBooster

Rockstar Sparkling Energy

Black Medicine Coffee

Cool Blue energy drink

Peak Energy tablets

Energems energy candy

Arriba Horchata energy drink

Zum XR time release energy drink

UPDATED: Madrinas Coffee drink

5280 Energy Drink

Vitamin Water Energy drinks

Super Bull Coffee with Milk