Tag: Energy Drink

REVIEW: Starbucks Iced Energy Beverages

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Who would’ve thought Starbucks and Dunkin’ would be competing for our cash with fruity energy drinks this year? I didn’t have that on my 2024 Fast Food BINGO card. Earlier this year, Dunkin’ pushed 144 milligrams of caffeine into our bloodstreams with its SPARKD’ Energy Drinks. Now, Starbucks is helping keep America energized with its line of Iced Energy Beverages.

The sugar-free drink debuted with three flavors: Melon Burst, Tropical Citrus, and Frozen Tropical Citrus Iced Energy with Strawberry Puree. While the first two are permanent additions to the menu, the third one is only available for a limited time and exclusive to the Starbucks app. This review will cover the first two.

Starbucks says the Melon Burst Iced Energy features melon and cucumber flavors balanced with Passion Tango Tea. If you’re unfamiliar with the chain’s Passion Tango Tea, it’s made with a blend of hibiscus, lemongrass, and apple, creating a beverage with the color of passion. For a drink called “Melon Burst,” it sure doesn’t have a burst of melon. Nor does it have a noticeable cucumber flavor. Both come out a bit in the aftertaste, but I mostly detected the flavors in the Passion Tango Tea. It’s not a bad tasting beverage since I enjoy hibiscus teas, but I was hoping for more melon.

Starbucks’ Tropical Citrus Iced Energy combines passionfruit and citrus flavors with green tea. There’s a slight tartness from the passionfruit flavor, but I’m not sure I taste anything citrusy, which I guess, depending on the citrus fruit, could also cause the tartness. It starts fruity, and the green tea becomes more noticeable right before I gulp it down. Thoughts of Arizona Green Tea came to mind while drinking this, but as a fan of the cheap canned beverage, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. If I were to repurchase an Iced Energy, I’d get this flavor over the Melon Burst.

With that said, I wish these had a stronger fruitiness. Their flavors don’t pop like they do with Dunkin’s energy drink offerings. Heck, Starbucks’ Refreshers are more enticing. I guess I’m disappointed because I’m used to zero-sugar Monster and Red Bull varieties being flavorful despite having zero calories and artificial sweeteners. But on the plus side, while these Starbucks beverages also use artificial sweeteners, I didn’t notice the sucralose and ace-k in them.

While these don’t pulverize your taste buds with flavor, they do pack a heck of a caffeinated punch. Melon Burst has 180 milligrams of caffeine, and Tropical Citrus has 205 milligrams. Those numbers are for the venti size, which is the ONLY size these drinks come in. I wonder if the reasoning for this is because of what happened with Panera’s Charged Lemonade.

If you want a lightly carbonated, lightly fruity, easy-to-drink, and heavily caffeinated pick-me-up that doesn’t make you feel like you need to brush your teeth afterward, Starbucks’ Iced Energy Drinks will satisfy your taste buds, bloodstream, and teeth.

Purchased Price: $6.25 each
Size: Venti (24 fl oz)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Melon Burst), 6 out of 10 (Tropical Citrus)
Nutrition Facts: (Venti) Melon Burst – 10 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 35 milligrams of sodium, 1 gram of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 180 milligrams of caffeine. Tropical Citrus – 5 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 35 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 205 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Reign Storm 2024 Energy Drink Flavors

Marvo 1 Comment

Oh, hey!!! New Reign Storm flavors!!! Let’s get caffeinated!!! Whoa!!! Too many exclamation points! Maybe I’m already too caffeinated!

This year’s lot features Strawberry Apricot, Mango, Citrus Zest, and Guava Strawberry. They come in the same 12-ounce slim cans as all other Reign Storm varieties and feature “clean energy,” which means the 200 milligrams of caffeine are provided by plant sources like green coffee beans, green tea extract, ginseng, guarana, and guayusa. They also have zero sugar and no artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors.

Much like the original Reign Storm varieties, there isn’t a bad tasting one in this bunch. But if you’re staring at all of these new ones at the store and only want to buy one, let me be your energy drink sommelier and recommend getting the Mango or Guava Strawberry. The former has a sweet tropicalness that shouts mango in my head. It nails the fruit’s flavor, and I’m glad it wasn’t paired with another to take away some of the spotlight. Guava Strawberry had a perfect balance between the two flavors, and it was berry berry good. Although that isn’t surprising since Monster did a great job with its Ultra Strawberry Dreams, which I thought had a slight guava flavor.

Great, but not quite as great as the two above was Citrus Zest. After tasting it and looking at the grapefruit on its can, I can’t help but think this tastes similar to the Monster Ultra Ruby Red Fantasy that came out earlier this year. Although I thought the grapefruit stood out a bit more with this. And, finally we come to Strawberry Apricot, which I enjoyed as much as Citrus Zest. The balance was like 60 percent strawberry and 40 percent apricot, and it made for a tasty energy drink, which again is not surprising because of how well Monster does strawberry.

Much like Monster’s Ultra line, I didn’t notice the artificial sweeteners in these, which are sucralose, acesulfame potassium, and erythritol. I had somewhat of an issue with the sweeteners coming through when I covered the original flavors, but I didn’t experience it with these.

Reign Storm Energy Drinks are like Monster Ultra with benefits. They have the same great taste, and similar flavors, as the Ultra line, but also have more caffeine and ingredients that help accelerate metabolism, provide immunity support, and help support hair and skin health. But I really wish they came in 16-ounce cans so that I could have more caffeine, more helpful vitamins, and more tasty liquid to drink.

DISCLOSURE: I received free product samples from Monster. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 12 fl oz cans
Purchased at: Received from Monster
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Mango and Guava Strawberry), 7 out of 10 (Citrus Zest and Strawberry Apricot)
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 10 calories, 0 grams of fat, 280 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 2 grams of erythritol, 0 grams of protein,.

REVIEW: Rehab Monster Green Tea

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Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey is a beverage I pick up when I want something big, cheap, and sweet, but not too sweet. I usually drink it when I want to relax after a long day of yard work or being in the sun all day. This Rehab Monster Green Tea, with its 160 milligrams of caffeine, might be the drink that I consume if I’m getting ready for a day of pulling weeds, cutting grass, and trimming trees.

Along with the caffeine from Monster’s energy blend, Rehab Monster Green Tea also contains electrolytes, B vitamins, coconut water, milk thistle, and quercetin. What’s quercetin? That’s a good querstion. It’s a food supplement that helps boost immunity.

Before trying Rehab Monster Green Tea, I expected it to taste like an Arizona Green Tea but with a noticeable bitterness from Monster’s energy blend. And that was what popped into my head as the amber-colored beverage went down my gullet. If Arizona decided to make a green tea energy drink, I imagine it would taste similar. But since that doesn’t exist yet, if I have a hankering for a caffeinated iced green tea drink, this would be it. It’s sweet and tasty, but I wish its bitterness was less noticeable. I guess it’s hard to hide it when green tea has a light flavor.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 15.5 fl oz can
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 15 calories, 0 grams of fat, 70 milligrams of sodium, 7 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of sugar (including 3 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 160 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Red Bull Summer Edition Curuba Elderflower Energy Drink

Marvo 2 Comments

I have no idea what curuba or elderflower are, but I do know they make 2024’s Red Bull Summer Edition one very delicious caffeinated beverage. And I assume many of you are also unfamiliar with them. So, let’s learn something about the two together. Off to Google we gooooo…gle!

Curuba is also known as a banana passionfruit because of its length and yellow color when ripe, but it doesn’t curve like typical bananas. The plant is also passionate about killing trees in areas where they are an invasive species. Ay curuba! Elderflower sounds like either something you should equip yourself with in a Final Fantasy game, someone you meet behind a waterfall to help you achieve enlightenment, or the name of a Swedish indie pop band. Oh, wait, I’m being told that the last one is true. However, actual elderflowers are plants with small white flowers that bloom in late spring, which is a perfect flavor for a Red Bull Summer Edition that also shows up in spring.

The energy drink’s color resembles a curuba’s flesh, while the green can could represent an unripe curuba’s skin. It has a delightful tropical passion fruit punch aroma that I wish I could purchase as an essential oil for my mindfulness meditations behind a waterfall with some guy named Elderflower. When I first tried it, I could only think of pear and lychee. But the more I drank, the more the tang from the curuba and its tropical fruit flavor stood out. And I assume the floral lychee hints I taste is the elderflower. The fruit and flower flavor combo is so tasty that it makes me want to sing “Curuba. Jamaica. Oooh, I wanna take ya. Bermuda. Bahama, come on pretty mama” every time I type curuba. Ugh. That reference makes me feel so old.

Red Bull Summer Edition Curuba Elderflower tickles my taste buds so much that I’d recommend getting the four-packs available, and it deserves to be the new Green Edition. So let’s kick to the curb the current Green Edition flavor, Dragon Fruit, and replace it with this. I’m going to start a petition to make that happen right now. Okay, not right right now, but if I chug enough of these curuba elderflower-flavored Red Bulls, it might give me the wings to do so.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 8.4 fl oz can
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 90 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 26 grams of sugar (including 26 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 80 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Rockstar Recovery Berryade

Marvo 4 Comments

I’m not sure why I’ve been kind of ignoring Rockstar Energy Drinks for many years. Maybe I feel more like a Monster than a Rockstar? Or perhaps it’s because the Rockstar products seem to always be on the shelves below the Monster stuff, and I don’t want to bend down to get them. But after tasting Rockstar Recovery Berryade, I think I should start caffeinating my body with flavors I haven’t tried yet because this energy drink is delicious.

Its aroma is a delightful mix that’s sometimes reminiscent of cotton candy and other times of a refreshing berry slushie. Its sweet, candy-like flavor is a treat for my taste buds, so much so that I found myself finishing it quickly. It also didn’t help that it’s non-carbonated, making it go down smoothly without carbonation bubbles acting as speed bumps along the way to my gullet. And just like Monster Energy’s Ultra line, despite being sugar-free, it doesn’t compromise on taste. When I drank this chilled, I couldn’t tell it had artificial sweeteners.

The 160 milligrams of caffeine in Rockstar Recovery Berryade did have a noticeable reviving effect, providing a much-needed energy boost. But I have to trust that the drink’s electrolytes actually hydrated me because I can’t tell. I also have to trust that the added biotin, magnesium, and zinc did what they were supposed to do.

Rockstar Recovery Berryade is a berry good tasting beverage that’ll ade my energy levels.

Purchased Price: $2.79
Size: 16 fl oz can
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 10 calories, 0 grams of fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, 1 gram of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 160 milligrams of caffeine.