Sunday, August 29, 2010

REVIEW OF SLAP LEMOM ICE WHITE TEA

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 200 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.


RATING: 8.3 OUT OF 10.


This is the second drink from Big Lots that I will be reviewing. The product is called Slap, so hopefully they will slap me awake. And really, what could be a funnier energy drink name? The only thing that could make it better is if they used different types of slaps for there flavors. "Introducing Slap. With all new flavors like pimp, backhand, and b****!" Well enough of me screwing around, so let's get to the taste. The flavor profile is lemon ice white tea, so I expected a lemon flavor mixed with white tea. I cracked the can while at the beach on a hot day. It was cool and refreshing, but it wasn't perfect. Now I'm not the biggest fan of lemon but I wished I could have tasted it more. The white tea flavor was there of course. And despite having 27 grams less sugar than Monster (36 grams rather than 54) it was still on the sweet side. But I'm 16, so I don't mind that. To sum up the taste, it's a pseudo-blend of lemon and white tea with white tea dominating and the lemon more of a backend flavor. Alright, on to the energy inducing ingredients. Slap's marketing tool is the "Energy 9.0" blend. It's actually more of an "Energy 10.0" blend if you count the 100 percent daily value of vitamin b12. It also has two other b-vitamins in the blend: niacin and vitamin b6, each having 100 percent daily value. The other 7 ingredients in the "9.0" are isomaltulose, taurine, maltodextrin, caffeine (200 milligrams per 16 ounce can), white tea solids, guarana extract, and yerba mate. The blend totals 2,765 milligrams. I'm not sure if that is per can or per serving. I'll take a guess and say that it is per serving, although that may be wrong. If it's not, then this drink has a 5,530 milligram energy blend. That is quite a substantial amount. So like I said, I had this at the beach. I drank this while walking across the shoreline. After my drink was finished, so was my walk. I headed back to where my family was sitting. The drink took a little time to kick in, but when it did it was a mid-level boost with no jitters. I could still get a nice tan if I wanted to, but I also had the urge to sprint on the sand to nowhere for absolutely no reason. I also got the urge to try push-ups in the sand. In case you are wondering, it's the exact same as push-ups on flat ground. The buzz tapered off after approximately 4 or 5 hours. Not a bad drink by any means. And definitely worth the 70 cents it was priced at. I really wish Big Lots was closer. 8.3 out of 10.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

REVIEW OF SHOCK TRIPLE LATTE

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 231 MILLIGRAMS PER 8 OUNCE CAN.


RATING: 9.2 OUT OF 10.


I don't live near a Big Lots so when I saw the building I could hardly control my childlike glee. Big Lots sells energy drinks for 50 to 70 cents. Dirt cheap. I wound up with three drinks in my hand: Liquid Nitro, Slap Lemon Ice White Tea, and Shock Triple Latte. Today I will be covering Shock Triple Latte. Shock Coffee is the maker of Shock Hyper-Caffeinated Coffee. Their coffee is 50 percent more caffeinated than gourmet coffees. They also make Shock-A-Lots which are candy-coated, chocolate-covered coffee beans. They also have organic ground coffee, and ready to drink coffee beverages. They have two ready to drink flavors: Triple Latte and Triple Mocha. If your not a coffee aficionado (neither am I), triple means triple espresso. And that is the first ingredient: brewed espresso coffee. So I was expecting a rich coffee flavor with the usual milky creaminess. To my surprise, the espresso flavor was not as pronounced as I would have liked it. Personally, if your going to make your coffee have three shots of espresso, it better have a rich and fresh coffee taste. This was more on the milky and creamy side. It was still delicious, don't get me wrong. I just wish the espresso would be more pronounced. There are no energy enhancing ingredients to speak of besides caffeine. In fact, caffeine is technically listed twice. The first ingredient like I said is brewed espresso coffee. The last ingredient is caffeine. So they actually add a little bit (maybe a cola's worth) of caffeine to there triple espresso drink. Nice! This is perhaps the most potent coffee drink out there. It is most definitely the most potent 8 ounce drink I have ever had. But of course that will be blown out of the water once my Cocaine Energy Drink arrives. I searched high and low for a caffeine amount on this coffee drink, and then I found it at the Energy Fiend Caffeine Database. It has a sweet 231 milligrams of caffeine per 8 ounce can. That's the equivalent of about 3 Red Bulls in the same size can. Fantastic. So, did it work? The simple answer is yes. Of course I chugged it to get all that caffeine in my system at once. I was instantly overwhelmed with a big rush of energy. For about 20 to 30 minutes I was going pretty strong. I was headbanging to Slayer and was in a good mood. After that passed, it was a middle-of-the-road boost that lasted for another 2 or 3 hours before the drink tapered off altogether. It's a very interesting kick. If you need to jack yourself up immediately, then I would suggest a can of this. You will not be disappointed. I certainly wasn't. 9.2 out of 10.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

REVIEW OF FUZE BLUEBERRY RASPBERRY

CAFFEINE CONTENT: NO CAFFEINE.


RATING: 6 OUT OF 10.


You might be wondering why I am reviewing Fuze on an energy review blog. The reason why is because I review functional beverages, and Fuze fits into that category. The flavor I will be diving into today is called blueberry raspberry. I twisted off the top and took a swig. Well, the taste is a bit overpowered by the artificial sweeteners and I cannot taste a very good infusion of both blueberry and raspberry. The taste is extremely good, however it is not what I expected it to be. Ok, this beverage contains no caffeine, no taurine, no yerba mate, no ginseng, no guarana....you get it, right? However is does have some cool ingredients. It has 41 micrograms of Chromium, a micronutrient known to help the body get energy from food. Next it has 138 milligrams of vitamin c, an antioxidant essential for healthy skin that also helps support the body's immune system. Then we've got 23 milligrams of l-carnitine, an ingredient that the body uses in metabolism. Last but not least we have 462 milligrams of Super Citrimax, an extract from the south asain fruit garcinia cambogia. So we have over 600 milligrams of functional ingredients. I suppose that isn't horrible but I have seen better. I have no idea if 462 milligrams of super citrimax is a high amount or not. l-carnitine is commonly found in most energy drinks. Since this is a functional beverage and not an energy drink, it's difficult to rate the effect. I guess will rate it based on how I feel after drinking one. The results were ok, but nothing astounding. Obviously there was no caffeine buzz, but there was some focus increase. Certainly nothing major in the functionality department. Overall, if you enjoy tasty beverages, then drink this. Just don't expect it to do anything special. 6 out of 10.

Sunday, August 08, 2010

REVIEW OF EBOOST PINK LEMONADE

CAFFEINE CONTENT: UNKNOWN.

RATING: 8.1 OUT OF 10.

Eboost is one of those products that everyone seems to like. There is really nothing bad in the packet of effervescent powder. Unlike the Acai Pomegranate flavor I reviewed a couple of days ago, this comes in a pink square packet. It has the breast cancer ribbon at the top left corner and the flavor is naturally flavored pink lemonade. I poured the content into an 8 ounce glass of water and allowed it to effervesce. After a few stirs, I took my first sip. It was definitely a pink lemonade flavor that had some fizziness to it. I slammed the last 7 ounces in no time since this was an outstanding flavor. Ok, Eboost is supposed to give you the 4 vital elements of performance: energy, immunity, recovery, and focus. Here are the ingredients that help you get those 4 benefits: 1,000 milligrams of vitamin c (1,667 percent of your daily value), 15 milligrams of vitamin b3 (75 percent of your daily value), 2 milligrams of vitamin b6 (100 percent of your daily value), 200 micrograms of folic acid (50 percent of your daily value), 2,500 micrograms of vitamin b12 (41,667 percent of your daily value. Not a typo.) 7.5 milligrams of zinc (50 percent of your daily value), 100 micrograms of selenium (143 percent of your daily value), 1 milligram of copper (50 percent of your daily value), 120 micrograms of chromium (100 percent of your daily value), 40 milligrams of sodium bicarbonate (1 percent of your daily value), and 500 milligrams of potassium (14 percent of your daily value). There is also 1,050 milligrams of worth of what's called the Eboost Blend. It has green tea leaf extract, glucuronolactone, 5-htp (from griffonia simplicifolia seed extract), huperzine-a, vinpocetine, astragalus membranaceus root extract, and grape seed extract. It is naturally sweetened with 150 milligrams of stevia leaf extract. So with over 2,600 milligrams of stuff that is supposed to boost energy, immunity, recovery, and focus, it should work pretty well right? Well, sort of. I know this is not supposed to blow your face off with absurd amounts of caffeine (i.e. Spike Shooter, Spike Shotgun, Redline, Wired X-344, etc.) but I didn't really feel a whole lot different. I felt a little bit more unclouded with my thoughts but nothing major. However, if you are looking for a health drink to give you a little boost, stop looking. You've just located a review of it. Go find some at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or at Eboost.com. 8.1 out of 10.

Friday, August 06, 2010

REVIEW OF 8 HOUR ENERGY-150th REVIEW!

CAFFEINE CONTENT: UNDISCLOSED.


RATING: 9.3 OUT OF 10.


First came 5 Hour Energy which promised an amazing 5 hours of solid energy. And then there were the 6 Hour Powers. Upping the hours even more is Redline with it's 7 Hour Shot. And now comes the mother of them all. The ultimate sustaining energy. The 8 Hour Energy Shot from Bhelliom Enterprises! However, does this shot taste good (for a shot)? Does it have a good blend? And does it knock me off my feet with insane amounts of energy? Well why don't you read on and find out. I unwrapped the plastic top and gave it a few shakes. I didn't actually pour it into a glass but I could tell that it had that basic pinkish red color that most energy shots have. Before I slammed it down, I was actually a bit nervous. You see, this product contains some cool, yet crazy ingredients. More on those in a minute. Meanwhile I slammed it down and got a surprisingly smooth mixed berry flavor which is typical of most energy shots. If I remember correctly, my favorite energy shot as far as taste is Crakshot. However, the 8 Hour Energy Shot comes strikingly close. Ok, time for those crazy energy boosting ingredients. It has 2 milligrams of vitamin b1, 10 milligrams of niacin, 2 milligrams of vitamin b6, 400 micrograms of folate, 500 micrograms of vitamin b12, and 10 milligrams of pantothenic acid. There is also 300 milligrams worth of what is called "The XtenrG Blend" which consists of caffeine, glucuronolactone, n-acetyl-l-tyrosine, yohimbine, naringin, hoodia gordonii 20:1 extract, glycine, and guggulsterones E and Z. Nope, still not done. It has an Energy Berry Blend which has acai berry, goji berry, pomegranate fruit, yerba mate leaf, and tahitian noni. Ok, that is a simply ridiculous 19 energy enhancing ingredients. Nineteen! In a shot! Unfortunately, The folks at Bhelliom won't disclose their caffeine amount but they say it is similar to a cup of coffee. Well, that doesn't really clear things up enough to make an educated guess. My best guess would be around the 200 mark. So, to test this bad boy out I took it about 20 minutes before a bike ride. During the bike ride, I did notice that I had more energy and wanted to take hills at a higher gear than normal. In some cases, without an energy shot I would have said screw it and got off my bike and walked up the hill, but since my adrenaline was flowing, that never happened. When I finished the 1 hour bike ride, the urge to lie down only lasted a few seconds. It have to say I enjoyed the kick from 8 Hour even though it lasted about 5 and a half to 6 hours instead of the advertised 8. Rating? 9.3 out of 10.

Thursday, August 05, 2010

REVIEW OF ALLDAY ENERGY

CAFFEINE CONTENT: UNDISCLOSED.


RATING: 8.2 OUT OF 10.


Well here we have the Allday Energy Shot. This energy shot takes a more responsible approach to giving you energy, similar to the market leading 5 Hour Energy from Living Essentials. Before we get into the ingredients and kick, let's first talk about the packaging and taste. This shot comes in a red two ounce bottle and has a pretty laid back design albeit there are some flames at the bottom. I unscrewed the top and slammed it down. Now normally, energy shots don't taste good because they have to cram all of that energy into 2 tiny ounces. While Allday wasn't the best shot I have had, the flavor has smooth and not very harsh. The actual flavor is hard to tell but it is most likely some sort of mixed berry. So like I said, Allday is taking a responsible approach to giving you energy. Here is the list: 500 milligrams of d-ribose, 100 milligrams of l-arginine, 100 milligrams of l-carnitine, 250 milligrams of taurine, 100 milligrams of glucuronolactone, 50 milligrams of ginseng panax (how they say it), 300 percent daily value of vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), 850 percent daily value of vitamin b12 (cyanocobalamin) and 100 percent daily value of folic acid. Of course, there is caffeine and I have no idea how much. Based on fact that caffeine is the third listed ingredient in the other ingredients list I am assuming somewhere along the lines of 150 to 200 milligrams. A big margin, I know, but that is all I can come up with. Ok, so this is supposed to last around 6 to 8 hours, so did it? Nope, actually it lasted about 4 or 5. However the actual kick is pretty good. It is a medium level boost that's smooth and has no jitters. I actually got the urge to lip sing (good thing I didn't really sing) and head bang along to some Disturbed and Atreyu. No, the shot didn't blow my brains out but I didn't expect it to. The kick was well received and I have to say the all day stuff is a stretch. It didn't even last 5 hours. But that doesn't really bother me. It's still a good shot and I will use it when I want a good pick me up. 8.2 out of 10.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

REVIEW OF EBOOST ACAI POMEGRANATE

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 110 MILLIGRAMS PER 0.25 OUNCE PACK.


RATING: 8.5 OUT OF 10.


At around noon a package came to my door and I noticed it was the samples from Eboost, distributed by Vitalize Labs. They gave me two samples. One of them was there brand new flavor Acai Pomegranate, which is what I will be reviewing today, and there pink lemonade flavor. Well, this is an effervescent which means that it has a slight bit of fizz. I dumped the packet into 8 ounces of water and stirred. It starts out having a pink foamy head that goes away after a couple of seconds. After a few more stirs, I took a swig. Well, since the flavor is Acai Pomegranate, the drink did have a bite to it. Although the flavor is pretty good, I have to say I don't agree with the new flavor. If you've ever had Pomegranate juice you may know what I'm talking about. And as far as I know, Acai isn't a sweet berry which is why it is paired with sweeter fruits when it is in a drink. So while agreeing with my taste buds, the combination of two not-so-sweet fruits is a bit iffy. Eboost has some good energy ingredients so here is the list: 15 milligrams of zinc, 100 micrograms of selenium, 2 milligrams of copper, 120 micrograms of chromium, 196 milligrams of potassium, 1,000 milligrams of vitamin c (1,667 percent of your daily value), 15 milligrams of niacin, 2 milligrams of vitamin b6, 400 micrograms of folic acid, 1,000 micrograms of vitamin b12 (16,667 percent of your daily value). Finally it has a 340 milligram Eboost Energy Blend consisting of: Acai fruit, green tea leaf extract, pomegranate fruit extract, resveratol, agave fruit, mango fruit, quercetin dihydrate, ginkgo biloba leaf extract, huperzine-a, 5-htp, and grape seed extract. That is quite the laundry list of ingredients for sure. There are two ingredients that really stand out on my mind: vitamins c and b12. They contain 1,667 and 16,667 percent of your daily value respectively. Now that all sounds very nice, but let's not forget that those vitamins are water soluble. Which means your body will just urinate the access out. So in reality, whether you have 1000 percent or 1,000,000 percent of water soluble vitamins, it's all just a simple marketing gimmick. Sorry. If your wondering about caffeine, there is some in here. 110 milligrams of the stuff and 90 milligrams of egcg, the antioxidant found in green tea. 110 milligrams into an 8 ounce drink is 30 more than a Red Bull so I was expected around a medium size jolt with some focus and mental clarity. I took this before going on a  bike ride and it is hard to tell if it worked or not. I suppose it isn't necessarily a workout drink, so did it provide me with any energy or mental clarity? Well, yes, actually it did. I noticed that I was more focus and my mind wasn't all cloudy. Another thing I noticed was my mood. Although I wasn't smiling, I still felt the endorphins get released and I felt better and fresher. I would definitely recommend this do the person who is concerned about energy drinks because of their sugar or caffeine levels. You should find them at your local Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The only question left is...what should I rate it? 8.5 out of 10. And in my rating system, that means your just a well put together drink, Eboost. But you are still short of amazing.

Monday, August 02, 2010

REVIEW OF STARBUCKS FRAPPUCCINO COFFEE

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 75 MILLIGRAMS PER 9.5 OUNCE BOTTLE.


RATING: 7.5 OUT OF 10.


Although this ready to drink Starbucks Frappuccino is not technically an energy drink, it still has 75 milligrams of caffeine in just 9.5 ounces. And that's the same amount of caffeine per ounce as you would get in a 12 ounce Starbucks Cafe Mocha. The bottled frappuccino drinks come in multiple flavors including coffee, mocha, and vanilla. Today I will  be reviewing the coffee flavor. Well, it comes in a 9.5 ounce glass bottle and it is a light brown color. I drink some and I am hit with a sweet coffee flavor with just a hint of coffee bitterness. In fact, if you like your coffee extra bold and black then this will probably be too sweet. It actually has 32 grams of sugar. So, expect this to be a sugary and sweet coffee drink. Unfortunately, the only energy enhancing ingredient is 75 milligrams of caffeine. And 32 grams of sugar if you want to count that. That being said, this review is going to be a lot shorter than most because of the lack of energy blend. But that doesn't bother me because this is a ready to drink coffee beverage and not an energy drink. So, onto the kick. I chugged this drink mighty fast to get most out of the 75 milligrams of caffeine. I have to say it was decent but nothing over the top. It was what I would expect from a coffee drink with that much caffeine. If you want a nice pick me up before you go to work and you don't want it to blow your head off then this is a fine drink. For us energy drink junkies....it's just decent. 7.5 out of 10. Also, since this review is so short, I am going to let you know what energy products I may or may not be reviewing in the future. It just depends if the samples get here. Already, Mr. Energy 8 Hour Energy Shot and 8 Hour Energy Capsules are going to be shipped to my door along with a drink mix called Eboost. Other than those two there might be 666 Energy Shot and maybe some others, but I can't remember them right now. Just stay tuned and I should have those reviews up in a few days.

Sunday, August 01, 2010

REVIEW OF MONSTER NITROUS KILLER-B

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 160 MILLIGRAMS PER 12 OUNCE CAN.


RATING: 9.6 OUT OF 10.


I know it has been almost a month since my last review, but luckily a got in contact with King of Caffeine and I will by getting some cool energy products in the near future. Please keep following this review site, it is not dead, not by a long shot. Well, here we have the Killer-B flavor of Monster Nitrous. The can is black and yellow with a honeycomb pattern. It has a resealable top which looks great but makes no sense in a 12 ounce can. It's one serving. Not three. I really had absolutely no idea what to expect for the taste so I popped the top and hoped for the best. This drink has a very nice lemon-citrus flavor. It's tart and has a nice flavor profile. It isn't the sour and tart flavor of a typical lemon-lime soda that sort of gently gives you a helping of tartness. The Monster Nitrous Killer-B punches you directly in the face and says "LEMON!" It's a great flavor. But not a lemonade because there are other citrus flavors. All right, here is the Monster Blend: 6.5 milligrams of vitamin b2, 40 milligrams of vitamin b3, 150 milligrams of vitamin b5, 25 milligrams of vitamin b6, 90 micrograms of vitamin b12, 2,000 milligrams of taurine, 400 milligrams of panax ginseng, and 5,000 milligrams of glucose, l-carnitine, caffeine, glucuronolactone, guarana, inositol, bee pollen, royal jelly, and maltodextrin. First of all the bee pollen and royal jelly are certainly not typical energy ingredients. Second, vitamin b5, b6, and b12 have 1,500, 1,250, and 1,500 percent daily value respectively. That is lightyears beyond the original Monster. The total amount of milligrams is a simply staggering 7,621.59 milligrams. That's over 635 milligrams of energy blend for every ounce! At last, we get to the kick. I drank this about 15 to 20 minutes before I played some tennis. Even though I doubt that the energy drink made my playing better, I have to say I played some of the best tennis I have played in a very long time. The kick woke me up and did not drop off until about 5 hours later. By far, these Monster Nitrous drinks are my favorite Monster Line-up by far. I only wish they weren't 3 dollars. 9.6 out of 10.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...