RATING: 7.5 OUT OF 10.
Caffeinated gum in certainly nothing new, as it has been around for several years, probably starting with Jolt Gum. Caffeinated gum works almost instantaneously because the caffeine is absorbed through the gums. I have had two experiences so far with caffeinated gum, one of them good, and one of them not so good. Let's see how VE2 fairs out. The first thing I noticed about VE2 was the way it is packaged. It comes in the standard blister pack, but there is no paper wrapping around the pack. This is to save trash and to save a few trees. Now, I'm not a tree hugger, but I think this is a great idea. The paper wrapper is simply not necessary. Ok, so it looks like we have another peppermint flavored gum. Upon chewing for a few moments, a cool and clean peppermint became noticeable. It is a little bit less powerful then Mad Croc Power Peppermint, and unfortunately VE2 could not keep the bitter flavor of caffeine at bay. This gum would have been pretty good, but unfortunately just a little bitterness drops down the taste rating. Now, what powers this gum? Well, two pieces have 40 percent daily value of niacin, 40 percent daily value of vitamin b6, 40 percent daily value of vitamin b12, 70 milligrams of caffeine, guarana, and ginseng. Not bad for an energy gum. I especially like the addition of guarana and ginseng. And it's no wonder that I could taste the caffeine because it the very first ingredient, followed by guarana, ginseng, vitamins, sweeteners, natural and artificial flavors, color, and texture. This gum actually has 6 artificial sweeteners (xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and lycasin) which is a ton no matter which way you look at it. Still, with the way my rating system works, they won't get any points off. So really the only thing left to answer is: does it work? The answer is simply yes. Sure it didn't work as well as Mad Croc Power Peppermint, but the 70 milligrams of caffeine worked pretty well, powering me through boring classes such as Chemistry 210, Concepts of Algebra 2, and World History. Would I recommend this gum? Not over Mad Croc Power Peppermint, but if you can't get a hold of that then this is a nice alternative. 7.5 out of 10. You can purchase VE2 Gum at Chemical Evolution.
