Fuel Cell Energy Drink Review

I have never seen this drink before. I came across it yesterday when I was perusing the 7-11 shelves for new and exciting caffeinated products to poison my body with. It costs $2.99 CAD, which is a great price for a 710 mL energy drink. When I paid for this and walked away, I noticed something else - this drink contains 400 mg of caffeine. 400 mg!!! That's enough to kill a horse and then bring it back to life. This is the most potent...most powerful energy drink I have seen for sale in Ontario. I wouldn't even dare drinking this in one sitting. But how would a 710 mL energy drink containing 400 mg of caffeine taste like?

OK, it smells very artificial - like a sugar free energy shot. But what the hell? This doesn't taste like anything! There is a very faint berry/caramel taste, but overall it just tastes like one of those artificially flavoured, slightly sweetened water beverages. There is a slight cough syrup note, but it is not that strong. For those wondering, the drink is dark pink, slightly purple. That is the weirdest tasting energy drink I have had. It is not bad tasting but it also doesn't taste great. The immediate aftertaste is like eating a very cheap, almost flavourless candy - there is a trace of the flavour, but it's as if you ate the candy 30 minutes ago. There is also a hint of the artificial taste, but this all goes away relatively quickly so I have to say that the aftertaste in the long run is somewhat clean.

The energy...I don't know if this really has 400 mg of caffeine, but it can sure wake you up. I had a sleepless night, but 15 minutes after drinking a little bit of this, I felt excellent. You could get a similar effect by drinking two 473 mL drinks and a 250 mL one, assuming:

• 473 mL drink contains 160 mg of caffeine and,
• 250 mL drink - 80 mg.

But you will be paying a premium. You might enjoy the taste of the 3 drinks more, but why spend so much money when you can have something that barely tastes like anything for 1/3 of the price.

Check out that bottle, it is not one of those standard 710 mL ones, it has ridges on one side. It feels great holding this bottle as it is a bit slimmer than the other comparable bottles and the ridges offer a nice grip.

Scores:
Cost - $2.99 CAD for a 710 mL bottle from 7-11
Taste - 5.9/10...fairly neutral with some traces of a cough syrup and artificial flavouring
Energy - 10/10

Overall - 15.9/20...most potent drink I have ever had and surprisingly the taste is not too horrible