ZizZazz Raspberry Lemon Explosive Energy Mix Review

Last year I tried one of the other ZizZazz flavours, but used too little and found the resulting mixture to be too bland for my liking. This time I will not repeat my mistake. I got this powdered packaged for only $0.99 from 7-11 after they decided to cut most of the caffeinated products from their stores to sell cheap DVDs and games. There are a bunch of other discounted energy products so if you wish to get loaded on caffeine, the time is now.

I filled my Nalgene bottle with exactly 16 oz of water and poured the whole ZizZazz package in. Unlike the other ZizZazz mixture, this one did not take too long to dissolve completely into a cloudy, pinkish liquid. The resulting mixture had a weird cough syrup smell with hints of lemon and berries. The taste is not bad. It tastes a lot like a diet non-carbonated soft drink. The lemon flavour attacks the tongue at the beginning, but goes away very quickly. I wouldn't call the second flavour raspberry as it is more like just berries. That flavour also goes away quickly due to the artificial sweetener used which makes the finish very, very sweet and makes way for a nasty, bitter flavour which lasts for quite some time in the aftertaste. The bitterness is also weird as it just feels that way on your tongue, kind of like when you chew on a bitter pill and some of the powder stays stuck to your tongue. At least I found that if you wish to get some flavour of these ZizZazz powders, you have to use the whole package.

The resulting 16 oz drink contains 200 mg of caffeine, which is pretty respectable. I started to wake up and feel energized in about 20 minutes which could be from the caffeine, or something else. By the 20 minute mark I had consumed more than half the drink so the energy escalated from none to pretty good in matter of minutes. I did not feel jittery or experience a headache, which is always a plus. Another 20 minutes later and the whole mixture gone, I was feeling very, very energized...but I also had plenty of sleep. The boost lasted for a very long time and I did not feel a crash at the end. For something that costs less than a dollar, this works amazingly.

Medicinal Ingredients:

• Taurine - 483 mg,
• Vitamin C - 300 mg
• Caffeine - 200 mg
• Niacin - 30 mg
• Pantothenic Acid - 10 mg
• Glucuronolactone - 8.75 mg
• Vitamin B6 - 3.4 mg
• Vitamin E - 1.35 mg
• Green Tea Extract - 70 mcg
• Ginseng Extract - 70 mcg
• Alpha Lipoic Acid - 70 mcg
• Rhodiola Rosea Extract - 70 mcg
• Folic Acid - 200 mcg
• Vitamin A - 90 mcg
• RAE - Vitamin B12 - 60 mcg
• Vitamin D - 5 mcg

Non-Medicinal Ingredients: maltodextrin, citric acid, dextrose, fructose, phenylalanine, sucralose, natural fruit flavour, natural beet juice, acesulfame potassium, natural salt.

Wow, I was not expecting this many medicinal ingredients in such a tiny package for a powdered drink. Look at that list, most of the energy drinks that I drink have only half of those ingredients.

Scores:
Cost - $0.99 for a 7g package from 7-11
Taste - 6.7/10
Energy - 8.5/10

Overall - 15.2/20...the artificial sweetener is overpowering and there is a bitter tone in the aftertaste, but there is plenty of energy for less than a dollar