I become more and more amazed at how much caffeine producers can pack into their products. Some of the first caffeine candies and gum I ever tried had about 20 mg of caffeine per piece and they tasted awful. Energy drinks and shots from years ago had a distinct medicinal taste but now new brands offer even more caffeine without any of the bitterness. So here is a piece of candy which contains 80 mg of caffeine and is about the size of a nickel...well several stacked nickels. So how does it taste? Does it have the old distinct taste? I am just as interested as you are.
Taste
There are several flavours of Double Kick, but I decided to start with one of my all time favorite flavours - Green Apple. I love green apples and everything they are used to make...even flavoured tobacco.
Green Apple - smells like a Juice Fruit with a tone of apples. The taste starts off with a strong green apple flavour with sweet and sour hints. The candy has a chalky texture and starts to crumble after about a minute. I personally don't mind this, but I know some people like long-lasting candies. There is some bitterness but it comes and goes and seems like it almost alternates with the sweet and sour green apple flavours. The aftertaste is sweet with hints of apples and also some bitterness, which tends to stick to the tongue. A bit of water helps get the bitterness of the tongue while leaving subtle sweet apple flavours present for a few more minutes.
Taste - 8/10
Watermelon - this one smells amazing. I got a lungful of sweet watermelon air as soon as I opened the packet. The candy has the same crumbly texture as the green apple which makes it very easy to consume. The flavour is a combination of cantaloupe and watermelon. It is sweet with burst of sourness each time you bite into the candy and chew on the crumbs. The bitterness is also present here, but it did not surprise me since 80 mg of caffeine have been crammed in the candy piece. Sweetener taste is present throughout except for when you get that sour burst. For a brief moment the sourness overpowers the sweetener. The aftertaste is also very similar to the green apple with remnants of the melon flavour, some bitterness and a bit of sweetener.
Taste - 8.2/10
Orange - reminds me of chewable orange vitamin C...and the size is about the same. As the others before, this candy has a crumbly texture with some bitterness and sweetener tones. The flavour is well executed though it doesn't really differ from that of chewable vitamins. There are brief bursts of sourness each time
you chew on the candy. The aftertaste is also very similar to the other flavours with the presence of sweetener and bitterness tones. This time, however, the orange flavour is a bit more pronounce in the aftertaste and acts as a bit of a refresher.
Taste - 8.1/10
Black Cherry - another great smelling piece of candy. Once again the texture is crumbly, however, unlike the previous flavours the black cherry exhibits more sourness, which is present throughout most of the taste and not only while chewing the candy. As expected bitterness and a sweetener note are present all the way through to the aftertaste.
Taste - 8.3/10
Grape - first flavour without the intense fruit aroma out of the packet. The grape taste is weaker then I was expecting considering that the candy resembles the chewable vitamin C's I am consuming at the moment, which by the way have a very intense grape taste. Chewing the candy releases very brief and intense bursts of flavour and sourness, but I was expecting something a bit stronger. As expected, the texture is crumbly and the presence of bitterness and sweetener notes is obvious.
Taste - 7.5/10
Raspberry - also doesn't have a strong aroma out of the packet...and is blue!?!?!?! OK, I get it, it is blue raspberry. Seeing the blue color, I half expected this to have a very sour taste, but it doesn't. The raspberry flavour is present and it gets sour when you are chewing the candy, but for the rest of the time it is sweet. Bitterness and sweetener notes are present through to the finish. I wish there was more citric acid (or another similar ingredient) to make this taste like the blue raspberry I was expecting.
Taste - 7.9/10
Watermelon - this one smells amazing. I got a lungful of sweet watermelon air as soon as I opened the packet. The candy has the same crumbly texture as the green apple which makes it very easy to consume. The flavour is a combination of cantaloupe and watermelon. It is sweet with burst of sourness each time you bite into the candy and chew on the crumbs. The bitterness is also present here, but it did not surprise me since 80 mg of caffeine have been crammed in the candy piece. Sweetener taste is present throughout except for when you get that sour burst. For a brief moment the sourness overpowers the sweetener. The aftertaste is also very similar to the green apple with remnants of the melon flavour, some bitterness and a bit of sweetener.
Taste - 8.2/10
Orange - reminds me of chewable orange vitamin C...and the size is about the same. As the others before, this candy has a crumbly texture with some bitterness and sweetener tones. The flavour is well executed though it doesn't really differ from that of chewable vitamins. There are brief bursts of sourness each time
you chew on the candy. The aftertaste is also very similar to the other flavours with the presence of sweetener and bitterness tones. This time, however, the orange flavour is a bit more pronounce in the aftertaste and acts as a bit of a refresher.
Taste - 8.1/10
Black Cherry - another great smelling piece of candy. Once again the texture is crumbly, however, unlike the previous flavours the black cherry exhibits more sourness, which is present throughout most of the taste and not only while chewing the candy. As expected bitterness and a sweetener note are present all the way through to the aftertaste.
Taste - 8.3/10
Grape - first flavour without the intense fruit aroma out of the packet. The grape taste is weaker then I was expecting considering that the candy resembles the chewable vitamin C's I am consuming at the moment, which by the way have a very intense grape taste. Chewing the candy releases very brief and intense bursts of flavour and sourness, but I was expecting something a bit stronger. As expected, the texture is crumbly and the presence of bitterness and sweetener notes is obvious.
Taste - 7.5/10
Raspberry - also doesn't have a strong aroma out of the packet...and is blue!?!?!?! OK, I get it, it is blue raspberry. Seeing the blue color, I half expected this to have a very sour taste, but it doesn't. The raspberry flavour is present and it gets sour when you are chewing the candy, but for the rest of the time it is sweet. Bitterness and sweetener notes are present through to the finish. I wish there was more citric acid (or another similar ingredient) to make this taste like the blue raspberry I was expecting.
Taste - 7.9/10
Energy
Each flavour contains 80 mg of caffeine and performs about the same. The kick is gradual and comes surprisingly quickly. The first time I had one I was feeling a bit tired after a 2 hour long movie which followed a hearty lunch, but within about 10 minutes I started to feel energized and my focus was starting to return. In another 10 minutes I was feeling fantastic. I did not experience any jitters and when the caffeine was fully absorbed, I felt great for just over an hour when I started to lose my focus and some of my energy.
One complaint I have is the difficulty distinguishing the different flavours. Many of them share the same color and the only way you can tell them apart is by trying to locate the flavour stamp that appears along the edges of each individual packet...if you are lucky to have a stamp. A few of the candies had a partial stamp while others had one that was faded.
Scores:
Cost - unsure
Taste - depends on the flavour
Energy - 6/10 for a single piece and up to 10/10 for multiples
Overall - depending on the flavour and the number of pieces consumed
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