Unwind Citrus Orange Relaxation Drink Review

I finally have another product to add to my Anti-Energy Drink section - Unwind. A couple of weeks ago I was contacted about Unwind, a new product that was being launched and was asked if I would like some samples to try and review. How can I say no to such an offer? Today a couple of cans of the Citrus Orange blend arrived at my door and I grabbed one to review right away.

Right off the bat I am not a big fan of the design of the can. Though the back has a lot of useful information laid out in an easy to follow way, the front is suffering from an outdated color combination and is just plain boring. The only way this product can compete with other drinks on the shelves is with its uniqueness, but if more relaxation/anti-energy drinks start coming out onto the market, Unwind will need to update its design to something fresher. You can't judge a book by its covers, but the covers definitely increase the chances of the book being picked up by a curious customer.

Upon opening the tab, I was greeted by a tangerine/orange/citrus aroma which was quite inviting. The taste is not bad. I noticed two things right away - the drink is not too sweet and is a bit watery, but not the bad kind of watery where one does not experience any of the flavour. Now, about the flavour. The flavour is exactly what the label says it is - Citrus Orange. The strongest taste is that of tangerines followed closely by that of oranges. For a moment at the end you can taste an artificial flavouring, but that is quickly subdued by the fresh, and very natural, taste of tangerines. The finish and aftertaste are also very enjoyable since the drink is not that sweet and a fresh orange-tangerine taste lingers for a long time. The more I had from the drink, the better the finish and aftertaste started to get and the more I could taste from the tangerine. This drink has a great taste, but too bad about the old/boring can design.

With only 25 calories and 6 g of sugar per 240 mL, one might think that this beverage might exhibit some diet drink traits, but it doesn't most of the time. I only say this because towards the end of the can, I started to get the typical diet taste in my mouth.

Does this work? Yes it does. It took exactly 7 minutes for me to start feeling the effects of the proprietary calming blend. How did it feel? It felt great. Around the 8th minute I started to calm down and become more focused on what I was doing. Yes, you might say that you can get this effect with some energy shots, but this was different. About 10 minutes later my eyelids started to get heavy and I wanted to take a nap. No wonder, this beverage has melatonin. A few minutes later the need to take a nap passed and my body went slightly numb and quite relaxed. I wonder if this is due to the calming blend or if it just a placebo effect.

Unlike with Slow Cow, with Unwind I was able to continue with my work and didn't have any problems concentrating...at least not for about an hour when I was hit with a sudden tiredness and very heavy eyelids. I lied down and immediately fell asleep. I had a pleasant hour-long nap from which I woke up a bit groggy at first, but very refreshed overall. This is a fantastic drink for those who have troubles falling asleep or had that extra coffee a bit too late and can't go to sleep. I would think twice about consuming this if I were at work though...and good thing I wasn't at the time.

Calming Blend (50 mg): valerian root extract, rose hip extract, acai berry extract, goji berry extract, passion flower, melatonin (1.5 mg).

Ingredients: carbonated water, sucrose, erythrotil, citric acid, natural flavour, potassium benzoate, potassium sorbate, stevia, niacinamide (Vitamin B3), D-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), valerian root extract, rose hips extract, passion flower extract, acai berry extract, goji berry extract, pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), yellow 6, melatonin, yellow 5, and cyanocobalmin (Vitamin B12).

Scores:
Cost - ~$2.50 USD per 473 mL can
Taste - 8.3/10
Performance - 9.2/10

Overall - 17.5/20...great tasting, works great, but the can design is already in the need of an update