Yesterday I went to Zehrs to get a few things and as I walked by the organic section of the store, I noticed a new display with various Steaz drinks. I stopped to take a look and I noticed that one of them was a 4-pack of Steaz Energy for $10.99. I debated whether or not to get a whole pack of these but since I did not see any singles, I just had to.
Well, this is an Organic Energy Drink, "made with respect for the community and the environment" the label says. It is essentially a lightly carbonated mix of yerba mate and green tea with some other things tossed in there for a good measure. This particular drink is berry flavoured, which is also written on the label, but at a place which is hard to see. The aroma is definitely that of berries, but with the distinct scent of Red Bull underneath. The taste is one of the most unique ones I have ever tried. The berries are there, but most of the taste comes from the teas, which themselves are not sweet at all. The combination is something I like very much, but something regular folks might not enjoy. Once the berry taste comes, green tea and yerba mate start to battle it out and if you ever had yerba mate on its own, you should know what that tastes like. The taste quickly morphs into an earthy one, something that I have never seen in an energy drink, until the very end. The best way I can describe the overall taste is that it is something similar to an unsweetened Korean green tea beverage with some freshly brewed (not too strong) yerba mate and some berry soda. The finish is very mellow and left my mouth feeling very clean. There is a slight aftertaste, but it is amazingly clean with a distant berry note. My mouth felt clean for some time and no unpleasant tastes made it back. The sweetness barely builds up throughout the drink and never reaches levels similar to regular energy drinks because it starts off not too sweet anyways. The amazing thing is that there are 34 grams of sugar in the can, but I was barely able to taste that.
There are 80 mg of natural caffeine and the drink does work. I started to feel awake within 15 minutes and in another 10, I was wide awake and refreshed. In another 10 my energy levels were high enough for me to do some physical activities. I did not experience any jitters, but I was aware that I had plenty of energy. This lasted for 2 solid hours, which was surprising since the drink has the same amount of caffeine as a can of Red Bull.
Ingredients: sparkling filtered water, organic evaporated cane juice, Sambazon organic acai juice, organic guarana extract, natural berry flavour, citric acid, Guayaki organic yerba mate extract, organic Fair Trade Certified Ceylon green tea, sodium citrate, ascorbic acid.
Scores:
Cost - $10.99 for a 4 pack of 355 mL cans
Taste - 8.1/10
Energy - 7/10
Overall - 15.1/20...great unique taste with a surprising kick
This was an AMAZING review!
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