HyDrive Orange Burst Energy Chews Review

I love HyDrive products! I love some of them so much that they are on my top 5 list. Unfortunately they are not sold in Canada, which is why it has taken me this long to review their energy chews. I got this pack from ChemicalEvolution.com for $1.89, regular $2.49.

Taste

Each chew starts off orangey, though the flavor is a bit dull. After a couple of chews, some additional flavors start to become apparent, flavors that seem to be coming from the energy ingredients. Not to worry, they are not bitter, but different. Once those flavors go away, the orange taste comes back even stronger. By this time the chew is almost gone. The strong orange finish lingers for a long time, giving you a refreshed aftertaste. The orange burst aftertaste morphs after a while into what can only be described as the aftertaste you get from biting into orange peel laced with artificial sweetener. Not a huge deal, but something to be aware of.

Energy

Each couple of chews contain 80 mg of caffeine, which is the equivalent of a small can of Red Bull. Given the fairly decent taste, I would say that this is a pretty good deal. The label instructs you to not just take 2 chews, but also follow them up with a single chew after an hour and another one an hour after that. This way, you will extend your energy period because everyone knows that a can of Red Bull is only good for about an hour...unless you are super sensitive to caffeine.

I, however, did not need so much energy and decided to just do the 2 chews test and see how I felt. Well, I felt great. I had just woken up from a nap feeling woozy. I popped two of these guys, chewed them for 15-20 seconds and swallowed. Within 10 minutes, my wooziness started to go away and within another five I was feeling pretty good. The chews had a very nice calming and focusing effect, though part of which may have come from the fact that I had just woken up from a nap. I experienced a very short period of jitters which also put an end to my calm/focused phase. As expected, the 2 chews lasted for about an hour after which I did not experience a crash.

Overall, I was expecting a bit more from HyDrive in terms of taste, but compared to some other energy chews, they have done OK.

Ingredients: sugar, corn syrup, calcium citrate, natural flavors, palm oil, soy lecithin, carnauba wax, magnesium citrate, citric acid, ascorbic acid, corn starch, caffeine, glycerin, taurine, sodium chloride, mono & diglycerides, potassium phosphate, niacin amide, panthenol, sucralose, citrus bioflavonoids, FD&C yellow 6, pyridoxine hydrochloride, cyanocobalamin.

Scores:
Cost - $1.89 from ChemicalEvolution.com
Taste - 7.9/10
Energy - 5/10 to 8.5/10

Overall - 12.9/20 to 16.4/20...depending on the number of chews you take at once