Buzz Strong's Real Coffee Cookie Mint Chocolate Chip Review

This is my third energy snack review in a row. First there was the original Buzz Strong's Real Coffee Cookie, then there was Buzz Brownzzz and now here is the Mint Chocolate Chip version of Buzz Strong's Cookie.

Taste

The cookie tastes like a regular soft chew chocolate chip cookie with a thin After Eight lining. The mint flavour is strong and overpowers almost all of the other flavours besides the coffee. After a few bites get that minty tingling at the back of your throat which, though makes your mouth feel fresh, it also eliminates your ability to taste the cookie altogether.

Unlike the Buzz Brownzzz, there are not bitter caffeine notes since the caffeine comes from the coffee. There are no other ill flavours.

I prefer the taste of the original one, but if you are mint fan, or like After Eight, you will most definitely enjoy this cookie.

Energy

Unlike the time I had the original Buzz Strong's, this morning I do not feel like a zombie. I had plenty of sleep so the effects of the cookie were a bit amplified yet not quite what the label led me to expect - 1 cookie = 1 coffee.

You do get a buzz, but it takes some time to kick in and when it does it is not as powerful as a cup of coffee. This cookie may seem like a huge boost to caffeine sensitive people, but if you are used to having a cup of coffee or an energy drink each morning, it may not be enough for you.

Scores:
Cost - $1.99 from ChemicalEvolution.com
Taste - 9/10
Energy - 5/10

Overall - 14/20...tastes great, but does not give you the same boost as a cup of coffee

Buzz Brownzzz Review

I am a bit confused, the words Buzz and ZZZ (OK, not really a word) appear on the same line on the same label. Will this brownie make me fall asleep or will it give me energy? Fortunately the next few lines reveal the ingredients, one of which is caffeine.

I got this brownie from Sippin Syrup with my variety pack. This wasn't advertised on their site, nor was I expecting to receive it, but I sure was glad when I did.

Taste

Though a bit crumbly around the edges, the inside of the brownie is soft and chewy. The taste starts off very brownie-like with fudge and a bit of white chocolate from the top with a bit of a soy note, but then the medicinal ingredients quickly reveal themselves. A bitter undertone shows up and lasts until well into the aftertaste. The bitterness is comparable to some of the first caffeinated gums that started appearing on the market - it is not the main flavour, but it is there lurking beneath the taste.

The aftertaste is combination of bitterness, chocolate, soy and a bit of an alcoholic note from one of the ingredients. Fortunately the bitterness lasts a short time and then disappears leaving only the chocolate and the alcoholic note.

I have had better brownies, but I have never had a caffeinated brownie so I have nothing to compare it to. There is bitterness from the caffeine, but I can put up with it.

Energy

I am not sure how much caffeine is in this brownie, but it is enough to wake you up. After eating half the brownie I felt suddenly wide awake. The second half gave me focus and a pretty decent buzz. I wasn't expecting this type of a boost from this brownie so I was pleasantly surprised.

After 20 minutes my heart was racing and I felt a bit jittery. The caffeine was kicking in and it was great. The boost lasted for a few hours and there was no crash at the end.

Almost as strong as an energy drink or a shot, this brownie will kick start your day or charge you up later on in the day. I would much rather eat this for breakfast than Buzz Strong's Cookie.

Scores:
Cost - $29 for a box of 12
Taste - 7.5/10
Energy - 7/10

Overall - 14.5/20...great energy food...if you are OK with the bitterness

Buzz Strong's Real Coffee Cookie Review

Quite often I skip breakfast because I either get up too early and I am in no mood to eat, don't have the time, or the caffeinated beverage I have in the morning kills my desire to eat something. I always regret this several hours later when I am starving and lunch is hours away. If I had caffeinated food like Buzz Strong's I would never skip a meal in the morning.

Taste

Buzz Strong's Real Coffee Cookie is a cookie made with..well...coffee and chocolate. The cookie is medium sized, soft, chewy and a bit crumbly. The taste is dominated by coffee and vanilla, however, the chocolate chunks add some sweetness. I would compare the taste to a chewy chocolate chip cookie sprinkled with some ground up or instant coffee.

This is a great tasting not only for a caffeinated product, but for a cookie too. I wish these were sold in stores around me because I would be definitely buying a bunch for breakfast every week. For now I have to get them from ChemicalEvolution.com.

Energy

The label says 1 cookie = 1 coffee, but there is no mentioning of the actual caffeine content.

The effects are a bit odd. By the time I finished eating the cookie I felt a jolt of energy, but that quickly died and I was back to my morning zombie state. Must have been the placebo effect. It took about 30-40 minutes to feel the caffeine effects, but the kick wasn't good enough for the start of my morning. I think this would make a great afternoon snack when you just need a pick me up and not a boatload of caffeine to restart your dead brain.

With that said, I would still like to buy a bunch for the office.

Scores:
Cost - $1.99 from ChemicalEvolution.com
Taste - 10/10
Energy - 5/10

Overall - 15/20...fantastic taste, enough caffeine for a pick me up, but not if you need to wake up in the morning

Monster Nitrous Extra Strength Black Ice Energy Drink Review

This Monster energy drink has been out for a while in the US, but this is the first time I see it in Canada. At $3.99 for a can, the cost is a bit high, but it looks like all other energy drinks are slowly going up in price. For $4 I can get 3 Junior Chicken sandwiches from McDonald's.

Taste

The first sip of this reminded me of Monster Nitrous' Super Dry, which is heavily based on the original Monster flavour. This one, however, has a bit more candy-sweetness to it, it is more carbonated, it is creamy and has a lime zing at the end. The original flavour is still present, but it comes and goes at various stages.

The aftertaste is of candy-sweetness with remnants of tuned down original Monster flavour and a bit of lime. At this stage it is very similar to Monster Import. Also, surprisingly, this Monster does not have the same zero-calorie sweetener aftertaste as all other Monster low cal/diet energy drinks do.

I liked this Monster energy drink and will definitely pick it over the regular one.

Energy

Though it says "Extra Strength", there are only 160 mg of caffeine. Why do I say only? Well because other Nitrous flavours come with 163 mg and the same additional medicinal ingredients. How this qualifies as an Extra Strength energy drink is beyond me. Still, 160 mg of caffeine go a long way.

I felt the effects within about 10 minutes and since I drank the can quickly, the sugar rush made me jittery but instantly awake. I became even more jittery in the next 10 minutes, but fortunately the jitters peaked around this time and I started calming down in the next little bit. I felt greatly energized and productive.

The effects lasted for 3-4 hours and there was a bit of a crash at the end, but this was easily resolved with some water and a shot of espresso.

Not a bad performing Monster, but I wouldn't call it Extra Strength.

Scores:
Cost - $3.99 from 7-11
Taste - 8.2/10
Energy - 8/10

Overall - 16.2/20...pretty good taste and performance, but this is not Extra Strength

HyDrive Energy Berry Blast Energy Drink Mix Review

Here is a brand new product from my favorite energy drink company - HyDrive. This new product is an energy mix and transforms any glass/bottle of water into an amazingly tasting HyDrive Energy Berry Blast energy drink. The product will be available in mid March 2012 and will come in boxes of 8. This will make shipping across the border, hopefully, a bit more affordable.

Taste

Always remember to take a sip or two from your water if you are adding this mix directly to bottled water. This way you will have enough room to dissolve the powder with just a few shakes.

I added the packet to a 500 mL bottle of water, which is just over 16 oz. This resulted in a very aromatic and flavourful energy drink bursting with strawberries, tart raspberries and a little bit of blueberries. I assume the intensity of the taste will be taken down a few notches if you use more water, so do yourself a favor and stick to 16 oz. This way, you will get to enjoy a beverage with the same flavour characteristics as the HyDrive line up of energy drinks.

But back to the taste. The flavour is rich and tart making the drink very enjoyable and easy to drink. The aftertaste is crisp, a bit dry and with very minimal sweetener notes. I was very impressed since while drinking it, you can actually taste the sweetness, but there are barely any traces of it in the aftertaste. Also, the energy ingredients have zero influence on the flavour.

Strawberries and raspberries are well defined and I also got a bit of blueberries towards the finish. Some cherry flavour can be noticed in the aftertaste, but it is not as strong as the strawberry/raspberry blend.

This is a fantastically refreshing drink to have and I think it will taste even better in the hot summer days.

Energy

There are 160 mg of caffeine per packet, which puts this into Monster/Rockstar category, only it works much better.

I tried this on an early Sunday morning after a late night of drinking and I felt awake within 10 minutes. For the first 20-30 minutes I felt awake, calm and very focused on what I was doing, which is exactly what I was expecting from a HyDrive drink. Soon after the caffeine kicked in and I felt very energized, like I had just woken up from a nice sleep. I wasn't jittery, just felt energized - very clean energy.

The energy lasted for a few hours and there were no ill effects at the end.

HyDrive prove they know how to make an energy drink once again!

Scores:
Cost - $9.99 for an 8 pack only from HyDrive
Taste - 9.5/10
Energy - 8/10

Overall - 17.5/20...one of the best, if not the best tasting and performing energy mix I have tried

Luck Energy Potion Review

First there were Health and Mana energy potions, then there was the Love energy potion and now here is the Luck energy potion. I only wish I had this about a month ago on March 17th. I got this from ChemicalEvolution.com for $1.50 (on sale, regular is $3.49).

What else can Harcos make? Personally I would like to see a Potion of Concentration (I generally use Haste potions since I play as a Hunter, but I would be interested in something that will help me concentrate).

Taste

With a color like this I expected either a lime flavoured energy shot or a peppermint one...WRONG! This shot tastes like a golden delicious apple with bits of a granny smith tossed in the mix for a sour twist. The shot is delicious, however, there are sweetener notes as well as a bit of a plastic taste that might be coming from the container.

The initial aftertaste is a combination between sweet apples and sweetener. Give it a few minutes and the sweetener taste will start fading, leaving only the sweet taste of apples. The shot also dried my mouth a little, but a few sips of water helped restore it to its natural state. I liked this shot very much.

Energy

The energy blend is 1.05g and though mass-wise looks like the same blend used in the Love potion, some of the ingredients are actually different.

The effects are gradual and first noticeable within 10-15 minutes. I felt awake and started to pay attention to things I mindlessly first started doing as part of my morning routine. Soon I felt focused, but not calm because the energy was starting to kick in. The focus lasted for about 10 minutes when the energy started to overwhelm me and felt like I had to do some physical exercises.

The effects lasted for about 2 hours and there was no crash at the end. Again, pretty decent shot.

Scores:
Cost - $1.50 from ChemicalEvolution.com
Taste - 9/10
Energy - 6.9/10

Overall - 15.9/20...excellent taste, my favorite of the potions so far

Doctor's Select Downtime Relaxation Shot Review

There are energy energy drinks and there are anti-energy/relaxation drinks. There are energy shots so why not have relaxation shots? Doctor's Select is the shot version of the Doctor's Select Downtime Relaxation beverage, a beverage which I will be reviewing shortly (or a beverage I just reviewed depending on when you are reading this).

I like the energy shot size - not too much liquid and gets the job done quickly. Well, before bed I try not to drink too much since I am too lazy to get up in the middle of the night and go to the washroom, so a shot to get me relaxed and tired will be perfect for me.

Taste

The shot has a very intense, slightly sour berry flavour with an earthy undertone and a sweetener finish...with more of the berry taste. The taste is pretty good and aside from the sweetener finish, which will be part of my mouth until I fall asleep, I rather like the taste.

Since there is no caffeine, there is no bitterness and the only active ingredient flavours are noticed through the earthy tone.

Cannot wait to try the full sized beverage.

Performance

The shot starts to work within 10-15 minutes. It puts you into a relaxed, almost too relaxed to do anything sort of mood. It doesn't quite make you want to fall asleep...not at first, but it definitely makes you a bit tired.

At first I resisted the urge to close my eyes, but soon more of the active ingredients started to kick in and I started to feel helpless. I gave up the fight in another 10 minutes and I relocated to the bed. I bet if it wasn't so late into the night, I could have easily stayed up feeling veeeeeeery relaxed and enjoying some random movie or show on Netflix.

Yeah, this shot works and has an effect similar to most full sized anti-energy drinks, but doesn't make you feel bloated or wake you up in the middle of the night to go use the washroom.

Scores:
Cost - $10.95 for a variety pack
Taste - 9/10
Performance - 9/10

Overall - 18/20...small, works great and tastes great

Radium Energy Powder Review

This is the latest energy powder from Harcos and it is supposed to taste like raspberry lemonade. I got this from ChemicalEvolution.com for $1.99.

Taste

The powder is very tasteless at first, but once it starts soaking up the saliva a strong, sour lemonade flavour emerges. The raspberry comes in a lot later in the aftertaste, however, it is very mild and doesn't stand out on its own. The sour lemonade is the dominant flavour in this energy powder. I like sourness and I liked the Radium powder, but they should have called this just lemonade.

Since there is much room to hide the caffeine, a bitterness emerges in the aftertaste and lingers for a while. Don't worry, it is nothing too intense and offensive, but it can be tasted. The sourness helps hide it a bit, but it is not enough.

Energy

The effects are quick thanks to the sugar rush followed by the caffeine kick. I went from feeling sleepy from drinking too much and sleeping too much to fully awake and focused in about 5 minutes. I did not experience any jitters or urges to perform physical activities. I felt great sitting on a chair and doing some mental work.

Unfortunately since there are only 90 mg of caffeine, the kick lasts about 1.5 hours. Still, not a bad way to get a quick boost.

Scores:
Cost - $1.99 from ChemicalEvolution.com
Taste - 9/10
Energy - 6.9/10

Overall - 15.9/20...nice sour flavour with a quick, but short lasting kick

Facedrink Energy Shot Review

No, Facedrink is not made with the sweat of a 1000 faces...at least I don't think it is. I got this shot from ChemicalEvolution.com for $3.

Taste

The aroma is very unique. It is a blend of sour berries, tea and a bit of smoke??? Don't worry, the taste is pretty smooth and good, though there still is some smokiness to it. Like the smoke you get from campfire tea. Or it may be a reaction with something I ate earlier.

The label says this shot tastes like tropical fruits, but all I get is sour berries and guarana with some earthy tones from the added tea. The sourness gives the shot a very cleansing start, but the dry finish make the earthy/smoky flavour stick for a long time.

Also, since this shot has less than 1 g of sugar, there is the standard sweetener aftertaste, which fortunately does not appear as part of the taste while consuming the shot. However, I think there is a bit too much sweetener added to the shot, because I found it to be a bit too sweet for me. At the end of the shot, I did have a sticky taste in the back of my throat and I had to go for a glass of water.

Energy

The active blend is 1,450 mg of taurine, caffeine, green tea and guarana. I am not sure exactly how much of that is caffeine, but I think is enough to give you a jolt within 10-15 minutes and a very nice boost within another 15, which lasts for about 3 hours...at least for me it did.

Unlike some of the premium energy shots, I did not experience a period of calmness and focus. I felt almost instantly awake within 15 minutes and a little jittery within a minute or two. My heart started pounding and I felt like being physically active. This shot has plenty of energy, however, it does not deliver it gradually.

Scores:
Cost - $3 from ChemicalEvolution.com
Taste - 7.5/10
Energy - 8.2/10

Overall - 15.7/20...a bit too sweet, but it has plenty of energy

Caffeinated Sucka Slammin' Strawbanana Review

It was only time before I started trying caffeinated lollipops. I bought a bunch of these from ChemicalEvolution.com for $1 each. Sure the labels look like they were printed from an improperly blown up image with an inkjet, but it is all about the taste and kick.

Taste

There are many flavours, but I decided to start off with the Slammin' Strawbanana. I didn't think much about the size of this thing, but it is big. I mean, it is so big I cannot close my mouth. I usually put pops in my mouth and suck on them while doing something else, but this is just uncomfortably big (yeah, I know how this reads).

The lollipop is not only big in size, but also big on flavour. The strawberry and banana combo is mellow and obvious. You don't have to read the label to know what you are sucking on (again, I know how it reads).

Of course since this had added caffeine, there is a bit of bitterness, but if you keep licking and swallowing your saliva, the bitterness disappears (wow, everything sounds dirty when reviewing lollipops).

Energy

There are 60 mg of caffeine per pop which is enough to give you a decent boost in the afternoon. The thing I like is how the kick is delivered. Since it takes some time to ingest the lollipop the caffeine trickles into your system and the energy comes in gradually. I didn't think it would work that well at first, but after about 10 minutes I started to perk up.

I never felt energized for physical activities, but I felt really perked up in the afternoon. Sure the delivery is slow, but it stretches over a long period of time. I got about an hour of feeling perky without any jitters or a crash once the hour was up. I rather liked this!

This doesn't compare to an energy drink or a shot, but if you like lollipops and need a boost in the afternoon, this is perfect, just be aware of the size.

Scores:
Cost - $1 from ChemicalEvolution.com
Taste - 8.5/10
Energy - 5/10

Overall - 13.5/20...great taste and a pretty good energy delivery despite the low-ish caffeine content

Rockstar Rehab Coconut Water Energy Drink Review

Coconut water has been getting very popular lately. Just yesterday I was walking through Metro and seeing boxes and boxes of unpacked coconut water drinks in all sizes. I also saw a display of coconut water and how it was nature's energy drink...or something along those lines. If you go down any international or drink isle, you will most likely see at least 5 different brands of coconut water in 3 different types of packages. I like real coconut water, but I don't enjoy many of the new drinks that have sugar added to coconut water and other ingredients. I wasn't too thrilled to try this Rockstar, but it being a new Rockstar I had to.

Also, what is the deal with the name Rehab? Rockstar already copied Monster's Protean with Xdurance. Why use the same name now too? Did Rockstar forget their Rehab line is called Recovery?

Taste

The taste is pretty much bang on what I expected - coconut water with sugar and extra coconut flavour to boost the taste. The moment it touched my tongue an image of Bounty chocolate bars appeared in my head. Get rid of the chocolate and this is what this drink tastes like - sweetened, shredded coconut. And since the flavour is so powerful and there are no other additives, this is pretty much the only thing you can taste while drinking. The aftertaste, though, is a different story. You get coconut flavour on its own for a while, but give it a few minutes and a subtle coffee note will emerge. It is very mild, but I thought it was noticeable.

I am glad Rockstar used sugar and not sweetener, because I can only image how bad this will taste with a sweetener note in the taste and in the aftertaste. That said, I think there is a bit too much sugar for me. Had this been a little closer to what real coconut water tastes like, I would be going out right now to buy a few more cans for the long weekend.

Overall, I find this to be one of the better coconut water drinks, but I still prefer the taste of the real coconut water. If you like coconut water beverages and want to get some extra energy, this is a no brainer - get this drink, you will like it.

Energy

You can always depend on Rockstar to find 160 mg of caffeine in their cans. This bad boy will wake you up within 10 or so minutes and might give you a jittery feeling thanks to the sugar. However, the jitters will go away quickly and the rest of the kick will be fairly gradual.

I got about 3-4 hours of productive energy out of the drink without a crash. Why do I say productive? Well, I was brewing in the morning so therefore I had to be focused, on top of things and just needed a lot of energy to lift things and carry ingredients around. This helped me do everything.

Scores:
Cost - $2.99 from 7-11
Taste - 8.5/10
Energy - 8/10

Overall - 16.5/20...decent taste, great kick, a bit confused by the name

Rockstar Iced Energy Drink Review

So here is the second of the 3 new Rockstar flavours that recently came to Canada. I picked this up for $2.99 from 7-11 during a "buy one, get the second for $0.69" promotion.

Taste

Rockstar Iced is based on the same principle as Rockstar Recovery - a non-carbonated energy drink packed with electrolytes and little sugar. This one is peach flavoured and tastes amazing. I like peach juice but many of them are either too sweet, too artificial or too sour. This one is about down the middle and though you get hints of the sweetness and sourness, they are never in too great of quantities. Since some of the flavour comes from tea, there is a mellow, earthy tone that emerges after a few sips and sort of lingers near the base of your mouth.

The aftertaste is, of course, a combination of peach, tea and sweeteners, which are present for 5 to 10 minutes.

This might become my new go-to energy drink, it is that good in my opinion.

Energy

This is pretty standard - 160 mg of caffeine in the can and the effects are noticeable within 5-10 minutes. I felt awake and just a tad jittery by the time I finished the can. I did experience a brief moment of calmness of focus, but the energy just kicked in too fast and took that away.

The full effect of the drink became apparent in the next 10-15 minutes when I felt the contents of the can starting to control my body. Yes, I did feel very energized and ready to do some laps, but fortunately by the time I got to the office, I was a bit more calm yet still energized. Some drinks have that initial jolt that urges me to do physical activities, while others are a bit more gradual in their effects.

About 3-4 hours later the energy started to leave my body, but fortunately there was no crash.

Scores:
Cost - $2.99 from 7-11
Taste - 9.4/10
Energy - 8/10

Overall - 17.4/20...fantastic peach taste and great energy boost

Rockstar Xdurance Energy Drink Review

They are finally here - the new batch of Rockstar energy drinks. I will kick off the series of reviews with the Rockstar Xdurance, which is labeled as a performance energy drink with only 20 calories. Seems like a lot of big players are focusing on sugar free drinks.

I also like how the Rockstar can design has changed so much since the first can came out. These ones stand out a lot more and look much slicker.

Taste

The label states that this tastes like blueberry, pomegranate and acai...and it sort of does. A slightly tart pomegranate favour kicks off the drink, which is then followed by a sweet and mellow, strong tasting blueberry flavour that stays all the way until the finish. There is very little acai and it is noticeable only here and there with there being the aftertaste.

There is an odd perfumy flavour which appears close to the start of each sip but then disappears until the aftertaste. As part of the aftertaste this flavour is very strong and combines with the blueberry taste to form some sort of a floral, blueberry combo that is very similar to Monster Rehab's Protean. After a minute or two this flavour develops a creamy, yogurt like character making it very similar to Protean. Unlike the Protean, though, this drink is not dry (at least not for about 10 minutes after you have finished the can) nor is it chalky, so I may consider this a slight improvement over Protean.

The sweetener taste almost gets lost thanks to the floral/creamy blueberry aftertaste, but only at the start. Give it a few minutes and once the aftertaste starts to disappear, the sweetener comes out on top and lingers for a while.

Though this is very similar to Monster Rehab's Protean, I do prefer Protean's taste.

Energy

There are 160 mg of caffeine in the can, which is pretty standard for a Rockstar drink. The effects are noticeable within 10 to 15 minutes and vary depending on how quickly you drank the beverage. I drank mine quickly so I felt awake and very energized very quickly. I even experienced some jitters around the 15 minute mark, but they were short lived.

The real energy comes in a bit later and it is very smooth now that my jitters have subsided. The energy lasts for a few hours and there is no crash at the end.

Another great Rockstar addition, though a bit late.

Scores:
Cost - $2.99 from 7-11
Taste - 8.5/10
Energy - 8/10

Overall - 16.5/20...similar to Monster Rehab Protean in terms of taste

Sippin Syrup Mellin Review

Friday night, can't fall asleep, have to wake up early to go to an appointment - perfect time to try another one of the Sippin Syrup flavours I recently bought.

Taste

This Sippin Syrup is a little different than the Purple one I had a few days ago. It is lightly carbonated with a very weird earthy tone. This should be tasting like melon, but instead it tastes like berries, tea and mint...with some plastic and medicinal notes.

Some candy sweetness emerges in the finish and starts to build up. Halfway through I wanted to take a sip of water to get rid of the sticky sweetness. The body of the drink itself even feels a bit thicker than most drinks. The earthy tone helps tone it down a bit, but it is just not enough.

I am a bit disappointed after having tried the Purple flavour.

Performance

Works the same as the purple flavour. Half the bottle will calm you down and tire you out shortly, while the whole bottle will weigh those eyelids down and make you crave a pillow and a nice bed...actually any surface you can pass out on.

Like with the Purple flavour, you can fight the urge to sleep, but you might as well give up and enjoy some rest. I recommend half the bottle, or less, if you just feel getting that stress level down a notch and not passing out.

Scores:
Cost - $10.95 for a 6 pack
Taste - 6.8/10
Performance - 9/10

Overall - 15.8/20...not as great tasting as the purple flavour, but it still works great