| Feeling a little washed out after that bike ride or last game of Tiddlywinks?
You might be thinking to yourself, "Hey I could use a drink – an energy drink."
Well now, exclusively for the readers of Fast Forward’s Summer Guide, is one man’s taste test comparing four popular "energy drinks." For the purposes of full disclosure, there was no sponsorship or influence exerted by the manufacturers of these drinks. In other words – I purchased all of them at my own expense at a local convenience store.
·Red Bull Energy Drink ($2.99; 250 millilitre can)
Ouch! After recovering from the shock of the price of this stuff, I scan the can to find out more about this self-described "natural health product." With an incredibly difficult to read blue text on the silver can, I discover that Red Bull has medicinal and non-medicinal ingredients. Medicinally, it contains 80 milligrams of caffeine and 1,000 milligrams of taurine. An amino acid also known as 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, taurine is touted by some researchers as an antioxidant. Among the non-medicinal ingredients are sucrose, glucose and citric acid.
Sold in more than 100 countries, Red Bull is the undisputed sales and marketing champion of the so-called energy drinks category of beverages. I’d just describe it as a disappointing mix of bitterness with a price that left me sagging.
·SoBe Arush ($1.99; 250 millilitre can)
Following hot on the heels of Red Bull is SoBe (South Beach Beverage Co.), which was acquired in 2001 by the giant PepsiCo Inc. Arush is also marketed as an energy drink/natural health product. This time the medicinal ingredients include guarana (paullinia cupana), a herb that grows in the Amazon jungle, where it has been used by the indigenous peoples there to concoct a high- octane tea. It’s also reportedly used by those same tribes to protect against malaria and dysentery.
In good health, and with no recent bouts of malaria, I swallow a mouthful of Arush with the hopes of renewed vigour. Fruitier and less sweet than Red Bull, Arush has a taste that I could become accustomed to. I can’t say it cured my fatigue, but it’s pleasant enough, and with 50 milligrams of caffeine, my fog is starting to lift.
·Beaver Buzz ($2.39; 250 millilitre can)
Next is the drink with the best name and sense of humour. Featuring a hockey stick-toting beaver on its label, Beaver Buzz is an energy drink that can laugh at itself. Sold in a red and black can, the buzzed-out beaver is described by its Kelowna-based manufacturer as an energy drink "created for Canadians by Canadians, and it’s dam good!"
Claiming that it will "get your buzz on," I greedily swallow the beaver, but what I sense is not "dam good" – it’s a strange orange flavour with a bitter aftertaste. This might be due to the 1,000 milligrams of taurine the Beaver has packed into the 250 millilitre can. Obviously trying to become the Canadian answer to Red Bull, the Beaver might want to go back to the sunny shores of Kelowna and work on its recipe. A drop or two of maple syrup, perhaps?
·Starbucks Frappuccino ($2.39; 281 millilitre bottle)
The company that many love to hate, Starbucks sells six flavours of frappuccino. Not technically an energy drink, Starbucks is included in this survey because sometimes you just need caffeine without all of that citrus taste. Curiously, the Seattle-based mega-coffee company doesn’t list the amount of caffeine included in one 281 millilitre bottle of frappuccino. The truly curious are asked to call a 1-800 number for more information. When I call, a recording of a man with an FM radio voice – who says he belongs to the sinister sounding "North American Coffee Partnership" – is happy to tell you that frappuccino (mocha) contains "on average" 93 mg of caffeine. He adds – and this is the health part – frappuccino also contains "219 milligrams of calcium." A smooth-tasting drink that exists somewhere between chocolate milk and your morning cup of Joe, this is a tasty reprieve from the citrus-dominated energy drinks that preceded it.
Feeling more spacey than energized after consuming all four of these elixirs, I can’t say I’d run out of the house to buy any of them again. What I really need to drink right now is a cold glass of water. |
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