Energy Drinks

[ol_ironstomach]

Regardless of who your favorites might be, anybody who has watched any form of non-team sports for the past decade is absolutely certain of one thing: Red Bull is making a crapload of money. Monster is right up there too.

Personally, I think they taste like crap, and yet people want their caffeine rush, and will fork over tons of money to get it. So as a public service message, here's a brief plug for my personal favorite energy drink, which is hard to find, and actually tastes great. (No, I have no financial interest here...I just want to see this product survive on the market.)

Get Bing.

I've been drinking the stuff since 2007, when I tried a taster cup on a whim from a scout troop fundraising table in Aspen, and bought two cans because it was surprisingly non-sucky. So much so, that on the return cross-country drive, I started buying other energy drinks to compare (sadly, didn't encounter any Chernobly), only to conclude that they were just as awful and medicinal as I had expected.

gubeen had one Bing when I returned home, and immediately demanded that I find her more. It has almost entirely supplanted coffee as our regular household caffeine beverage. 5% Bing cherry juice covers the taste of the B complex vitamins, and gives it a kriek-like flavor. 40 cal per can, and sweetened with sugar plus a small amount of sucralose.

Seriously, I'll bring some to the next picnic from my personal stash if anybody wants a taste.

Bing is a tiny husband-and-wife company out of Denver started around 2006, and for years they were only available in the central Colorado area or by mail-order. This is their only product. Online, it's available directly from Bing, or from Amazon. Brick-and-mortar, they've been slowly expanding regional distribution. Vitamin Shoppe carries it nationally; Harris Teeter has picked up the line, although I haven't seen it in my local HT yet.

[B.A.R.]

Personally, I think they taste like crap, and yet people want their caffeine rush, and will fork over tons of money to get it. So as a public service message, here's a brief plug for my personal favorite energy drink, which is hard to find, and actually tastes great. (No, I have no financial interest here...I just want to see this product survive on the market.)

This article, in the New Yorker a few years ago, discusses the world of "natural flavorings". Red Bull was discussed as a challenge for the flavorings community, as it just tasted bad. Because Red Bull was so dominant, consumers had associated that bad taste with energy drinks, and those that went to market and actually tasted good struggled to gain a foothold. So they intentionally made energy drinks to taste a little bad.

[Pete]

The Bing Energy Drink can be found at the Harris Teeter in McLean. I took this picture this morning.

[DanielK]

They put it in their regional sales flyer this week, so I have to assume that they carry it in all stores now.

[brr]

Be careful out there kids

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/12/business/more-emergency-room-visits-linked-to-energy-drinks-report-says.html?_r=0

[ol_ironstomach]

I was given a can of Vemma "Verve!" to try...evidently the "zero sugar" version. According to the ingredients list, it's sweetened with sucralose. 5 Calories / can, a pile of vitamins, and 80 mg caffeine. The taste of B-complex is well-masked by a prominent flavor I'd describe as bubblegum-meets-pineapple-juice, but the aftertaste is all sucralose. Really not my cup of tea, but at least it didn't trigger an autonomic revulsion response.

I had to do a doubletake at the can label, because at first look their logo resembles "vemma" less than it does "vomma" and thus invokes, unfortunately, "vomit". A visit to their website just now also makes it pretty clear that Vemma is some sort of MLM.

[Adam23]

If had the pleasure of trying a pretty nasty energy drink at the Fancy Food Show a few weeks ago. This product, new to the market direct from Austria, provides all the energy you are looking for in an energy drink AND freshens breath.

Take two parts Red Bull, 1 part Listerine Cool mint and shake and you have a liquid that is quite similar to what is in their cans.

http://www.powerfresh.eu/product.php

No, really, this is for real.

[thetrain]

Tried out a Jamba Juice energy drink this week, mostly because the four pack I saw at Rite Aid was only $4. The apple flavor tastes like sweet apple juice and has the same amount of caffeine as a small red bull (80mg). At 90 calories, I wish there was a lower calorie/less sweet version, but the price and taste are good enough I'll probably try the strawberry banana flavor.

[lperry]

A completely serious question: Would someone please explain the appeal of these drinks over tea or coffee?

[thetrain]

A completely serious question: Would someone please explain the appeal of these drinks over tea or coffee?

For me, mostly its because they are easily portable and have high caffeine levels. Most, if not all, portable tea and coffee drinks have tons of sugar and minimal caffeine. Also, I think I'm one of the few people that likes the taste of red bull.

[SeanMike]

I like the taste of Red Bull too.

Mostly, I use energy drinks for the same reasons as thetrain. They're portable, they're fast (you can't chug hot coffee), and they are nothing more than a caffeine delivery system.

[lperry]

I think I'm getting it. I drink one cup of hot tea in the morning in the winter and a small glass of iced coffee in the summer. In contrast, Mr. lperry is a Mountain Dew addict and consumes amounts of caffeine that would probably send me into cardiac arrest. This phenomenon is similar, no?