What better thing to do on a scorching-hot day over here than to review an iced coffee? I was so relieved to pull one of these out of the refrigerator after putting it off for a few weeks. It's a fairly new energy drink, coming out mid to late June in most places, but over here it came out early June. Starbuck's released the energy drinks in three new flavors: Vanilla, Mocha, and Coffee, but some said they were a fail due to the amount of Splenda in the drink. I have only had the Vanilla, and I thought it had a mediocre flavor, tasting real artificial, but the kick made up for its lack of flavor. If you want to head over and get one of these for yourself, prepare to pay a bit extra because Starbuck's is one company that charges quite a bit for their drinks. This can has a smooth coffee-brown background, looking as if it's mixed with chocolate, hence the Mocha favor I'm reviewing. I'm going to cut this paragraph a bit short because the can is warming up and my ice is melting...
I open up the can, and to my delight, I smell a fresh-brewed coffee aroma with some chocolate blended in. This Starbuck's energy drink comes out of the can a light brown color, similar to all the other coffee energy drinks out on the market. If Jeff, as well as many other people are telling the truth, I should take a drink and be upset. For starters, this drink is noticeably thicker in the mouth than your average Java Monster. I next notice a somewhat weak Mocha flavor that is supposed to resemble a chocolaty coffee taste, but fails. It goes down really smoothly with no aftertaste, except that of a minor fake sugar taste. I do think this drink is much better than what energy drink fans claimed it to be like, but I think it's just missing essential coffee flavors that remind us of what coffee's all about. After a few more sips, I notice more of a less sweet flavor that draws you away from that artificial primary sweet flavor. Obviously, it's not carbonated, so we can skip this part. I was surprised to find a decent amount of gumminess after downing most of what's supposed to be a coffee flavor. In my mind, it tasted better than Rockstar's Mocha energy drink, but didn't compete with Monster's Mean Bean and Big Black drinks.
As for ingredients, this non-carbonated drink's got Starbucks brand premium roasted coffee, reduced fat milk (Semi-sweetener), skim milk, 'sugar', maltodextrin (Semi-sweetener), dextrose, taurine, natural flavor, cellulose gel, ginseng, L-carnitine, Vitamin C, guarana, sucralose, vitamin B, and caramel color (Gives it that smooth light brown color). Per can, you get an average 200 calories, which isn't bad at all, considering its pretty sweet and only 26g of sugar. The sugar amount is less than half of what an average (Monster, Rockstar, Amp) energy drink is, I could live with that. In terms of energy, you get 2000mg of maltodextrin, 1800mg of taurine, 325mg of ginseng, and 90mg of guarana. You may be thinking where in this paragraph I mentioned how much caffeine is in this drink, I'll tell you, even though it's not listed, we know it to be around 150mg, which isn't bad. With this 15oz coffee, packing 150-something milligrams of caffeine and Taurine, Ginseng, Guarana, and B Vitamins, you get an explosion that'll keep you wired two and a half hours. Okay, so it was just an average coffee energy drink, but still I really enjoyed every sip. Go out and try one for youself, you may like it, you may not.
Taste: 8.2 - Once again, any coffee energy drink is to my liking, but I'd have to speak not only for myself, but as well as the consumers willing to purchase it
Kick: 9.2 - A great, long-lasting kick
Overall: 8.6 - Although it'll cost you roughly $2.60, it might be worth it
Reviewed by: Chan
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