Starbuck's Doubleshot Cinnamon Dulce

I have to say, Jeff and I were a bit surprised when two large packages came up at the door about a week ago. Almost immediately Jeff notified me of this and sent me the package of Starbuck's energy drinks. Tearing open the package we were surprised to find all of Starbuck's energy drinks, including one of their newest flavors expected to hit the markets February of 2009, the Cinnamon Dulce. It's been a busy time, and difficult to review lately, but we've got to fit in time to review these great drinks Evan Pham was courteous enough to send. After taking a few minutes to decide I knew it was the right choice to review the newest energy drink first; I know it'll be a good one. So, glancing at the can, I find Starbuck's trademark good can design, being a swirling combination of light browns, and dark browns, representing the color of the Cinnamon spice and caramel syrup. Some lighter and darker shades of brown are representable for the colors and roasts of coffee in the mix. Since I've never come across Cinnamon and Caramel (Dulce) in a coffee blend, I'm eager to try it. But coffee is real easy to mess up sometime, but knowing Starbuck's this one will most likely be a pass, here on Canned Reviews.

Cracking open this smooth 16 ounce can, I find myself whiffing at a scent of sweet caramel, with some robustness of general coffee. There are light notes of cinnamon in the background, but are hard to notice; I'm sure there'll be more of it as soon as I taste it. Pouring it out of the can and into a cup, the color is different than most energy-coffees, being way lighter, almost the color of milk, dirty milk, that is. Swigging the drink from the cup, I search my taste buds and find a flavor from this Cinnamony coffee of thick, sweet caramel-milk, with powerful heaps of cinnamon prominently mixed in. The flavor is appetizing, as there's some nice robustness form Starbuck's coffee evenly spread in, and sweet Dulce to balance it all out. One thing Starbuck's did improve on is the presence of Sucralose in the drink. Unlike the previous three Starbuck's energy drinks, this Cinnamon Dulce flavor masks the Sucralose so it's hardly noticeable at all. Digging deeper into the drink, I find its aftertaste is merely a light reminisce of cinnamon, with a nice boost of milkiness, but very little actual coffee roast. It's really not that gummy, as is with most coffee energy drinks, though what more can you expect with only 33g of sugar in the whole can? One thing I noticed after about three-quarters of the way through the can is that the flavor gets a bit boring, though the flavor is still pretty subtle. Overall, Starbuck's really nailed a Cinnamon and caramel flavored coffee energy drink, and when you'll try it next month I can almost guarantee you'll say the same exact thing. Don't take too long deciding which Starbuck's is best, go for the Cinnamon Dulce.

According to this can of Starbuck's Doubleshot Cinnamon Dulce, we see a complete a ingredients list, which I'll describe to you here. I see: Starbuck's Coffee (water, coffee), reduced-fat milk, skim milk, sugar, maltodextrin, dextrose, taurine, natural flavor, cellulose gel, L-Carnitine, panax ginseng, Inositol, Sodium Accorbate, guarana seed, calcium phosphate, celluose gum, niacin, Sucarlose, ascorbic acid, Tricalcium Phosphate, Carrageenan, caramel color, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin A, Cyanocobalamin, Vitamin D3. Most of these ingredients are standard in energy coffees, as I could recall seeing these in Java Monsters and Rockstar Roasteds. Per can, you are aiming towards about 200 calories, and only 33g of sugar, just like I had mentioned earlier in the review. The calorie content really isn't that bad, especially for a sweet energy coffee like Starbuck's, though you gotta remember what the sweetener(s) actually are. In this case, you have maltodextrin, sucrose, a bit from the reduced-fat milk, and a whole lot from the Sucralose. Sucralose contains very little amounts of calories, and virtually no real sugar, so they can pose that as a sweetener with technically not having to add it to the nutrition facts. In terms of kick, I note that after about 15 minutes, a large burst of jitteriness kicks in for about 2 hours, and then later a deteriorating focus with eventually a lame crash. All in all, this Starbuck's Doubleshot blew my mind. Coming from a past of disappointing debut energy drinks, Starbuck's made a great improvement and I'm excited for the next idea the folks at Starbuck's come up with.

Taste: 8.5 - Creative idea of Cinnamon and caramel in a coffee; smooth, rich, and milky coffee to add to the creativity
Kick: 8 - Generally a good kick, usual coffee jitteriness, and usual coffee crash
Overall: 8.3 - Definitely want to pick one of these up as soon as they come to a store near you

Reviewed by: Chan

Starbucks Doubleshot Energy+Coffee Vanilla

Sometimes you have to try something twice to know if you like it. This is one of those times and I'm feeling good about Starbucks' Doubleshot Energy+Coffee Vanilla. This time I'm striving to explore the full flavor by shaking the can and chilling it completely. I wouldn't be reviewing this if it weren't for Evan Pham sending us a surprise shipment just before the release of their new flavor. Thanks again, Evan, and I hope you appreciate the reviews to come, including that of Starbucks' new flavor, which will soon be released. Congratulations on a great new flavor, and I know it will be gladly received by the public with open mouths.

Anyway, this sleepy Saturday morning, I decided to skip my morning cup of hot coffee for a delicious Starbucks energy drink. Vanilla sounded like something light and flavorful, so I picked it out first. All of these drinks are made with reduced fat and skim milk, which makes me wonder. In my experience, milk instead of half and half generally isn't as good. But then again, I can understand that all these companies opt for milk because it has less fat than cream. I can't wait to taste this.

I popped open the can quickly, forgetting I had shaken it earlier, splattering foamy vanilla coffee all over my screen. The smell from the can is very nice dark roast coffee with that good strong nutty and chocolatey aroma. On top of that is a scent just like vanilla ice cream and it's quite enticing. A big swig from the can gives me some really nice creamy but not thick coffee and that same vanilla bean ice cream on the side. The sweetness is pleasant and not too sweet, until about the last second, when it gets a little too sweet for me. I only taste a very small hint of sucralose on the back of my tongue. I'm very glad it's not as prominent as before. I find myself going back to take more and more sips, because that vanilla is pretty addicting. As I get down further, it seems to me like it lacks some coffee; the coffee is more of an undertone than a base flavor, but Starbucks was smart, knowing this would attract even non-coffee drinkers. The only complaint I still have is that the sucralose in the end has an unpleasant bitter taste I wish would go away. Who knows, others may not taste it, but it's the only thing that I'd change about this drink. All in all, this is an exceptional drink with a great coffee taste and a deep, rich vanilla, however, I would go easy on the sucralose. Now I'm interested in the boost.

I'm guessing Starbucks' energy drink performs at least on par with their very strong coffee, giving lots of sustained energy. But what pleasantly surprised me was the incredible focus and vitality that Starbucks Doubleshot Energy+Coffee gave. I was full of energy, but not over the top, meaning no jitters. Compare that to a Monster or Monster Java which almost invariably gets me hyper and revved up to the point that I can't sit still. Starbucks on the other hand, is a more sophisticated drink that seems to go for a more well rounded boost. A Monster makes me want to tear things down with all my extra energy, while Starbucks makes me feel like building something. So, what's different about the ingredients?

The drink's ingredients read as follows: Starbucks^Ⓡ Coffee (Filtered Water, Coffee), Reduced-Fat Milk, Skim Milk, Sugar, Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Taurine, Cellulose Gel, Natural Flavor, L-Carnitine, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Inositol, Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Guarana (Paullinia Cupana) Seed Extract, Cellulose Gum, Calcium Phosphate, Niacinimide, Sucralose, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Tricalcium Phosphate, Caramel Color, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin, Vitamin A Palmitate, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), Vitamin D3. As for the energy ingredients, there are 2000mg of Maltodextrin, 1800mg of Taurine, 450 of L-carnitine, the vitality-giving ingredient, 180mg of Inositol, 325mg of Ginseng, and 90mg of Guarana. It's not the most extreme list, but it sure does the job and yields a fantastic kick that lasts for a good three hours or more. Finally, there are 25g of sugar per can, and 210 calories per can. Overall, I was much happier with Starbucks' energy drink this time around, and I can't wait to try the new flavor.

Taste: 8.2 - Delicious ice cream vanilla over a chocolatey, nutty dark roast coffee
Kick: 8.5 - Awesome, long-lasting kick with brilliant focus and vitality
Overall: 8.4 - Loved it the second time around

Reviewed by: Jeff

Redline Triple Berry

To kick-off the new year I've decided to review one of the most energy-giving drinks around, the Redline. My buddy Bubba actually found me one out of town as "A Christmas present," thanks man. I, myself, have never encountered a Redline, so I really don't know what to expect, in terms of taste and kick as well. Taking a quick glance at the ingredients list, I find yerba mate, green tea, and caffeine anhydrous, for notable energy ingredients. If you never knew, caffeine anhydrous is basically the same exact thing is regular caffeine, but just a longer and more formal name. There's 125mg of that caffeine per serving, which there are two of in one 8 ounce bottle. Most energy drinks that come in 8 ounce bottles or cans are usually one serving, but since they recommend you only drink a half-bottle due to high caffeine amount, it's two servings. Instead of only drinking one serving at a time, I'll recognize my caffeine tolerance and just 'nurse' the drink for awhile. Redline Triple Berry comes in a bottle of blue with a twist-off white cap and the word "Redline" spread vertically across the small bottle. Well, I know I'll expect a Triple Berry flavor, basing on the name, but the question is: which three berries will I find? I'm going to guess the three most common: cherry, strawberry, and blueberry. We'll see if I'm right.

After giving the bottle a good shake I open the large, white cap, I find a scent of mainly potent strawberry, and a bit of cherry with a note of blueberry and cranberry. So far, the scent reminds me almost exactly of the Rockstar Tropical Punch Shot. Pouring a bit into a cup, Redline Berry reveals a color of almost 'dirty berry', so to say. It' s like a darker mix of strawberry and cherry, with some paleness of a Monster or Rockstar. If I think logically, most of these shot-like energy drinks will have a bitter flavor, if any flavor at all; it's going to same way as the Rockstar shot so far. Well, swigging a few ounces at first, I'll determine Redline Triple Berry has a flavor of artificially sweet and bitter strawberry and blueberry. The main strawberry is impressively potent, as if it was pure strawberry juice or strawberry syrup. Just like other berry shots, the Redline is pretty sweet, but not with real sugar, obviously. Taking a quick glance at the bottle, there's no sugar, nor is there any calories, which leads me concluding the presence of Sucralose, or Splenda. One thing that's absolutely terrible right now is the extremely noticeable aftertaste of pure bitterness. I'm not sure if you've ever eaten a raw plant, straight from the ground, but if you have you know it's real bitter. That's almost the case here, an extreme heavy earthy bitterness, that's just about unbearable to drink. One tip I would recommend while drinking this is: Shake it in between each sip, drink large sips numerous times, and most importantly ignore the aftertaste with having some water handy to wash it out. It's obviously not carbonated, and even though you're taking large and numerous sips, there's no gumminess from the artificial sugars. Overall, Redline's initial triple berry flavor was just okay, as it tasted fake, and the aftertaste, surely, was bitter and unlikeable.

As for ingredients, Redline is pretty mean when it comes down to energy, as well as needed ingredients like yerba mate, and green tea. Here's the full list: Highly purified water, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, natural red color, sodium benzoate, Potassium Phosphate diabasic, potassium sorbate, and disodium EDTA. Like a few other energy drink companies, Redline organizes their ingredients by standard and by energy ingredients. Here's the list of energy ingredients: Vitamin C, Caffeine anhyrdous, Evoburn, N-acetyl-L-tyrosine, Potassium citrate, Yerba Mate, green tea, 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan, Vinpocetine, and Yohimbine HCL. A lot of these ingredients are a bit unknown to me, but I can get an idea of what they are supposed to be because of the lack of the main names in other energy drinks. Evoburn seems to be a trademarked Redline product, so, with a bit or research, I find out that Evoburn is a liquid ingredient that helps in burning fat and help fat loss. I find products like these helpful, but they tend to have some side effects like appetite loss, stomach ache, and nausea, just like I've found in most fat burning products such as Go Girl and Damzl Fuel. Per bottle, you get 250 good milligrams of caffeine, which will soon give me an insane jittery kick for a good 5 hours. Unlike the caffeine amount, there's not one bit of calories, nor is there a trace of real sugars, though there seems to be an overload of Sucralose. All in all, it is highly recommended that you first, find out you're caffeine tolerance before consuming any and all of Redline's drink, and two, remember how much of this you consume will affect how great your kick is.

Taste: 7 - Not too big a fan of artificial berry and burnt aftertaste, but the flavor is somewhat addicting
Kick: 9.5 - This will vary, depending on how much you follow the rules listed on the bottle. Drinking the whole 8 ounces will result in an insane kick, as you read the rating
Overall: 8.3 - I would be interested in trying a few more of these, just to adjust to the odd flavors

Reviewed by: Chan