Energy Drink Review: NOS Original

With all the red bull copies out there I was sceptical that this one would be able to impress, damn was I wrong.

Taste

Wow that was unexpected. When I opened the can the smell of pineapple and citrus/orange with a hint of candy burst out, very pleasant. When I took the first sip the first and foremost thing was the pineapple. Its crisp, bright and there is a'lot of it with a nice orange juice / orange candy flavour in the finish with no harsh cough syrup or medicine taste that are in some energy drinks. Over all a very nice flavour never mind the buzz. 

Ingredients

NOS contains what they call there CMPLX6 blend. The ingredients are listed below. 

Caffeine 170mg

Guranna Extract 1.4mg

L-Theanine 25mg

Taurine 200mg

Sucralose 12mg

Vit B12

Vit b6

Other ingredients include:

Carbonated water, suger/glucose fructose, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium phosphate, natural flavour, gum arabic, potassium sorbate, glycerol ester of wood rosin, Lactic acid, colour, calcium disodium EDTA, ascorbic acid (vit c) sodium benzoate.

Buzz

Wow what a kicker. Within about 5 mins of cracking open the can and taking the first sip I started to feel the effects. I had become very alert and clear minded, I had an urge to work. Our Minecraft server had gone down do to some greifing and required about 2-3 hours of work to fix. I got this work done in about an hour. The buzz lasted a very long time, about 5-6 hours and had a constant feeling of alertness and energy. Very good for long study sessions/cram nights and periods of long gaming. 

Verdict

NOS has definitely put out a tasty high quality product that offers a very nice, long buzz. This is the energy drink of choice of many of the staff here at Qsoft Studios and will continue to be for a long time.  

Overall marks are 98/100

Stay tuned! reviews of Ethical Bean and Republica Coffee Roasters coming soon!

Review: Awake Caffeinated Chocolate, Milk.

Who doesn't  like chocolate, caffeinated chocolate? what more could one ask for! My Mom was the one that originally pointed this out to me and she grabbed one for me to try.

Taste

Mmmmm chocolate. The overall chocolate is pretty good but not quite dark enough for my taste. It has
a very creamy flavour with a hit of bitterness in the finish from the added caffeine. I'm going to be honest here, most of the chocolate I eat is either Green and Blacks, or Camino (Camino is my fav) This chocolate is good but no where near as good as the other mentioned brands.

Ingredients

101 mg of caffeine, sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, cocoa powder, skim milk, soy lecithin, artificial vanilla flavour, succinylated mono- and diglycerides.

Buzz

Holy crap, the buzz you get with these is insane. Within the first 5 mins after eating the bar I was feeling very very alert. The buzz was almost to much with me becoming very scattered, unable to focus and hyper. One of these hits you like a freight train but lasts a very short time, only about 30 mins to an hour. Now, there is a reason why this happens and its the same reason why energy shots also hit you like a freight train. Because there is a'lot of caffeine in such a small package you consume it very fast. This means the entire dosage hits your system immediately instead of over the period of 15-20 mins enjoying a coffee or energy drink would take. This results in a short burst of energy that is almost to much. Overall the buzz on this was interesting but not favourable as it made me very hyper and scattered.

Verdict

The consept of energy chocolate has been around ever since people decided to add caffeine to food and drink. However I think there are better better brands out there that provide a higher quality chocolate and a better buzz. Overall marks are 55/100 

Energy Drink Review: Monster Rehab RoJo

Monster has added 3 new flavours to its product line including, Rojo tea, Green tea, and Orangeade, today we will focus on Rojo.

Taste

The idea of a rooibos tea energy drink sounded quite interesting to me when I saw this. As I cracked it open and took the first taste, I picked up cranberry and something else I wasn't really able to pinpoint, I'm guessing that's the tea. It is sweeter then the other 3 but not overly sweet. There is a bit of tartness from the cranberry juice in the finish. One thing that I did not like is because the rehabs are sweetened with splenda you get a bit of that "splenda taste" in the finish but its barley noticeable. Overall very tasty and refreshing.

Ingredients

Rehab is a'lot different then much other energy drinks that are out there. Monster includes what they call there Rehab Energy blend which includes the following. 

Taurine   1937mg

Panax Ginsing   388mg

Caffeine   161mg

Concentrated coconut water 48mg

Rooibus tea   48mg

D-glucuronolactone   9.6mg

Guarana   9.6mg

Inositol   9.6mg

Goji berry   5mg

Mangosteen   5mg

VB3   39mg

VB5   19mg

VB6   4mg

VB12   11.6mcg

Other ingredients include: water, cranberry juice concentrate  glucose, natural fruit flavours, tea extract, citric acid, sodium citrate, tartaric acid, sucralose, magnesium lactate, monopotassium phosphate, calcium lactate pentahydrate, sodium chloride, acesulfame  potassium, acai.

Buzz

After drinking the can in about 10-15 mins it wasn't long before I started feeling the effects. There is almost no suger in the can (6 grams) so I dident get jittery at all. There was a solid feeling of alertness and the need to work. After powering through the programming I had for the day AND my Social Studies 12 homework in about 2 hours I still felt the effects for a further 1 and a half hours with no crash. After coming down I still felt refreshed and only a bit tired. 

Verdict

Monster has definitely hit home with this. The drink is very refreshing with a solid, long lasting buzz and great taste. I would recommend this to anyone who has had a long night the day before, or before a study session. Overall marks are 90/100.

Coffee Review: Ethical Bean Bold

I first tried this coffee last year when I received it as a Christmas gift and I was very impressed. After coming home from school and being rather burned out I made a cup of this. It kept me going for about 3 hours. Being fair trade, and organic you cant go wrong.

Roast:

Dark

Origin:

Peru (Monte Verde)

Price:

$13.00/1 Pound

Aroma

When I First opened the bag I smelled rich notes of dark chocolate, spice, cedar, a bit of smoke and vanilla sweetness. The aroma of the beans gets stronger and opens up a bit more when ground producing stronger notes of smoke and chocolate. In the glass the aroma changes to a sweet roasted malt, lots of chocolate, smoke and a bit of vanilla. Overall a very interesting and wonderful nose.

Taste

Very and I mean very smooth, silky, and full body mouthfeel. Very rich and complex flavours of dark chocolate and spice. Hints of vanilla, roasted sweet malt, and molasses are also present  The smoke element is very subtle but is still there adding complexity to the overall coffee. Very gentle acidity and a long, flavour-saturated finish.

Buzz

For a dark roast there is a decent amount of buzz to this coffee. The brewing method I have used was drip and the caffeine content will depend on what method you use. After a rather long day at school and still having about 3 hours of code to write, I made a cup of this hopping it would get me through my work, and boy it did. I was able to stay focused and alert while working and got my work done in about 1 1/2 hours instead of 3. The total buzz lasted for about 4 hours.

Conclusion

Overall this is one of  my top 3 favourite coffees. Very affordable and very high quality, it tastes like it needs to be more expensive. After a long day at school or work its very nice to come home to a cup of this. Total mark is 95/100.