The reviews below are assigned ratings by ConsumerSearch. These ratings are based on credibility in testing, evaluating and
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| 1.
Energy Drink Ratings Blog
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Energy Drink Ratings
Justin T. (oshburg)
As of Feb. 2008
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Justin T., also known as oshburg, is an energy drink fan and blogger who has personally reviewed more than 250 energy drinks in the past year. Judgments are based on the drink's cost, its cost per ounce, active ingredients, taste rating and its "kick" rating. In a recent article on the site, Justin T. rated Wired X505, 5-Hour Energy and Fixx Energy Drink as best. Hype MFP, Vim & Vigor Citrus and Who's Your Daddy are his top three in taste.
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EnergyDrinkReviews.com
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Reviews
Jason Petty
As of Feb.2008
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Enthusiast Jason Petty and the editors of Energy Drink Reviews rate over 125 energy drinks, including many unconventional brands. Drinks are given two ratings on a scale of one to ten (ten is best); the first for taste, the second for power. Also included are the cost for each bottle and the "good stuff" -- the stimulants and amino acids used to give the drink its "kick." The site includes top ten lists for taste and power. Currently, Shock Triple Mocha, the Spark products and Shock Triple Latte rate highest for their energy kick. SoBe No Fear, Nos and Shock Triple Mocha are tops for taste.
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ScreamingEnergy.com
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Energy Drink Reviews
Jason Hargett
As of Feb. 2008
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Jason Hargett is a web designer who enjoys reviewing energy drinks. Over 140 drinks are reviewed on a one-to-ten scale, with information given on price, serving size, calories and active ingredients. Each drink is given two ratings: an editor rating based on energy, taste and value, and a user rating. The site gives annual Screaming Energy Drink Awards. In 2007, Hyper Enlite won for best women's energy drink, Jolt Blue for best value, Upshot Fruit for most energy, BooKoo Energy Punch for most original and Rip It Chic for coolest packaging. Screaming Energy Not-So Awards are given in several categories including worst taste to Steven Seagal's Lightning Bolt Cherry Charge, and for least energy, Coca-Cola Blak. A comparison chart lets you compare ratings for all drinks.
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Dan Mayer's Energy Drink blog
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Energy Drink Reviews
Dan Mayer
As of Feb. 2008
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Dan Mayer is a software engineer and energy drink fan. Over five years, he has reviewed over 340 formulas. Ratings are based on taste, energy and "mixability," and drinks are ranked on a scale of one to ten. In the site's all-time best list of 32 energy drinks, Go Girl Sugar Free scores the highest ranking, followed closely by Orange Tangerine Jeff Gordon 24 Energy. Other energy drinks scoring near the top include Monster, Red Bull, Rockstar and SoBe No Fear.
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The New York Times
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Opening 13 Cans of Whoop
William Grimes
May 23, 2004
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This review is older, but still relevant since many of the sampled energy drinks are still available. William Grimes focuses mainly on taste in this article, and he doesn't even try for a controlled test -- he downed several energy drinks one after another. But the focus on flavor is interesting and the article itself is very fun to read. SoBe Adrenaline Rush is his favorite: "Of all the carbonated energy drinks, this is the only one I could imagine drinking in the morning. It's like a nonalcoholic mimosa."
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Taurine Rules blog
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Energy Drink Reviews
As of Feb. 2008
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"EnergyGuru" is a Harvard Business School-trained entrepreneur whose goal is to review every energy drink made with taurine, an amino sulfonic acid added to many energy drinks in the hope of increasing energy. Over 400 energy drinks are reviewed here. A top ten list of best-tasting drinks includes BooKoo Berry, Hype and Joker, while a best buzz list includes BooKoo Citrus, Diesel and Hansens Deuce. On the list for worst-tasting are Emerge, Fixx and Hansens Deuce. This is one of the few sites which lists sugar-free drinks and all-natural energy drinks, with a listing of close to 100 of each type. Drinks are reviewed, but none are given numerical ratings. There are no ads on this site -- another plus.
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Energy Drinks Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.
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| 7.
Energy Drink Guru
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Drink Reviews
Anonymous
As of Feb. 2008
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The "Energy Drink Guru," who doesn't give away any hints to his identity, is an aficionado who has sampled more than 160 energy drinks. Each energy drink review is a paragraph or two long, and features a photo of the can along with the reviewer's opinion of the drink, which is mostly based on taste. Nothing is ranked, however, and without any background information on the site's author, credibility is a question mark. Still, the short reviews are fairly critical, and useful if taste is your priority.
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DrinkAddict.com
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Energy Drink Reviews
Phillip Chacon and contributors to Drink Addict
As of Feb. 2008
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This energy drink review website, created by Phillip Chacon, features user reviews of over 180 energy drinks. Currently top-rated are Crunk, Pimp Juice Purple Label, Monster Irish Cream, Rockstar Punched and Liquid Ice. Drinks are rated on a ten-point scale for taste, aroma, aftertaste, packaging and whether the reviewer would be a repeat buyer. The numerical ranking is also translated into a five-star rating. Most drinks have only one or two user reviews, however.
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BevNET.com
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Beverage Reviews
Editors of BevNET.com
As of Feb. 2008
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BevNET is a beverage-oriented media company that reviews non-alcoholic beverages and provides information about the beverage industry. The site features reviews of more than 3,600 beverages including energy drinks, with a BevNET review and a rating of one to five stars. There is also a section for user reviews of each beverage.
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Consumer Reports
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Energy Drinks: Behind The Buzz
Editors of Consumer Reports
Sept. 2007
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Consumer Reports compares 12 carbonated energy drinks according to caffeine level, taste, calories per eight-ounce serving, cost and types of stimulants. All the most popular drinks are listed from lowest to highest caffeine content, though none are ranked. The eight-ounce serving information can be misleading, since most of these beverages come packaged in larger sizes. Consumer Reports' conclusion is that an occasional energy drink is okay for most individuals, but overindulging isn't a good idea. Drinks are listed in order of caffeine content, but are not rated or otherwise reviewed.
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RateItAll.com
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Energy Drinks
Editors of RateItAll.com
As of Feb. 2008
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More than 85 energy drinks are rated by users on this site, with five being the highest score. This is an opinion-based ranking system, and some energy drinks that have few reviews may appear higher or lower on the list than energy drinks that are more heavily reviewed. Red Bull, XS, 5-Hour Energy and Monster receive the most user reviews, and all place in the top ten.
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| 12.
Slate.com
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Booster Shot: How Well Do Those Energy Drinks Work?
Sam Eifling
Sept. 20, 2005
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Sam Eifling and a few friends sample eight of the most popular energy drinks and give opinions based on taste, how they affect his mental state and how they make his body feel. Pepsi's Mountain Dew Amp energy drink is not recommended and Full Throttle Energy by Coca-Cola doesn't supply much energy. Rockstar Energy Cola is the only one that offers him "that feeling of physical exuberance you expect from an energy drink."
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Energy Drinks Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.
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| 13.
Energy Fiend
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The Caffeine Database
James Foster and the editors of Energy Fiend
As of Feb. 2008
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This website, run by several caffeine-loving hobbyists, features a database of over 350 drinks, listing the total caffeine content and mg-per-ounce of caffeine in popular soft drinks and energy drinks. This is a real help since the FDA does not require energy drink manufacturers to list the caffeine content on energy drink labels. There are also reviews of several energy drinks.
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Amazon.com
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Caffeinated Energy Drinks
Contributors to Amazon.com
As of Feb. 2008
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Amazon.com is an online retailer that invites users to share their opinions of products they have bought. Amazon.com currently lists more that 40 types of energy drinks, though many have received few, if any, user reviews. Red Bull Energy Drink has received mostly positive reviews, with the few negative reviews aimed more at Amazon.com's high price than at the drink itself. Pimpjuice Premium Energy drink receives more reviews than most, with most of the negative reviews commenting on the product name, rather than the energy drink. Many more reviews can be found at Amazon.com by searching for "energy drinks" in other sections, especially Health & Personal Care.
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Consumer Reports
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A Guide To The Best And Worst Drinks
Editors of Consumer Reports
Aug. 2006
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A wide range of drinks is discussed in general here: smoothies, fitness waters, herb-infused juices and coffee combos, as well as energy drinks. The verdict is that energy drinks can be risky. Most contain just sugar and caffeine plus other ingredients such as amino acids, herbals and stimulants that have little or no benefit or are untested. No energy drinks are tested or ranked.
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WebMD.com
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What's the Buzz About Energy Drinks?
Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH
Oct. 20, 2006
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Experts don't have too many kind words to say about energy drinks here. Many energy drinks just don't live up to the claims their manufacturers make, containing high-tech sounding ingredients that are of no health value. Their conclusion: it's better to think of these drinks as sugar-caffeine cocktails and drink them sparingly.
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MSNBC
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Energy Drinks Jolt Blood Pressure, Study Says
Will Dunham/Reuters
Nov. 6, 2007
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Will Dunham discusses the results of a small study in which healthy volunteers in a resting state saw increases in blood pressure and heart rate over a week of energy drink consumption, due to the high amounts of caffeine and taurine in some energy drinks. Increases did not rise to dangerous levels in this group, whose average age was 26. Researchers do warn that the increases could be significant for individuals with heart disease or on drugs to lower blood pressure.
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| 18.
National Public Radio
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The Buzz over Energy Drinks
Allison Aubrey
Jan. 4, 2007
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Allison Aubrey reports on the wider consumption of energy drinks in the last few years, particularly by the teen market. She asks a toxicology professor to test ten well-known brands for caffeine levels, and finds that a 16-ounce can of SoBe No Fear contains almost five times the amount of caffeine as in a can of Coca-Cola or Pepsi. Caffeine researchers say the amount of caffeine in a single can of these energy drinks is not alarming, but experts say that teens are often unaware of just how much caffeine they're consuming in these products.
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The New York Times
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Business; Energy Drinks Charm the Young and Caffeinated
Sherri Day
Apr. 4, 2004
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Sherri Day discusses the business of energy drinks, giving a brief overview of Red Bull's strategies. She also looks at the ingredients of energy drinks, and reports on the challenges facing Red Bull and other energy drink companies in the future. No energy drinks are rated or reviewed.
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Report Buyer
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U.S. Overtakes Thailand in Energy Drinks Consumption says New Report
Editors of Report Buyer
Dec. 18, 2007
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This summary of a longer study, available for purchase from Report Buyer, reports that Thailand, originator of the energy drinks concept, still leads in consumption per person. However, the United States now has the highest total volume sales, driven by the top five brands: Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar, Full Throttle and SoBe No Fear
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| 21.
About.com
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Energy Drinks
Cathy Wong
June 6, 2006
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This article gives a brief history of energy drinks in the United States, discusses ingredients such as caffeine and taurine and talks about problems that may occur when using energy drinks while exercising. A brief list of energy drinks is included, but they are not ranked or reviewed. (Note that About.com and ConsumerSearch are owned by the same parent company.)
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