These type of products usually lack in either the taste or in the kick department. Outburst has attempted to change this. Let’s see how they did.

Taste

• Milk Chocolate: This is your standard chocolate flavor. It tasted a lot like an M&M with a slight bitter aftertaste. It was well masked and I had to really look to find it.
• Chocolate Peanuts: This is like a peanut M&M, complete with large peanut in the middle. The bitter taste was much more noticeable here, but the candy was still enjoyable.
• Mint Chocolate: This was my favorite by far. Outburst did a perfect job on the taste here. It tastes exactly like a Junior mint (York) peppermint candy inside a candy shell. There was no noticeable aftertaste.

Ingredients

The ingredient profile on all three flavors are very similar. A serving of four bites contains around 5 grams of sugar and 45 calories. 4 Pieces is equal to a cup of coffee (80mg), while the entire box is equal to 3 energy drinks/shots (240mg). They also contain an undisclosed amount of Taurine and B Vitamins.

Outburst Effects

I tried these in a few different ways. I ate 4 (the standard serving) before a workout. I noticed a little lift, but not much was different for me in the gym. I’d compare this to drinking a Red Bull. I had a box in my bag before a long road trip and ate the whole thing shortly after gassing up the car. The energy kick here was great. I had the jitters and felt like I was bouncing around the car. Other trials were in between the two and for me 8 pieces was a good place, not uncomfortably energetic and not too weak to notice.

Verdict

TheseOutburst Energy Bitesare great. They deliver a strong kick if you eat enough of them. I would highly recommend the Mint Chocolate bites as the taste is perfect. Pick these up and try them for yourself or to learn more, visit their website.

Reviewed by Jason Kleindorfer

Wouldn’t you know it, they come from the same place that brought us the highly caffeinated Starbuck’s Coffee legacy, which is Seattle.

Wired waffles are Belgium style waffles that contain 200mg of caffeine per serving! I haven’t tasted them yet, but they look awfully delicious. I don’t see a friendly “letgo my Eggo” confrontation over these babies, but more like “get off my waffle or I’ll cut you!” scenario.

Their website says that you can eat them as is and require no syrup or toppings due to the baked-in pearl sugar. Man, they sound great, especially because I love waffles. Let’s see, Wired Waffles along with my double shot espresso clocks in at around 360mg of caffeine. Not a bad way to start the day.

So when a company asks me to review there caffeinated ice cream, I couldn’t get that first scoop in my mouth fast enough. Really, a energized ice cream?

Sounds to good to be true, but trust me, its a reality. So will Bang!! ice cream pump me up, or leave me deflated with a brain freeze? Grab your spoon and lets dig in…

Taste

I rolled with my favorite flavor, Bang!! Peanut Butta. Taking that first creamy spoon full, I taste your normal peanut butter flavor and texture. Nothing crazy or unexpected to begin with, the only hint of difference I tasted was at the very end of the taste, it had a bit of a healthy like, low calorie taste. Not much, just a hint of it, not enough to turn me off from the rest of the delicious ice cream.

Bang!! Ice Cream Ingredients

The container explains that one scoop of Bang!! is equal to one energy drink with 125mg of caffeine, yet no where in the ingredients is caffeine listed. The only recognizable ingredient to you energy lovers will be Guarana seed extract. Yet comparing Bang!! to your normal peanut butter ice cream, Bang!! contained less sugar (48g), and a few more calories (1120). The rest, including fat, cholesterol and sodium is about the same you’ll find in your local store’s regular non-caffeinated peanut butter ice cream.

Effect

I consumed the entire pint of Bang!! while watching the Mavs deliver another loss to the Miami Heat, so trying to stay up late for the game, I thought id give the ice cream a test to see if it would be able to keep me up and alert for the entire game. After consuming the contents, and then spending the next few hours watching the game, at games end, I found myself still a little tired, but a bit less tired then I normally would be. So I would say, yes the ice cream game me a slight boost, but very slight.

Verdict

In the case of Bang!!, I think personally I’ll keep my caffeine and ice cream separate. The ice cream was very good, yet didn’t really provide much of a boost. So if I’m in the mood for some ice cream, I can definitely see myself buying a Bang!! Ice Cream to meet my cravings, yet for those days when I just need some much needed energy, I’ll stick to getting my fix in a can and not from a spoon…

Bang!! Cooky Mint

Taste

As I pop that lid off, I see the creamy green ice cream. I dip my spoon in and get that first taste. Good mint flavor, with a hint on a vitamin energy taste (very slight, took a few spoonfuls to figure out it that’s what I was tasting), yet nowhere near enough to take away from the taste. If you’re a fan of mint chocolate chip, then you won’t be disappointed with your scoop of Bang!! Cooky Mint.

Ingredients

A pint of Bang!! will give you just over 1000 calories with about 50g of sugar (less than you’ll find in most normal ice cream). The other ingredients are very similar to normal ice cream, all except one. This ice cream packs a punch that you won’t find in that normal ice cream, Guarana! This guarana provides the ice cream with a very solid 500mg of caffeine.

Effect

The taste may be close to mint ice cream, but once finished, that’s where the similarities end. Shortly after finishing off the pint, I got a good boost lasting about 2 hours. I felt alert and focused, not a sugary boost or jittery, just a nice constant alertness.

Verdict

There’s many ways to get your energy boost, but there may not be a nicer way to get it then through a bowl of ice cream. Bang!! provides this boost through a creamy tasting ice cream, surprisingly without a jittery sugar filled boost, yet that can’t be said if you cover it in chocolate syrup and bury it in a lot of toppings. The boost wasn’t as much as I’ve found in some of my liquid counterparts but guarana effects people differently.

Bang!! Heaps of Gold

Taste

Wow. That’s about it, wow. The chocolate ice cream is very creamy and has a great chocolate flavor. The bits of Heath Bar are a great addition, could use a bit more Heath, but overall the taste is a homerun!

Bang!! Heaps of Gold Ingredients

You won’t find much difference in this Bang!! as you find in the others. 1040 calories and 56g of sugar (yes it’s high, but it’s ice cream people!) On top of the 560mg of sodium and 56g of sugar, you’ll get your 500mg of caffeine. Yet I know many people face allergy issues, and this ice cream won’t help as it contains Milk, Peanut, Soy and Coconut, and even carries a warning regarding possible allergy issues.

Effect

As for the effect, Bang!! wasn’t really a rush I was looking anticipating. The boost is provided by the guarana in the ice cream, yet even though it says it contains 500mg, I found the energy to be a little less than desirable, lasting in total less than an hour, but even at its peak, it wasn’t anything much. I must not react as well to guarana.

Verdict

Even though the energy in the ice cream left me looking for more, the flavor of the ice cream definitely made up for it. I wouldn’t reach for Bang!! Heaps of Gold to boost me off the couch and outside to do yard work, but as a dessert I will definitely be eating this again. I can always grab a can of something and finish it quick to get me motivated, but this ice cream, I will take my time and enjoy it.

If you want to try Bang!! for yourself, you can buy it online and they’ll ship it to you frozen.

Reviewed by Brandon Trouten

Caffex has come up with the idea to make marshmallows that contain different types of coffee flavors.

They feature three four flavors: CoffeeMallows, JavaMallows, MoccaMallows, and ChocoMallows.

Essentially, it is an energy shot inside an oversized marshmallow.

Taste

CoffeeMallows: This is your standard coffee flavor. It tastes like a bolder roast coffee and the sugar in the marshmallow takes some of the edge off.

JavaMallows: Flavored with a shot of espresso, this is a stronger tasting version of the Coffee flavor. I like the flavor of espresso. This, paired with the sugar in the mallow is a great combination.

MoccaMallows: This one was really interesting. They took the coffee base and added cocoa and cocoa nibs. It was like a coffee chocolate chip marshmallow. This was my favorite of the three.

Update: New Flavor!

ChocoMallows: These gourmet marshmallows are void of coffee flavor, but rich in chocolate flavor. They also offer the surprise texture of Cocoa nibs with just a hint of cinnamon. They are tasty by themselves, but make your hot cocoa rock.

Ingredients

The marshmallows all contain 95 calories and 22 grams of sugar. The Coffee and Mocha flavors have 200 mg of caffeine, the Java flavor has 280 mg of caffeine, and the new Chocomallows have 100mg of caffeine per marshmallow, however, they are a smaller size than the other three. Other than that, it’s your typical large marshmallow ingredients.

Effect

I tried these in various contexts and will discuss each. For the JavaMallow, I ate it upon waking in the morning. This was about 20 minutes before I hit the gym. I found that I woke up quicker, and had a great burst of energy that lasted me for about 2 and a half hours. This was followed with a substantial crash. For the Mocha flavor, I ate it when I hit a tiredness wall one afternoon. I found that I was able to continue working with an increase in my productivity, but there was still a decent crash at the end. For the Coffee flavor, I decided to make a S’more. Pretty awesome idea right? I noticed the pickup, and strangely I didn’t have the crash that I experienced with the other two.

Verdict

These Mallows are a great idea and they have enough caffeine to stack up against most energy drinks or coffee drinks. They are excellent for someone who likes an energy boost on the go. If you do not like marshmallows, you probably wont like these. If you don’t like coffee, the Mocha flavor is probably best for you. You can check out the company and the mallows at the Caffex Website.

Reviewed by Jason Kleindorfer

The company appears to be one that also helps other companies formulate their energy products so you could but your own label on these energy sticks an market them..

They have released these energy sticks that are a lot like the Crunk energy sticks we reviewed a while ago. It is powder that you pour onto your tongue and let dissolve. I was a bit skeptical as to whether these would be any good. So, let’s take a look at them.

Taste

The sticks come in three flavors, designated by number.

• Berry 111 – This flavor is your typical fruit punch, with notes of mango and papaya flavor. It sort of reminded me of the Hawaiian Punch drinks.
• Grape 555 – I immediately thought of Grape Kool-Aid when I first tried this flavor. It has a little bit of a metallic aftertaste, but overall I really liked this one.
• Fruitmix 999 – If you have ever had Tutti-Fruiti flavored gum or ice cream, you will instantly recognize Fruitmix. It is overly sweet, with an generic fruit background flavor.

Ingredients

These sticks contain Xylitol (an artificial sweetener which reportedly protects your teeth), 75 mg of Caffeine, and 30% of your RDA of the B Vitamins, Biotin, and Folate. The label doesn’t have the nutritional information, but there is no sugar, and it would seem that there are no calories in them.

Effect

The company sent me a few of the sticks, so I tried them in various contexts. First, I took one before going to the gym. The result was negligible at best and my workout was the same. Next, I took one in the morning when I had missed my coffee and I noticed a decent lift in mood and focus, but nothing staggering. Then I took one a little later in the day before work and I was able to get a lift in work ethic and mood, but was still able to sleep regularly that night.

For my final experiment, I took two (I’m not recommending you do this) before going to work out. I noticed the difference this time and had a more intense workout that got me sweating more than usual.

Verdict

I love it when a European product makes its way into the States for us to try. It’s a great change from the typical Rockstar, Monster, or Red Bull. I liked the novelty around NutraAdds Energy Sticks. They are easy to down, taste good, and allow you to control the burst of energy that you get. They also seem to kick in quicker than a drink, probably because they dissolve on your tongue. I am unsure of their marketing to the US, but if you see these, pick up a pack and check them out.

If you have been looking for a base product to but your label on and take your shot at the USA energy product market, then NutraAdds might just be what you’re looking for to help you make millions.

Reviewed by Jason Kleindorfer

I was somewhat intrigued by Shock Coffee’s Shock-A-Lots, because the candy is basically chocolate covered coffee beans, the same beans they use for the coffee which gave me a wicked buzz.

Taste

These things taste very good. In my experience, you will not do much better in the taste department in regards to energy candy. Shock-A-Lots’ chocolate coating is like an M&M and the center is a coffee bean, which gives the coffee flavor (obviously). If you enjoy coffee and M&M’s, you will like this hybrid. They do leave a bit of grit in your mouth, which I would assume is what happens when you chew a coffee bean. This might turn some off, but it didn’t bother me.

Shok-A-Lots Ingredients

A packet of Shock-A-Lots has 130 calories and 15 grams of sugar. The caffeine content of Shock-A-Lots is not listed on the packaging. It states the dreaded “equal to one cup of coffee” statement. Shock’s website offers no help. You can do your own guessing there, but I would estimate the likely caffeine content to be around 100mg.

Effect

I ate Shok-A-Lots first thing in the morning before a workout. I felt a slight lift, but nothing over the top in the energy department. I’d say I got about an hour and a half of energy with a pretty substantial crash at the end (there’s a lot of sugar in this product after all).

Verdict

I liked Shock-A-Lots, but I think I would reach for a brewed cup of Shock Coffee over these if I had a choice. Shock-A-Lots would be a good snack if you are looking for something sweet with an energy boost, but they fall short of the effect that a good cup of Shock would give you.

Reviewed by Jason Kleindorfer

You can buy Shock-A-Lots in bulk here.

I’m not even sure where this statement originally came from, but some have come to believe that apples must contain caffeine. Let’s have a look at the nutrition data of an apple and see what ‘an apple a day’ is actually packing.

Nutrition of an Apple

Apples also contain very small traces of other vitamins and minerals.

No Caffeine in Apples

An apple will wake a person up somewhat, but it’s not because of caffeine. The high sugar content of an apple is what does the trick. Fructose is digested quickly which raises blood sugar levels and gives the body, more or less, a sugar rush. In fact, one medium apple has about the same sugar content as drinking half of a 12oz Coke.

So even though apples don’t wake you up with a jolt of caffeine, they are a healthy way to get a sugar rush.

My  Mind is spinning from the possibilities. Lets see, delicious but powerful hot cocoa? Rocket Rice Crispy Treats? What about around the campfire? S’mores with a punch or just plain no sleep tonight roasted caffeinated marshmallows!

Omni Consumer Products is genius for creating the “world’s first caffeinated gourmet marshmallows”! Stay Puft became available on ThinkGeek a few weeks ago and already they are out of stock and on backorder. Not surprisingly because these are a must have for caffeine enthusiasts and caffeine addicts alike.

Stay Puft Caffeinated Marshmallows come in packs of 24 and each marshmallow contains about 100mg of caffeine. So what are you waiting for? Head over to ThinkGeek and reserve your supply of  caffeinated marshmallows.

Can you think of other fun uses for these caffeinated wonders?

However, first of all, at Energy Fiend we are all about honest marketing and while reviewing the Power Play website I found some pretty major false statements.

They claim that each piece has the “energy” of a large cup of coffee. This is completely false. Each piece of Power Play Gum only has a 65mg blend of caffeine and taurine. An 8oz drip coffee has around 145mg of caffeine. Each piece isn’t even as much as a Red Bull that clocks in at 80mg of just caffeine.

I really don’t understand the need for deception here. Plus the logic of sending their product to Energy Fiend as we are primarily a caffeine content site. Well I’ll get off my soap box and let you read what Brandon and Taylor had to say.

Taste

Brandon: I open the pack and pop out a piece that looks like a orange mentos. First taste, kind of sour, kind of taste like pickle juice. To hard to bite yet, so let’s continue to suck on it. Getting softer, and taste shifts to more of a sweeter refreshing taste. Finally can bite it and a very good orange flavor. Mmmmm, I’m down with energy gum!!! After chewing the gum for a little while Power Play has a multi-vitamin aftertaste.

Taylor: Before biting into this ball of gum, I roll it around in my mouth a bit to test out the flavor before I chomp down. It is quite tangy and sour, a good orange flavor. I bite down and chew for maybe ten seconds and I am hit with a massive wall of bitterness. It is recommended on the package to chew for five minutes for a full energy effect and I intend to do just that, but it seems impossible with the horrid taste. I reached the five minutes and immediately spit it out. It became brutally bitter and disgusting very quickly. Very disappointing

Ingredients

Brandon: Power Play Energy Gum doesn’t seem to contain much punch. A whopping 1g of sugar, 6% of your vitamin and wait for it, wait for it….4% of your vitamin B12! On a serious note, it does contain 65 mg of “energy blend” consisting of Caffeine and Taurine.

Taylor: The caffeine content given is the classic dreaded statement “caffeine comparable to a cup of coffee”. There are no ingredients that stand out, just your basic B vitamins and taurine.

Effect

Brandon: I never really felt any real lift chewing Power Play Energy Gum, I was a little tired before chewing it, a little tired during chewing it, and a little tired after chewing it. I’m sure it will affect each person different but I didn’t see any difference from my regular gum.

Taylor: Nothing to speak of, absolutely nothing. Need I say more?

Verdict

Brandon: I wouldn’t pay extra for Power Play Energy Gum, yet if its priced like other gum, I’d definitely purchase it once and awhile if not for any other reason but to show others that regular gum won’t cut it for a guy like me, I need a more powerful alternative.

Taylor: I was hesitant at first about trying out Power Play Energy Gum, but I did not go into this review thinking to myself that it was going to be awful. I wanted this to change my mind and open me up to a new market of energy products. Sadly I was severely let down.

Editor’s Verdict: Clean up your marketing Power Play.

Reviewed by Brandon Trouten and Taylor Fruits

Now the caffeine is creeping into many of our foods and it’s totally cool with me. Now let’s give Plow On Energy Gum a try.

Taste

Most of the caffeinated energy gums I’ve had lacked taste, yet Plow On breaks that mold. The gum, which resembles a over-sized M & M. Right after popping Plow On, it seems to be too hard to bite, so you have to suck on it for a minute or two. Yet once softened up, you get a very sweet flavor. However, a few minutes in, the sweet flavor of Plow On soon turns into a bit of a sour taste from the caffeine, but this only lasts very short time and then turns into your normal chewing gum flavorless taste.

Ingredients

Two major ingredients that set Plow On Energy Gum apart is that Plow On contains 5mg of Green Tea extract and 5 mg Ginseng, how many other caffeine gums have you tried that contain those? Yet did I mention it’s a energy gum? So of course Plow On has to contain Taurine (5mg) and Caffeine (100mg).

Effect

I got a pretty decent boost from chewing a piece of the Plow On, lasting roughly 35 or 40 minutes. They claim that a single piece of Plow On is equivalent to a cup of coffee or a can of your regular energy drink. While the 100mg of caffeine is high compared to most other energy gums, I don’t think the punch of the gum compares to your average 16oz energy drink which carries 1000 mg of Taurine and about twice the caffeine.

Verdict

Plow On Energy Gum’s taste was solid and the energy buzz was decent. I wouldn’t look to this gum to get me through an all nighter or anything, but maybe Plow On could keep me active between energy drinks. For an energy gum, I give Plow On a thumbs up, but I’m neutral if you’re looking for your daily caffeine intake alone.

Reviewed by Brandon Trouten

How does Plow On compare with other caffeine energy gums?