Organic Cane Sugar - 229 Reviews

I know a lot of people who say things like, “Well obviously I would prefer organic, but without all of the chemicals, energy drinks just don't work.” Okay maybe no one has ever said that to me, but it's basically the message that comes across. I'm here to day to tell those people that they are very wrong, and I have a restless night to prove it to them. I knew I had to stay up late last night, so around 8PM I drank 2/3 of this can. At 4:30AM I was still tossing and turning for no other reason than I partook in this beverage. That's right, I didn't even consume the entire can and over 8 hours later I couldn't rest no matter what I tried. To be fair I am more sensitive to caffeine than your average person, but that is a ridiculous amount of time for it to still be effecting me. All of its energy comes from green coffee beans and guarana seed extract, butI promise you that these Rockstar Organic energy drinks do work, and you can down them without feeling terrible about putting a bunch of chemicals into your body.

As an added bonus to the effects, this tastes pretty great as well. It may not contain any juice, but it has a nice passion fruit flavor mixed with a general exotic tropical fruit amalgamation. I'm pretty sure there is guava involved in there, but maybe that is me tasting what I want to taste. It doesn't matter if it's in there or not, it's one of the best tasting energy drinks I've ever tasted.

Ten years ago I was sitting in a kitchen in Portland, OR and a mug of tea was placed in front of me. I took one sip and my world changed. Up until that point I had never had yerba mate before and I had no idea how vastly different it was from every other tea I had ever drank up until that point. It was earthy, woodsy, bitter wonderfulness with a nice boost of caffeine. Since that time it has become more prevalent and I couldn't be happier.

From my own gathering of intel Guayaki seems to be the longest running and most readily available producers of ready to drink yerba mate on the market. I have yet to try one of their flavors that I wasn't in love with and I drink them all the time. As someone who doesn't normally drink coffee, these beverages give me a nice little push of energy from their caffeine content.

With the Bluephoria tea they have mixed in elderberry and blueberry juice in with their already wonderful tea. The result is just as good as you would imagine. The juice kind of sits on top of the tea, flavorwise, so there's not so much a new taste, just the separate flavors hanging out together, and that is how I like my tea. It has aa decent sweetness to it without tasting like liquid candy. The fact that it tastes like blueberries and elderberries and not just some generic sugar-berry amalgamation is what makes this drink so great. Guayaki has done it again and I can't wait for their line to expand yet again.

Izze has expanded their grasp and now they have a line of “sparkling water beverages,” which is kind of just code for seltzer water. At least it would be if they didn't add just a touch of sugar (2g per bottle). It's a good marketing strategy. A lot of people are turned off when they hear the word seltzer, and when people see a drink is only 10 calories and it doesn't have stevia, erythritol, sucralose or any of those other guys in there I feel like they would be more likely to grab one.

It tastes like seltzer with the dryness rolled back just a little. I get a berry flavor, but no pear. There is a weird grain-esque aftertaste that I do not understand at all. Do pears taste like barley in some world that I am not a part of? It gives it a strange twist, but it's one of those flavors that you quickly become acclimated to and no longer notice.

What we have here is a beverage with an identity problem. It knows what it is as a beverage, but not where it's from. It most certainly is a sparkling blood orange juice with sugar added. That is obvious from one delicious taste of the bitter fruit whose edge has been taken off by something sweet. What of its origins? The bottle says that it is a product of Italy, the website says that it is from the UK, and yet I found it in a run of the mill grocery store in Lansing, MI of all places. Where does It's story start, and will it come to an end in Michigan? I can safely answer “no” to that as I traveled with it through Canada back to Buffalo, NY, where I consumed it. It's a drink of the world, and you can enjoy it wherever you happen to be.

Getting older is a strange thing. Your priorities change, well sometimes, and even your tastes evolve. Less than 10 years ago I was an adult by any cultures standards. I was 26, I lived in an apartment, I supported myself and I did what I wanted. It just happens that what I apparently wanted to do was drink obscene amounts of iced tea. The thing is that what I was drinking was more sugar water than tea, and the fact that I am not obese with some disease and shocking. On an average day I would say I drank more Arizona tall boys than I am comfortable admitting. Those days are long gone though. I would have to struggle to get through one full can of Arizona at this point, and my drink of choice is unsweetened iced tea that I brew at home.

Bigelow understands this and believes that it's ”about time tea drinkers had that home brewed tea experience in a bottle.” Now I always assumed that Arizona and Bigelow were connected in some way because of their similar bottles, but the 5 seconds of research I just did provided me with no info to back that up. Whether they are or not, doesn't matter, but this bottle of tea is definitely far closer to what I brew at home than a tallboy of Arizona. This actually tastes like tea and not the sugary goodness that youth craves. There is about half the amount of sugar in this that what I used to drink. It kind of tastes like what sweet tea would be if you made it with green tea (and a little less sugar). It's nice to still have a touch of the bitterness from the tea. The mango and lychee flavors are both there and identifiable, with the lychee being the stronger of the two, but neither of them take away from the green tea taste and pair nicely with it.

I wish I would have jut accepted beverages like this as superior when I was younger. It would have saved me from a lot of dumb calorie consumption.

Up until I discovered the Just line of pop, the only thing I knew about Canadian sodas was Pop Shoppe, and while they are decent, they are fairly standard. There is nothing standard about Just. They take flavors that you would never imagine meeting in soda and combine them into greatness. When in your life have you ever thought about peach and habanero meeting, except for possibly in a salsa? I'm going to guess that your response is, “Never.” To be fair if I was told that my mean would consist of a pairing of those two foods, I would just assume it was fancy pants cuisine that came in too small of portions that I would not really enjoy. In here though, in here it is fantastic.

The peach actually brought along some friends named apple, pear, pineapple and lemon. Together they forma sort of fruit punch troop in while peach in the ring leader. He's the one who is in charge and your taste buds know it as soon as they meet. The habanero is there all by it's lonesome and it waits in the shadows of the aftertaste. You could swish a gulp of this around your mouth for hours and never detect the pepper, but as soon as you swallow your breath brings the flavor and the heat out. It's similar to the burn from ginger beer, but with a little bit of a different taste.

I would love to have bottles of this on deck for when I get sick this winter. Drinking a bottle would clear my sinuses right out, and do so with flavor and taste. I need to make my way back up to Canada and pick up the other flavors that this wonderful company puts out.

For someone who is fairly indifferent about coffee, I really, really enjoyed this. I know, I'm as shocked as anyone. Obviously it's the mocha that pulled me in, but it also has a nice coffee flavor that I think I would enjoy even without the added chocolate. Maybe I just need to try more high end coffee beverages. Perhaps I just don't like the cheap garbage served at most places. More than likely this was a right place at the right time scenario and it just hit the spot. Regardless as to why I enjoyed this coffee, I think it's safe to say that if it works for me than those of you who truly enjoy a beverage of this sort will really love it.

Did I mention the chocolate? The mocha in here makes it insanely good. This is the first coffee beverage I have ever drank that tastes like they used nice dark chocolate and not just some Hershey powder, or some garbage like that. If this were hot and served at a coffee shop I would assume that they took a high end chocolate bar and shaved some of it off and let it melt in the coffee. I don't know how it works with this being cold brewed, but I am expecting to never find an iced mocha as good as this again.

Craft beer has been all the rage for a few years now, and I am ever so pleased that the soda game is moving in that direction. The older I get, the harder it is for me to drink an entire can/bottle of regular soda. I blame the corn syrup, but it's really just the general sweetness. I've grown into an old man who prefers seltzer water over pop in most instances. It's a strange world I'm in and I don't think I like it. I actually don't like much these days. It just happens that this soda is one of the few things that has brought me enjoyment recently. I was on a trip to Canada and I stopped in a grocery store, not expecting to find much and came across a slew of Just Craft Soda flavors. I think each and every one caught my eyes, but there was no way that I could say no to an apple and ginger soda. It was 90+ degrees out and as soon as I walked out into that sweltering heat I popped the cap off of this bottle and melted into a puddle of delicious soda.

I'm shocked that ginger isn't listed in the ingredients list because from the taste I would have assumed it was one of the main ingredients. I can only assume it falls under the natural flavours (note the spelling). The only other things listed are fruit juice, carbonated water and cane sugar. It's a simple soda with a big taste. Whenever ginger and apple are mixed it makes me think of the Autumn, which is a great time of year, but saddens me because it's a reminder that summer is winding down. While I can do without this heat wave I have done a lot of summer activities this year and the thought of an approaching winter is enough to make someone want to give up and move to warmer climates. No matter what the season though I would be thoroughly enjoying this soda. This is like someone's parents cut up an apple for their lunch and sprinkled a little lemon juice on it to avoid browning and also decided to get fancy and grate a little ginger on it. Man this imaginary kid has the most thoughtful parents. All I got in my lunch was a peanut butter sandwich and some gummy fruits. They totally win, especially because I never got the white Shark Bite.

The people at Mansi are very proud of their beverage, and they should be because it is tastier than I ever could have envisioned. They are also very adamant that we try it three different ways; cold and refreshing, warm like tea, and with your favorite liquor of choice. They have mentioned it numerous times. It's to the extent that I think they have to trick someone into doing these three things in order to break a curse that is on their business. Or maybe it will cause a portal to open up so that they can return to their home world. Or maybe it's like a Beetlejuice type of scenario. I really have no idea, and since neither Mike nor I drink alcohol it looks like we'll never find out. Sorry to let you down Mansi folks. I hope it doesn't make life to painful for you.

Ice Cold:
This is a perfect summer drink in its chilled state. It most closely resembles lemonade made with a slightly different citrus fruit, well because that is exactly what it is. It's made of water, calamansi juice (a fruit that has been described as a mixture of a mandarin orange and kumquats), cane sugar and honey. It's simple. It's easy. It's delicious. It tastes exactly like what it is, a superior “lemonade.” Take note kids if you sold this I would actually stop by your dumb little stands and buy you out of your product. Then you can go and blow all of your profits on candy or whatever it is you're trying to save up for.

Warm:
I have to first off say that it is strange to drink a hot beverage in 90 degree weather, but you do what you must do in the name of progress and beverage reviews. My first reaction is that I should really be drinking this in the autumn. It would fit in perfectly with hot apple cider. All of the similarities to lemonade are out the window once its temperature increases. It tastes almost like an intense citrus tea, but I might only be thinking that because tea is really the only hot beverage I drink on any sort of regular basis. It's a different beast warmed up. It's still enjoyable, but I don't think I could drink an entire carton hot. I also can't drink more than a couple of sips of hot cider either, so if you're into that sort of thing you'd probably like this.

With Liquor:
Sorry again that we couldn't break your curse.

I don't know if there will ever be a time where the combination of fruit and mint doesn't throw me for a loop. No matter what my first thought is always, “Wait, am I chewing gum and I forgot?” Luckily with Zpirit, the gum taste isn't really there. The initial thought was, but that was just because I wasn't paying attention to what I was drinking and thought I had grabbed the pear version, which does not contain mint. This is actually one of the better fruit/mint combinations that I have come across. Neither flavor is very strong, due to it being infused water and not “flavored.” There is no syrup being mixed into this drink, mandarin oranges and mint were simply allowed to soak in the water so some of their flavor was transferred. There are even a couple of slices of orange sitting in the bottom of the bottle.

My only real complaint about these beverages is that you can taste the stevia more than I would prefer to. I know they are mixing it with the cane sugar to keep the calories down, but I say if you're going for infused water, leave the sweetener out of the equation completely. No one will really miss it. If they did then this drink isn't for them anyway.

Wendy's, I used to hate you and now you've won back my heart. I eat all over the place; fancy places, holes in the wall and everything in-between. Today at Wendy's, I discovered this little guy. I've always loved Honest tea but to see a collaboration with Wendy's, that's nice.

So you go to Wendy's and you get yourself a little Caesar salad and a green tea. You're really taking care of yourself nowadays. This is a lightly sweetened green tea and it has, in the tropical department, a nice mango flavor. There might be more flavor but mango is the strongest, most overwhelming flavor. You'll like it. Trust me. I'm kind of a professional.

There are chunky drinks and then there is this. Take a good, hard look at that picture that I took. There are four, half inch chunks of pear in this drink. Cut up and thrown right in. It's a good drink, too. Very light. It tastes like somewhat spiced pear. The flavor of a pear isn't really prominent. As they said, it's an infusion. There is a nice, smooth vanilla taste. Since it's an infusion, the "spice" of the spiced pear isn't as strong as you might think. It's tough to accept that it's a spiced fruit drink that is restricted by the fact that it's an infusion rather than, say, and elixir. I do enjoy this even if I do despise pears. I would drink it again but given the opportunity, I would take the stronger one because this is only a teaser for what possibly could be.

It is my understanding that somewhere on this planet there is a black hole of sorts that contains an unending source of Honest Tea flavors. Every time I look at a selection of their products it seems like there is a flavor that I have not tried. I actually bought this bottle for pleasure and not to review. Once I got out of the store I second guessed myself and checked the site; nope we have not reviewed it.

One would think that a raspberry tea would be one of the standards for a company, but I don't remember ever coming across this. Perhaps it's a rebranding of a different flavor. The only thing I do know is that it is delicious and tastes like a better version of the junk raspberry tea that times the coolers of gas stations everywhere around the US. First off, it contains actual raspberry juice, which does not normally occur. The flavor is better for it. Secondly, it only contains about half the sugar that you would get in an Arizona or a Snapple tea. Let's work on getting drinks like this more commonly into gas stations and mini marts. I want better options, and Honest is a pretty big player in the game, so I think they can actually make that happen.

The sons of John Harney are really milking this "and sons" thing. John is up all night carefully blending ingredients while the sons are out driving Ferrari's and Porsche's that the family fortune bought. They're up drinking comically large bottles of Dom P at clubs "spreading the word" while daddy is in China meeting with Chinese business people about the best leaves to use for the green tea, black tea and white tea.

While daddy Harney was on his last excursion, he really nailed it. In between calls from his sons asking for more money for expensive watches, you know, "for the business" he was nailing his latest recipe for this half and half. It's nice and tart from the lemonade and the tea manages to shine through. It might be, this is a strong statement, the best half and half I've ever had. Nothing is lost and nothing needs to be improved on. It's a full flavor and a fair, even mix between the lemonade and the tea. Best of both. Nailed it. Great job daddy Harney. Sons? Get to work. Your daddy knows that you're milking the while "and sons" thing.

Talk about gross. Look, I like lemonade as much as the next guy. I like aloe drinks more than the next guy. This marriage will most certainly end in divorce because it is like an oil and water mix. It's sour but it's a bitter, undesirable sour. What's good about this? It can't be all bad.

You can taste each of the flavors. If you could somehow separate the liquid in your mouth to one side aloe and one side lemonade, you would be satisfied. Touch them together and it's a chemical reaction that could melt a house. I don't know how that's so. Maybe it's the smooth and sweetness of aloe and the bitter sourness of lemonade just compiling in to a "too many flavors" in your mouth. Whatever's happening, the fish in the Niagara River are going to have to enjoy the rest of this because I quit.

Peach: Not my favorite fruit. It's got hair on it. You're supposed to eat that hair. That's called trichophagia and is not something we should endorse. I mean, look, a little hair never hurt anyone, right? Peaches are little hairs but a lot of little hairs add up and then all of a sudden you're munching on the world's largest ball of hair. I wonder if they have to shampoo that thing. Is it just an old, dry ball of hair? Peaches, right? Whatever, dude.

Since Purity Organic is so nice to both the general public and Thirsty Dudes, they have pre-juiced the peaches into a nice drink mixed with a sweet black tea. No hair. No fuzz. No muss. No fuss. All you're left with is a nice, lightly sweetened black tea with a nice hint of peach. What more could you ask for? It's de-haired, pre and adequately sweetened and all natural. Fantastic.

Strawberries, watermelon and lemons; if that isn't summer, I don't know what this is. Marinate a hot dog in it, get some grass clippings on your new shoes after you mow the lawn, stop wearing socks, wear shorts, celebrate America and talk about going to the beach but don't actually go. This drink has it all and wants you to take that exotic trip back in time to something called, "July." That's right. This is a slightly sour but mostly fruity taste of lemonade with watermelon and strawberries in it. This has to be the culmination of years and long nights because to have this trio together outside of some sort of special occasion must have cost some money. You think it was cheap to have the Rat Pack play together? Boy, you should think again. Those guys were lady killers and this is like the drink equivalent of Frank Sinatra, that black dude from Cannonball Run, and the other guy.

For you drinkers out there in the world, this is a classy way to use soda as a mixer. No longer will you have to bust out plastic bottle and aluminum cans of syrup heavy soda to mix with your liquors. Now you have a nice glass bottle of higher quality soda (or sparkling beverage for you fancy types) to mix with your adult beverages. To me everything about this bottle screams mixer, and it looks like it's not meant to be drunk on its own. Oh but it is.

This is a mixture of the extracts of Valencia and Pera oranges, tangerines, key limes as well as pumpkins and carrots (hey why not?). It's on the dryer side of things and isn't very sweet (14g of sugar per serving). The flavor is lighter than you would expect from a soda, and it has a citrus taste that is heavy on the orange. I personally can't taste the pumpkin or carrot, but I will assume that it would taste differently if they were excluded.

This is nice because it is dry and light. It's the kind of beverage that I could sip all night at a party and not feel terrible, emotionally and physically, for doing so. In fact I did just that Friday night. This is about as classy as I get folks. It's the antithesis of brands like Faygo. Those companies have their places and so does Q.

Is there anything more yuppyish than a juice bar? I'm sure there is (perhaps a wine bar) but it's pretty high on the list. The thing is that I love them. They are like a dream to me. I don't venture into one very often, but that is solely due to the cost, and I'm poor. Juice bars may be the only yuppie thing that I actually enjoy, but oh how I enjoy it.

At the juice bar that I occasionally visit along with their dizzying array of press made juices they also have a giant dispenser of water that is infused with a variety of things. Sometimes it's fruit and sometimes it's spices. My favorite times are when they have water infused with basil to sip on as you wait for your juice to be made. That's right, basil isn't just for Italian cooking anymore, and when you let it soak in water the water tastes incredible. It's not something you would chug on, but it's one fine sipping beverage.

When I saw this on a recent trip to Toronto I absolutely needed it. I forwent food and spent what was left of my Canadian money on this drink, and I made a wise decision. This is fantastic. It's simply water that had peaches and basil soaking in it (there are actually some peach chunks floating in the bottle). There is also some sweetener added to it, which I don't think is necessary, but humans like their sweetness. The cane sugar isn't so much of a problem as the stevia is. When you infuse water the flavor is generally pretty light, whereas stevia is a fairly strong flavor. In here it's pretty much kept in check, but it still distracts from the natural flavor of the peach and basil. My advice is ditch the sweetener and let the actual flavors work their magic. I'm excited to try the other flavors on future trips up north.

Raspberry tea, who doesn't like it? Oh, adults who think that it is too sweet? Yeah I can see that. It used to be a standard for me, but the older I get the less I drink of it. Actually my intake of sweetened tea is fairly low these days, while the amount of unsweetened tea is through the metaphorical roof. The thing is that you can't quite get a proper raspberry flavor without the sweetness. This product falls somewhere in the middle. It's nowhere near as sweet as say and Arizona or Peace raspberry tea, but it's definitely got some sugar in it to keep the flavor up; 19g per serving to be exact. Sure they could have gone even lower, but the taste of the raspberry probably would have suffered.

I like that this still has a good deal of the “dryness” you get from unsweetened teas, but it also has a nice raspberry flavor. It helps that they used real juice in the flavoring process.

Is this perfect? No. Is it still great? Yes. This may still be too sweet for those of you in middle age and above, but I bet it would sit just perfectly on the palate of someone in their late 20s. Am I really at a point in my thoughts where I need to rank teas by the age of their consumer? No, not yet, but close.