What is the best tasting energy drink?

Walk into any convenience store and you can find soda coolers filled with rows upon rows of bold and colorful carbonated drinks. Every color you can imagine-red ones, green ones, purple ones—all shimmer under the flickering glow of artificial lights and create a tantalizing feast for the eyes.

The hue and intensity of aluminum cans instigate anticipation. We love variation. When a beverage company like Red Bull GmbH, Monster, or Rock Star comes out with a new flavor we see the new color as an opportunity to live.

The new paint job intrigues us. Will it taste fruity, zesty, or crisp? Maybe it’ll be sweet, smooth, or tickle our tongues in strange new ways. Our imagination runs wild with everything that it could be.

We pluck the new can, scan our credit card at the register, and walk outside, filled with all the hopes and dreams of a true soda connoisseur.

Usually, though, the energy drink tastes like syrupy garbage. Or its so drenched in strange, artificial flavors it leaves a metallic, chemical-like aftertaste in your mouth. Why oh why do energy drinks have to taste so bad?

The Guru energy drink lineup

Why do energy drinks taste so terrible?

Straight caffeine tastes awful. Taurine tastes like battery acid. The B-vitamins leave a sharp-burning taste in your mouth. And so on. Basically, all the ingredients that give the energy drink its “energy” taste like shit.

In order to make these things drinkable, beverage manufacturers are forced to cover up the harsh flavors with loads of sugar and artificial sweeteners, as well as natural and artificial flavors. They pack everything they can, within their budget, to mask the bitterness.

But what this means is that these drink makers are not crafting a quality drink by selecting the right ingredients. Instead, they’re trying to figure out how to make these other element palatable. This is difficult, apparently.

But things brings us to the next question. What energy drink is the best tasting?

What’s the best tasting energy drink?

Most energy drinks do not taste good. Others have that battery acid after taste. Some are just way too sugary. And some have a surprising blend of flavor and sweetness.

There’s a Canadian-based company called Guru Energy whose mission is to find the perfect balance of natural, plant-based ingredients to create an energy drink that doesn’t come at the expense of one’s health.

Guru came out with their first beverage in 1999 and have since then arrived at interesting product line. The ingredient list in of their energy drinks include sparkling water, organic cane sugar, a juice or tea base, and various botanicals.

Guru is one of those energy drink companies aiming to clean up the energy drink industry. But is there such a thing as a “clean” energy drink? Eh, who knows? What we’re more interested in is the taste.

Lightly carbonated and delicately sweetened Yerba Mate by Guru makes for one hellava energy drink

Of Guru’s offerings, two drinks stand above the competition: Matcha (green tea) and Yerba Maté. Both are based on teas and are surprisingly delicious. But if we had to pick just one it’s Yerba Maté.

Yerba Maté has a distinct tea flavor. Not everyone likes it as a hot beverage. But when it’s sweetened with cane sugar, lemon and monk fruit juice, carbonated beverage takes on a whole new flavor.

The tasting notes take on a light and refreshing character, especially when the drink is chilled. The yerba maté gives it a nice earthy tint much like drinking tea. And the lemon brightens it with a spark of citrus.

It’s not over-sweetened beverage like Red Bull, which tastes like liquified candy, but has just the right amount sugar to not feel like your teeth are rotting. The drink only has 25 calories.

Are energy drinks bad for you?

Energy drinks are a relatively new addition to the human diet. We don’t actually know what the long-term effects energy drinks have on the body. They could be like what cigarettes were in the 1950s, a perfectly fine habit.

Part of the problem with energy drinks is that they’re categorized as a “supplement” instead of as a food. So, they’re regulated differently by the FDA than something like hot dogs.

But if you must, you must, so look for energy drinks with as few ingredients as possible, and make sure you can pronounce them or know what they are.

Choose drinks that are derived from tea sources, like green tea and Yerba mate. Reduce your consumption to sparingly and you’ll be fine.

Yerba Mate Energy Drink

Rev up your engine with Guru's plant-based Yerba Mate energy drink. It's the best tasting energy drink ever made!

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Final thoughts

The problem of finding great tasting energy drinks is one that is present in all areas of food and drink. We should care about how food tastes and what ingredients are used because we are putting these things into our body.

Given the choice of eating delicious food versus eating cheap, people tend to choose cheap. Just look at how popular dollar stores are or McDonald’s dollar menu.

It’s hard to maintain a healthy mind, body, and soul when you’re ingesting crap. Search out the best food and drink and consume those. We are what we eat, you know.