Hype Enlite

Hooray! The Hypes came in yesterday and Chan and I were totally excited to try them. Hype, if you don't know, is a Canadian brand and I would consider it sort of a 'gourmet' drink, because of its refined appearance. This exact drink, the Hype Enlite, is the low calorie version of the drink. There are only 10 calories per serving, which I consider to be pretty good. I don't want to waste time on the intro; I want to tear into this thing.

I tore the can open and poured it out. It didn't surprise me to see that the color was like transparent rosy pink. The smell is very reminiscent of aromatic flowers. From the smell, I think this drink is very feminine-friendly. However, the taste differs. The taste is quite similar to the Jones energy and many other budget energy drinks I've tried. It's like that artificial berry-apple-pear bubble gum you hear about so often. Actually, it's like a slightly better version of that and it must be all right because I've already finished it. The aftertaste leaves just a bit of artificial sweetness. It could be due to the acesulfame potassium, or acesulfame k, a common artificial sweetener. That's what's giving it a sort of metallic aftertaste. I couldn't pin down the flavor before I finished the can, sadly, so I'll just sum it up as a sweet, flowery taste with mildly artificial and subtle sweetness. In this small 8oz can, there's no gumminess, which is very good, and the carbonation, I think, is just a little too much, but okay. It isn't the best energy drink, but it beats mediocre drinks like Red Bull and Rockstar by far. I'm hoping the regular Hype is at least as good as this.

In the can, I found a respectable blend of energy ingredients. I haven't seen Taurine in a drink in a while, so it took me by surprise just a bit when I saw that there are 1000mg in the drink. It's the standard dose per one 8oz serving, so it's all right in this 8.4oz can. Caffeine comes next, in an 80mg dose, which is the average. Following those two energy ingredients is an array of B vitamins, which you can expect to see in every drink. I believe B vitamins are supposed to help with absorbtion and metabolism. Now, in the Non-Medicinal category, I see sugar and/or HFCS after carbonated water. That's what you'll see stated in many sodas as well, instead of plain sugar or HFCS. The reason is because some bottlers might choose to sweeten the drink with sugar instead of HFCS, giving a drink that crisp, brighter taste. I have no way of knowing which one was used in this drink. After that, it reads "citric acid" and "natural flavours." I caught that right when I saw it. "Flavours" is the English or Canadian spelling of what we spell in America "flavors." That tells you right there that this drink truly comes from Canada, as well as the reprinting of the nutrition facts in French, which I find below. The list continutes: "sodium citrate, ginseng root extract, guarana (flavours), sucralose, acesulfame k, inositol, colour." The amounts of ginseng, guarana, and inositol appear to be nondisclosed, which I take as a sign that they're quite minute. I enjoyed reading the label of this can because I'm used to the cans here in America, and it's cool to see something from another country. From now on, I'm on the lookout for foreign and exotic drinks.

Taste: 7.4 - A bit plain, but it sure beats a Rockstar
Kick: 8 - Hype gave a very good kick
Overall: 7.5 - Nice light beverage

Reviewed by: Jeff