Many people, including me, like to have a bit of energy in the morning the jump-start their day. An energy drink usually does the trick, on my part, but I do have a bit of trouble deciding which drink is the most suitable for the mornings. I may go for something light, like a citrus energy drink, or an apple energy drink, yet they just don't give that feel of the morning. So, at an almost-routine trip to Big! Lots, I run into quite a few new drinks, including one that specializes in morning energy called Awake. Being stoked to see this, I immediately took a glance at the can to see some caffeine, Essentra, taurine, L-Carnitine, and L-Tartrate. I decided it was good enough to be an energy drink, so I took it home and here I am, about to pop it open. The can coloring is nice and bright, with a multi-colored sun and its rays, totally representing a morning. Their slogan/motto is "Good Morning Energy" which justifies this sleek morning-in-a-can. For 12 ounces, I see there's quite a lot of calories as well as sugar, but we'll get more into that a bit later. This may be for promotion, but I see that it's 100% juice. If it really is 100%, man, this energy drink is going to be pretty darn good. I want to find out now...
Upon opening the can, I find a scent, or aroma, of potent orange, papaya, pineapple, and tangerine. The first thought to pop into my mind was that it smells almost exactly like the Monster M-80, nice! Continuing on with my review, I pour it out of the can to locate a color looking most like a basic bright, cloudy orange, almost like orange juice, but a bit darker. Awake Orange Tangerine has it's own distinct flavor, quite different than the M-80, but it does have a few similarities. Unlike the M-80, this Awake has no sourness, but a smooth and light, sweet prominent orange flavor, with hardly any pineapple. It has a nice apple and tangerine finish to it, adding to the sweetness with a bit of pear as well. Drinking more of it, it wouldn't harm anyone to mention that I find a bit of passion fruit and some tartness from a lemon. To sum up the flavor, I really don't want to use a vague term to describe it, but I wan't to say it's 'juicy'. Justifying, I mean that I can't taste any added sugars, only the tossed in mixed fruits, to make it more distinct than any juice-induced energy drink I've tasted. After finishing half of the can, I'm displeased with the aftertaste this produces. Having all these fruits mixed in can be quite tasty, but all together, they can create some mean side-flavors. It's aftertaste seems to be like burnt fruit, or like, rotten fruit. To top it off, Awake has a standard fruity gumminess found in most fruit drinks, which is fine unless it's the sugar-created gumminess. All in all, Awake has a real nice, impressive fruit flavor and I'm most pleased about how they could handle experimenting with 100% juice.
Taking a look at the ingredients, I'm pretty surprised to find no added sugar, being that most energy drinks at least have some. Awake Orange Tangerine has the following ingredients: 100% juice (filtered water sufficient to reconstitued apple, orange, tangerine, lemon, pineapple, and passion fruit juice concentrates), natural flavors, citric acid, ascorbic acid, Ashwagandha extract (Essentra), beta-carotene, taurine, caffeine, EGCG, niacin, L-Carnitine, L-Tartrate, Vitamins, B5, E, and A, pyridoxine, vitamins B6 and B12. See what I mean? All these fruits combined form a great, natural juicy flavor. There's some earthy that, when combined with caffeine, will increase mental alertness and allow you to think clearly. This is especially important when taking tests, writing reports or when decisions need to be made. Hence the reason why all the good companies find a way to put this in their mix. Per can, you get 180 calories and 50g of sugar. I mentioned this earlier, and yes, that is one downside to this drink is calorie and sugar content. But I'll assure that this is mostly what is called 'good calories', which are calories that are essential for the body, thus coming form fruits mainly. The amount of sugar is unfortunate, but it's about as much you'd get if you were to have a bowl of sugary cereal and some fruit. Overall, a nicely flavored energy drink that'll give you that morning boost you need on your way to work, school, or just to clean! Why not try this instead of your average cup of joe?
Taste: 8.4 - Smooth, non-carbonated 100% apple, orange, and passion fruit-flavored energy drink
Kick: 7.8 - Great kick, coming with Ashwagandha, which will improve alertness and concentration throughout your busy day
Overall: 8.2 - Give this Awake morning energy a try. Skip the cup of coffee.
Reviewed by: Chan
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