Starbuck's Doubleshot Cinnamon Dulce

I have to say, Jeff and I were a bit surprised when two large packages came up at the door about a week ago. Almost immediately Jeff notified me of this and sent me the package of Starbuck's energy drinks. Tearing open the package we were surprised to find all of Starbuck's energy drinks, including one of their newest flavors expected to hit the markets February of 2009, the Cinnamon Dulce. It's been a busy time, and difficult to review lately, but we've got to fit in time to review these great drinks Evan Pham was courteous enough to send. After taking a few minutes to decide I knew it was the right choice to review the newest energy drink first; I know it'll be a good one. So, glancing at the can, I find Starbuck's trademark good can design, being a swirling combination of light browns, and dark browns, representing the color of the Cinnamon spice and caramel syrup. Some lighter and darker shades of brown are representable for the colors and roasts of coffee in the mix. Since I've never come across Cinnamon and Caramel (Dulce) in a coffee blend, I'm eager to try it. But coffee is real easy to mess up sometime, but knowing Starbuck's this one will most likely be a pass, here on Canned Reviews.

Cracking open this smooth 16 ounce can, I find myself whiffing at a scent of sweet caramel, with some robustness of general coffee. There are light notes of cinnamon in the background, but are hard to notice; I'm sure there'll be more of it as soon as I taste it. Pouring it out of the can and into a cup, the color is different than most energy-coffees, being way lighter, almost the color of milk, dirty milk, that is. Swigging the drink from the cup, I search my taste buds and find a flavor from this Cinnamony coffee of thick, sweet caramel-milk, with powerful heaps of cinnamon prominently mixed in. The flavor is appetizing, as there's some nice robustness form Starbuck's coffee evenly spread in, and sweet Dulce to balance it all out. One thing Starbuck's did improve on is the presence of Sucralose in the drink. Unlike the previous three Starbuck's energy drinks, this Cinnamon Dulce flavor masks the Sucralose so it's hardly noticeable at all. Digging deeper into the drink, I find its aftertaste is merely a light reminisce of cinnamon, with a nice boost of milkiness, but very little actual coffee roast. It's really not that gummy, as is with most coffee energy drinks, though what more can you expect with only 33g of sugar in the whole can? One thing I noticed after about three-quarters of the way through the can is that the flavor gets a bit boring, though the flavor is still pretty subtle. Overall, Starbuck's really nailed a Cinnamon and caramel flavored coffee energy drink, and when you'll try it next month I can almost guarantee you'll say the same exact thing. Don't take too long deciding which Starbuck's is best, go for the Cinnamon Dulce.

According to this can of Starbuck's Doubleshot Cinnamon Dulce, we see a complete a ingredients list, which I'll describe to you here. I see: Starbuck's Coffee (water, coffee), reduced-fat milk, skim milk, sugar, maltodextrin, dextrose, taurine, natural flavor, cellulose gel, L-Carnitine, panax ginseng, Inositol, Sodium Accorbate, guarana seed, calcium phosphate, celluose gum, niacin, Sucarlose, ascorbic acid, Tricalcium Phosphate, Carrageenan, caramel color, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin A, Cyanocobalamin, Vitamin D3. Most of these ingredients are standard in energy coffees, as I could recall seeing these in Java Monsters and Rockstar Roasteds. Per can, you are aiming towards about 200 calories, and only 33g of sugar, just like I had mentioned earlier in the review. The calorie content really isn't that bad, especially for a sweet energy coffee like Starbuck's, though you gotta remember what the sweetener(s) actually are. In this case, you have maltodextrin, sucrose, a bit from the reduced-fat milk, and a whole lot from the Sucralose. Sucralose contains very little amounts of calories, and virtually no real sugar, so they can pose that as a sweetener with technically not having to add it to the nutrition facts. In terms of kick, I note that after about 15 minutes, a large burst of jitteriness kicks in for about 2 hours, and then later a deteriorating focus with eventually a lame crash. All in all, this Starbuck's Doubleshot blew my mind. Coming from a past of disappointing debut energy drinks, Starbuck's made a great improvement and I'm excited for the next idea the folks at Starbuck's come up with.

Taste: 8.5 - Creative idea of Cinnamon and caramel in a coffee; smooth, rich, and milky coffee to add to the creativity
Kick: 8 - Generally a good kick, usual coffee jitteriness, and usual coffee crash
Overall: 8.3 - Definitely want to pick one of these up as soon as they come to a store near you

Reviewed by: Chan

Starbucks Doubleshot Energy+Coffee Vanilla

Sometimes you have to try something twice to know if you like it. This is one of those times and I'm feeling good about Starbucks' Doubleshot Energy+Coffee Vanilla. This time I'm striving to explore the full flavor by shaking the can and chilling it completely. I wouldn't be reviewing this if it weren't for Evan Pham sending us a surprise shipment just before the release of their new flavor. Thanks again, Evan, and I hope you appreciate the reviews to come, including that of Starbucks' new flavor, which will soon be released. Congratulations on a great new flavor, and I know it will be gladly received by the public with open mouths.

Anyway, this sleepy Saturday morning, I decided to skip my morning cup of hot coffee for a delicious Starbucks energy drink. Vanilla sounded like something light and flavorful, so I picked it out first. All of these drinks are made with reduced fat and skim milk, which makes me wonder. In my experience, milk instead of half and half generally isn't as good. But then again, I can understand that all these companies opt for milk because it has less fat than cream. I can't wait to taste this.

I popped open the can quickly, forgetting I had shaken it earlier, splattering foamy vanilla coffee all over my screen. The smell from the can is very nice dark roast coffee with that good strong nutty and chocolatey aroma. On top of that is a scent just like vanilla ice cream and it's quite enticing. A big swig from the can gives me some really nice creamy but not thick coffee and that same vanilla bean ice cream on the side. The sweetness is pleasant and not too sweet, until about the last second, when it gets a little too sweet for me. I only taste a very small hint of sucralose on the back of my tongue. I'm very glad it's not as prominent as before. I find myself going back to take more and more sips, because that vanilla is pretty addicting. As I get down further, it seems to me like it lacks some coffee; the coffee is more of an undertone than a base flavor, but Starbucks was smart, knowing this would attract even non-coffee drinkers. The only complaint I still have is that the sucralose in the end has an unpleasant bitter taste I wish would go away. Who knows, others may not taste it, but it's the only thing that I'd change about this drink. All in all, this is an exceptional drink with a great coffee taste and a deep, rich vanilla, however, I would go easy on the sucralose. Now I'm interested in the boost.

I'm guessing Starbucks' energy drink performs at least on par with their very strong coffee, giving lots of sustained energy. But what pleasantly surprised me was the incredible focus and vitality that Starbucks Doubleshot Energy+Coffee gave. I was full of energy, but not over the top, meaning no jitters. Compare that to a Monster or Monster Java which almost invariably gets me hyper and revved up to the point that I can't sit still. Starbucks on the other hand, is a more sophisticated drink that seems to go for a more well rounded boost. A Monster makes me want to tear things down with all my extra energy, while Starbucks makes me feel like building something. So, what's different about the ingredients?

The drink's ingredients read as follows: Starbucks^Ⓡ Coffee (Filtered Water, Coffee), Reduced-Fat Milk, Skim Milk, Sugar, Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Taurine, Cellulose Gel, Natural Flavor, L-Carnitine, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Inositol, Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Guarana (Paullinia Cupana) Seed Extract, Cellulose Gum, Calcium Phosphate, Niacinimide, Sucralose, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Tricalcium Phosphate, Caramel Color, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin, Vitamin A Palmitate, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), Vitamin D3. As for the energy ingredients, there are 2000mg of Maltodextrin, 1800mg of Taurine, 450 of L-carnitine, the vitality-giving ingredient, 180mg of Inositol, 325mg of Ginseng, and 90mg of Guarana. It's not the most extreme list, but it sure does the job and yields a fantastic kick that lasts for a good three hours or more. Finally, there are 25g of sugar per can, and 210 calories per can. Overall, I was much happier with Starbucks' energy drink this time around, and I can't wait to try the new flavor.

Taste: 8.2 - Delicious ice cream vanilla over a chocolatey, nutty dark roast coffee
Kick: 8.5 - Awesome, long-lasting kick with brilliant focus and vitality
Overall: 8.4 - Loved it the second time around

Reviewed by: Jeff

Starbucks Doubleshot Energy+Coffee

I first want to say sorry it took me so long to get this review in. I've had this drink since June and I guess I just totally left it in the dust, caught up with all the other energy drinks I've been finding lately. I especially want to apologize to Evan, for supplying us with these coffee energy drinks, who has been patiently waiting for me to review the final Starbucks drink out of their newer three released a few months ago. I know Jeff wasn't very happy with this line of energy drinks at all and I thought so far they weren't bad, just nothing too special. Coffee flavor tends to be a bit 'plain' if you will, so you won't see companies label a flavor as just 'coffee', however for some reason Starbucks did. This shows that I can potentially get a flavor that's dull, generalized, and somewhat lame that doesn't have enough sweetness. If I explained it correctly, you now know why coffee/energy drink companies come out with flavors based on coffee, rather than just a regular coffee. Right now, I'm hoping Starbucks can prove my point wrong and amaze me with a flavor different than a boring coffee drink. The can design is perhaps the best of the these Starbucks drinks being streaks of coffee mixed in with a dark chocolate brown and a few other shades like milk chocolate and iced coffee brown. I like that background; it has to be one of my favorites.

As I break the tab and bend it forward, the top of the can disperses a pretty strong scent, being a general artificially robust coffee aroma. Actually, it doesn't really smell like coffee, now that I'm getting more whiffs of it. The Starbucks Coffee delivers a hue that's basic, milky brown color with very little darkness mixed in. It's flavor has to be the worst coffee flavor I've ever had. Not only is it not sweet enough, but it's so artificially sweet that it's unbearable and a bit bitter. It has that fake robustness coffee energy drinks try to add. I'm questioning Starbucks in my head, "From such a large coffee enterprise, wouldn't you expect a better quality coffee energy drink?" I guess the flavor in general is a starting artificial, weak, lame coffee flavor and ends with a more intense note of artificialness and a fake version of robust coffee beans. As much as I hate to mention something personal on this blog, I must: this drink nearly made me throw up, and right now my stomach is in more pain than any other energy drink I've tried, sugar free or not. Right now, I frankly don't care what it's sweetened with and how gummy it is because Starbucks already screwed up the whole drink in terms of being sweet, not sweet, etc. About 8 ounces into it, I can easily say that I'm finished with this drink. Email me if you want the rest and I can send it right away. Just kidding. Overall, I say that I've never seen this much abuse to such a valuable and meaningful flavor in the energy drink community.

The ingredients in this wannabe energy coffee are Starbucks coffee (Filtered water, coffee), reduced fat milk, skim milk, sugar, natural flavor, maltodextrin, dextrose, taurine, cellulose gel, L-Carnitine, ginseng, cellulose gum, inositol, Vitamin C, guarana, niacin, Sucralose, Vitamin A, B Vitamins, and caramel color. Hm I know they didn't go wrong with the Starbucks Brand coffee, because that stuff is pretty good, but I do see hidden sugars and unnecessary ingredients. There's reduced fat milk and skim milk, most coffee energy drinks do not need both. there's also a combination of sucrose, maltodextrin, dextrose, and Sucralose. I would only establish sugars that are needed in a coffee, not added in for extra artificial and unappetizing sweetness like Sucralose and maltodextrin. There's an upside to this drink, the kick. The kick is formulated with guarana, ginseng, caffeine (From the coffee), and B Vitamins. I have a good 5-6 ounces left and I can definitely say that I'm more alert. Per can, you get 210 calories, 26g of sugar. and 12g of protein. From what I'm seeing, this drink can be improved by putting more real sugar into the mix, hence giving it a better sweetness and overall imroving the taste. All in all, I can't say I enjoyed this coffee energy drink at all, and until the next energy drink company makes their line of coffee energy drinks, I'm done.

Taste: 3 - The overall flavor was mostly artificial with fake robustness added in, a shame to energy coffees
Kick: 8 - I can't say many bad things about the kick
Overall: This line of Starbucks energy drinks are overpriced and not good for the money, I'd stick with Rockstar Roasted or Java Monster for now

Reviewed by: Chan

Starbucks Doubleshot Energy+Coffee Mocha

What better thing to do on a scorching-hot day over here than to review an iced coffee? I was so relieved to pull one of these out of the refrigerator after putting it off for a few weeks. It's a fairly new energy drink, coming out mid to late June in most places, but over here it came out early June. Starbuck's released the energy drinks in three new flavors: Vanilla, Mocha, and Coffee, but some said they were a fail due to the amount of Splenda in the drink. I have only had the Vanilla, and I thought it had a mediocre flavor, tasting real artificial, but the kick made up for its lack of flavor. If you want to head over and get one of these for yourself, prepare to pay a bit extra because Starbuck's is one company that charges quite a bit for their drinks. This can has a smooth coffee-brown background, looking as if it's mixed with chocolate, hence the Mocha favor I'm reviewing. I'm going to cut this paragraph a bit short because the can is warming up and my ice is melting...

I open up the can, and to my delight, I smell a fresh-brewed coffee aroma with some chocolate blended in. This Starbuck's energy drink comes out of the can a light brown color, similar to all the other coffee energy drinks out on the market. If Jeff, as well as many other people are telling the truth, I should take a drink and be upset. For starters, this drink is noticeably thicker in the mouth than your average Java Monster. I next notice a somewhat weak Mocha flavor that is supposed to resemble a chocolaty coffee taste, but fails. It goes down really smoothly with no aftertaste, except that of a minor fake sugar taste. I do think this drink is much better than what energy drink fans claimed it to be like, but I think it's just missing essential coffee flavors that remind us of what coffee's all about. After a few more sips, I notice more of a less sweet flavor that draws you away from that artificial primary sweet flavor. Obviously, it's not carbonated, so we can skip this part. I was surprised to find a decent amount of gumminess after downing most of what's supposed to be a coffee flavor. In my mind, it tasted better than Rockstar's Mocha energy drink, but didn't compete with Monster's Mean Bean and Big Black drinks.

As for ingredients, this non-carbonated drink's got Starbucks brand premium roasted coffee, reduced fat milk (Semi-sweetener), skim milk, 'sugar', maltodextrin (Semi-sweetener), dextrose, taurine, natural flavor, cellulose gel, ginseng, L-carnitine, Vitamin C, guarana, sucralose, vitamin B, and caramel color (Gives it that smooth light brown color). Per can, you get an average 200 calories, which isn't bad at all, considering its pretty sweet and only 26g of sugar. The sugar amount is less than half of what an average (Monster, Rockstar, Amp) energy drink is, I could live with that. In terms of energy, you get 2000mg of maltodextrin, 1800mg of taurine, 325mg of ginseng, and 90mg of guarana. You may be thinking where in this paragraph I mentioned how much caffeine is in this drink, I'll tell you, even though it's not listed, we know it to be around 150mg, which isn't bad. With this 15oz coffee, packing 150-something milligrams of caffeine and Taurine, Ginseng, Guarana, and B Vitamins, you get an explosion that'll keep you wired two and a half hours. Okay, so it was just an average coffee energy drink, but still I really enjoyed every sip. Go out and try one for youself, you may like it, you may not.

Taste: 8.2 - Once again, any coffee energy drink is to my liking, but I'd have to speak not only for myself, but as well as the consumers willing to purchase it
Kick: 9.2 - A great, long-lasting kick
Overall: 8.6 - Although it'll cost you roughly $2.60, it might be worth it

Reviewed by: Chan