Hydrive Grape Fusion R

When I'm jonesin' for something tasty I don't hesitate to reach for grape drank. And I'm lucky today to have Hydrive Grape Fusion R to review. Grape is delicious enough, but this one takes it a step further with grape fusion. After a jam sesh, a nice, cool, refreshing Hydrive sounds great to rejuvinate me. Besides, the purpose of this one, R, is recovery. I'm extremely eager to gulp this one down, so I'm not wasting much time on this introductory paragraph.

My first whiff is of a very good, sweet, deep grape flavor. It smells natural, but still easily recognizable. I'm very happy with a swig of the stuff; it's cool, sweet, refreshing, a little bit sour going down, and overall very satisfying to a thirsty dude like me. The color is lovely as well, being that crystal clear royal purple. Early on, there's little evidence this has Splenda; it goes down smooth, much like Gatorade. Maybe halfway in, I feel some sweetness lingering in the back of my throat, a sign of artificial sweeteners. To my surprise, after chilling the drink, it tastes a lot more artificial than before. I remember learning a while ago that things taste sweeter to our tastebuds when they are warm. Maybe that's what's going on here; because the drink is colder, the natural sugar doesn't taste as sweet, while the sucralose cuts through sharply. So my recommendation for this and any other drink half natural-artificial is to drink it slightly below room temperature. Overall, this is a tasty one I'd enjoy at the end of a long day. Now I have a feeling this kick is gonna creep up on me.

Hydrive's proprietary blend is a little different in this flavor, and it makes me sad, because there's no Ginkgo Biloba. There's Caffeine (145mg), Taurine (50mg), Aloe Vera extract (50mg), L-Carnitine (25mg), L-Arginine (25mg), Acai extract (3mg), 298mg total. Below, it mentions the recovery forumla, consisting of Aloe Vera, Acai, Folic Acid, Niacin, and Vitamin E. Overall, compared to earlier, I'm feeling much more alert, vital, and concentrated. I know I have the amino acids and B Vitamins to thank for that, and probably the rest of the recovery formula. This isn't one of those balls-to-the-wall drinks, like Monsters, but nonetheless, the effects are great -- a burst of easy-going energy with awareness for only 30 calories. Hydrives are an attractive choice to me, someone who likes a moderate boost for little calories. I'm totally looking forward to reviewing the next, and final Hydrive in our series of six.

Taste - 8.4 - Enjoyable and balanced grape, better warm

Kick - 7.7 - Not an explosion of energy, but a smooth, solid, alert boost

Overall - 8.1 - I really enjoy this kind of drink, but it's not exactly the kind for energy junkies

Reviewed by: Jeff

Talking Rain Fusion Energy Orange Mango

A good friend got me this, after I inquired as to what he was drinking. He pulled out the Talking Rain Fusion Energy Orange Mango. It definitely looked tasty and I am a great fan of Talking Rain, a nice line of very tasty gourmet mineral water drinks. I hadn't even considered the fact that they might have an energy drink. It turns out they do, and it's one of a line of three different drinks that don't all have to do with energy. Overall, the design of this drink is pretty simple, with a soft gradient from green to white and a handwritten "Talking Rain" going up the side. I also find this bottle appealing, being the shape it is, thin and tall. Possibly it's aimed at women, such as many tall, thin products. What else points to it being marketed toward women is the fact that it's sugar-free. In many drinks, that means horrible aftertaste, but hopefully Talking Rain will have pulled it off well enough to make this more drinkable than all the other sugar-frees on the market.

This cap, instead of making a loud pop, makes a barely audible twist and a crack of plastic. Sniffin' this, I don't think sugar-free immediately. The smell is way too good to deter me. There's a strong orange scent like orange oil and wonderful orange pulp or orange juice that's enticing. If you smell beyond that, you get a sweet whiff of natural and delicious, smooth mango pulp. This wonderful smell is added to a fresh mineral water smell. As I take a sip, I first taste clean, refreshing spring water and some pulpy mango. Then, a taste like orange pulp comes through and takes over momentarily before a wave of sourness from citric acid or some sour agent in the drink, a sensation similar to watered-down 5-Hour Energy. Finishing it up, the sweetness pairs with the sourness and leaves some artificialness from the Sucralose and Acesulfame-K. I give Talking Rain kudos for pulling off a very natural and organic-tasting Orange Mango drink with my least favorite sweetener Sucralose, and my choice artificial sweetener, Ace-K. This beverage is easily drinkable and is very refreshing cold, considering it's spring water, with minerals. Though this is sugar-free, I'd recommend it to most anyone who enjoys orange/mango and bottled drinks.

I wouldn't expect a drink like Talking Rain to have many energy ingredients, but even these small amounts disappoint me. Per 17 oz bottle, you only get 34mg of Caffeine, 40mg of Panax Ginseng, 4 tiny milligrams of Grape seed extract, and 80mg of Green Tea Extract. For vitamins, you see 40% across the board of Vitamin C, B3, B5, B6, and B12. And because this is a sugar-free, zero calorie drink, the complete Nutrition Facts is comprised of zeros. The rest of the ingredients include Artesian Spring Water, which sounds fancy and makes this a very refreshing beverage, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Potassium Sorbate, Gum Arabic, Ester Gum, Ascorbic Acid, Monopotassium Phosphate (Electrolyte), and Beta Carotene for color. Overall, the ingredients list doesn't impress me, but the taste, combined with the fact that it's done right with artificial sweetners is marvelous. The kick from this should be similar or a bit more than a soda and right now, I must admit I have a fair amount of energy. This is a good choice if you're thirsty and need a revival during the middle of your day, when you're the most tired.

Taste: 8.2 - Refreshing, wonderful sugar-free orange/mango
Kick: 7.5 - Performs well in the mild energy drink category
Overall: 7.8 - Not a bad pick-me-up

Reviewed by: Jeff