Hansen's Energade Orange

Hey, look at what I found. As I was digging through the energy drinks at my local market, I happened to find a new one, the Hansen's Energade Orange. I've never heard of it, but I do know Hansen's makes energy drinks. This one will be the first Hansen's energy drink I've tried, so I'm pretty excited. I'm predicting a smooth orange flavor, with minimal gumminess. Oh, and by the way, did I mention that this one isn't carbonated? Well it isn't, so I'm pretty eager to see what I can find in this drink, terms of taste. And since this a 24 ounce can, I'm positive I'll get an amazing kick with this behemoth. This has a weird can design. There's a large golden star, with a small lion-like beast. Behind it is a large black diamond and two banners saying "Trade Mark." At the way bottom, I see the words "High Energy Thirst Quencher," so I'm assuming something along the lines of Gatorade, but not as sweet. So, here it goes.

As the can opens with a loud POP, I go in for a smell. I'm getting an orange Gatorade scent, but really not as sweet and with more depth to it. It goes into the cup a cloudy light orange color, like a real orange, except maybe a bit more faded. Wow, that is a thirst quencher! I think it's way tastier than a Gatorade. It first hits you with a natural orange flavor, with no bitterness or sourness whatsoever. Instead, you get a sweet flavor, seemingly all natural. I can also taste a bit of mango and some guava lurking around. It then fades away with an odd vitaminy taste, like those chalky tablets you used to take as a small child. The aftertaste is an almost nasty artificial sweetness, which makes you call for more of this sports drink. I don't know about you, but if I were seeking a sports drink that enables you to perform better, I wouldn't like it to have an aftertaste like this one. The flavor itself is right in your face, its orange-vitamin taste has so much presence and really refreshes you, after maybe a long day. I wish I had tried this one after a long day, not around noon on a weekend. As you know, this drink doesn't have any carbonation, so its easy to chug, but I would advise you not, only because it could upset your stomach, like it's upsetting mine. The Hansen's has little gumminess that doesn't get in my way, but its still there. Overall, this was one refreshing drink, chilled, but it was a bit too sweet to be a sports/energy drink, I think.

Now for the ingredients. This one has filtered water first, and then HFCS. I think that the HFCS in this drink results in a bad aftertaste, not gumminess. Oh, it does contain sucrose, glucose and glycerol (low-toxicity sugar alcohol); a smorgasbord of sugars. This Hansen's also got ginseng, gum arabic, natural flavors, caffeine, beta carotene, and sucralose. Per can (24 oz.), you only get 180 calories, that's way less than a Monster, and it's 24 ounces! Amazing. You also only get about 48g of sugar, which is also less than your average energy drink, so, a pretty interesting fact. You get 3,000mg of taurine per can, 1,500mg of glycerol, and 600mg of panax ginseng. I'm extremely shocked to see that this drink is so low in sugar and calories. I guess you could say that this is one of the healthier drinks I've reviewed here on Canned Reviews. I mean, it wasn't a bad drink, but it was just oddly sweet and had too much flavor to have if you're just sitting. Maybe I'll try this drink before a game of football or baseball, and I'll report back my discoveries here back on this review. So check daily.


Taste: 8 - It had a catchy taste, but a bit too sweet
Kick: 9 - I'm feeling a pretty steady kick
Overall: 8.5 - I think Hansen's passed on this one

Reviewed by: Chan

Hansen's Diet Red

This one I got earlier. I had supposed Trader Joe's would have some unique energy drinks, but I was wrong. All they had was the regular and Lo-Carb Monster, their own brand, which looked weak, and this. I'm not quite sure what to expect, but I'm hoping for something good. I read on the description at Trader Joe's that this drink is fast-acting and potent, but I'm not ready to believe it until I experience it. As for the flavor, I'm not sure what to expect. I'm guessing it'll be the common bubble-gum flavor found in energy drinks, with either a red or amber color. The can makes it look powerful, and I'm hoping that's true.

At the first whiff, my notion that this would be a pretty generic drink was confirmed. But, wait. For a second, I thought it smelled like cinnamon. It's like a Monster that's been exposed to air, but not in a bad way. I'm already starting to like it just by the smell. The color's quite unique, being just a bit darker than a Monster, that is, a gold-amber. Ahh, it even tastes somewhat like a Monster. The differences are minute, being a slightly artificial aftertaste and a thinner or more one-dimensional taste. Still, it proves to be quite enjoyable. Now that I'm halfway into it, the cinnamon has faded away and the flavor is mostly that bubble-gum I was referring to. The carbonation doesn't get in the way of that, and there's not a lot of gumminess to do the same. I find it a bit comical that on the side of the can, the makers make the claim that the flavor is in fact berry, but I just don't taste it. Overall on the taste, this one is not bad. It's not one that will make you regret taking that last sip. It's one that makes you, rather, want to take another, and further explore the flavor. I might call this one a Monster clone.

On the front of the can, they go right out and tell you there is Taurine, Ginseng, L-Carnitine, and B-Vitamins in the mix. Rightly so, there's there seem to be the same energy ingredients in the Energy Blend as the Monsters: L-Carnitine, Glucose, Caffeine, Guarana, Inositol, Glucuronolactone, and Maltodextrin. And there's the same amount per serving in this as a Monster, 2500mg. But I momentarily forgot that this is a diet energy drink. And after reading the ingredients, I learn that there is Glucose within, but also Splenda and Acesulfame. I remember finding Acesulfame in diet green tea. It's not great stuff and did give this drink its artificial sweet aftertaste. The ingredients in this are mostly standard except for Grape Skin Extract, which, it claims, is for color. Whatever. As for the boost I got after this, it was great... until I started to come down. The crash is noticable. I came down without noticing it and now I feel like I do after I run a mile. I would buy this for the taste, but then, the thought of the crash may make me reconsider.

Taste: 7.5 - Pleasant, slightly cinnamony, with that energy drink taste
Kick: 6 - Good, but I crashed
Overall: 6.5 - Not bad

Reviewed by: Jeff