Buzz Bites Mint Chocolate Energy Chews

Alas, from the makers of Foosh Energy Mints, comes Buzz Bites, a chew packed with an intense hit of chocolate and mint, oh, and not to mention 100 milligrams of caffeine. Foosh has stepped up to meet the demands of caffeine junkies such as myself and Jeff by preparing a good dose of energy in the size of a mint, thereby excluding the need to drink an entire can of an energy drink, or a mug of coffee. Not that I don't like doing either of the two, but to me, popping a mint in my mouth, and receiving a great burst of energy, alternatively seems so much cooler. Instead of a hard, chalky mint, this time Foosh released their new, softer energy chews, and let me tell you, they are Seriously Caffeinated, as their motto suggests. On the rectangular tin, there's a neat design of a square chew, with mint leaves next to it. In each tin, there's 6 pieces, individually wrapped. After trying a few of these chocolatey, minty chews, I decided it was time to get down and review. I feel I can make this review more accurate by trying a couple of mints prior to sitting here and typing this up. Anyways, let's unwrap one of these bad boys.

After close examination of the square, sticky chew, it's not too difficult to predict a dark brown color, with a few damaged corners and edges. Popping one chew in my mouth, I immediately notice a quick rush of mint, and as I sink my teeth into the mint, chocolate becomes more noticeable, as does some bitterness, likely due to the amount of caffeine. In terms of taste, compared to the Foosh Mint, Buzz Bites is much more desirable - who doesn't like chocolate? The bitterness is extremely nicely masked by the choco-mint concoction, but it's not too sweet at all. Although it's almost sugar free, it's sweetened mostly artificially, by sucralose and acesulfame-k. As far as I can tell, I can only taste the artificial sweetness in the aftertaste, which is a mixture of fake chocolate and bitterness. I assure you, it's not too bad.

In means of energy and ingredients, Foosh is superb. In one mint, you get 25 calories, and only 3 grams of sugar. There's basic energy ingredients such as thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6 & B12, ginseng, taurine, and of course caffeine. As for other ingredients, there's corn syrup, sweetened condensed skim milk, sugar, part hydrogenated coconut oil, unsweetened chocolate, water, cocoa powder, caffeine, energy blend (Listed above), whey with calcium caseinate, natural and artificial flavors, salt, sucralose, acesulfame-k, and soy lecithin. Merely 15-20 minutes after one energy chew is downed, I feel an immediate burst of awareness, and plenty of energy rushing through my body. As I have stated in the Foosh review, one mint is more than enough if you want a good pick-me-up, and I never would condone ingesting more than two or three in one sitting. Foosh has once again succeeded with a fantastic new chocolate-mint energy chew, with the same trademark 100 milligram boost per chew/mint. If you haven't found Foosh just yet, you truly are missing out. I highly recommend grabbing a tin or two of Foosh from their website, if you cannot find any at local stores.

Taste: 8 - Tasty chocolate-mint flavor per chew, but a fake, but, not nearly grimacing bitter aftertaste
Kick: Again, this can vary per chew. 1 chew= ~7-8, 2 chews= ~8-9
Overall: 8.5 - Great alternative product if you're not in the mood for an energy drink or coffee.

Reviewed by: Chan

Foosh Energy Mints

Energy drinks aren't always the quickest way to get caffeine, it seems nowadays. Coffee can be bothersome, as you have to prepare a pot, then down it piping hot. Energy drinks were thus created. As if chugging a 16 ounce can was difficult enough to get a good burst of energy, energy mints were created in succession. I like the idea of energy mints. Just think of the advantages: Sugar free, portable, 6 calories per mint, and only the size of about 2-3 Altoids. The only disadvantage that realistically could exist would be the realization that you're not drinking anything to get energy, which is probably the main way consumers attain caffeine. I know that some folks enjoy drinking an energy drink, or a cup of joe to get energy, not only to drink, but because they enjoy the flavor. A bit of background information on Foosh reveals that in just 1 single mint, there's a total of 100mg of caffeine. No joke. Doing loads of math, I find out that two mints roughly equal a 16 ounce energy drink -- perhaps even more. A Monster has about 150mg in a 16 ounce can, in comparison to only 2 minute mints.

This paragraph will be rather brief, only because I don't intend on focusing much on the flavor. Just a few minutes ago I opened up the metal case containing the mints, and popped one in my mouth. Immediately, a rush of strong minty flavor came at me, with some noticeable bitterness in the background. I can relate the flavor to that of your every day dinner mint. The shape of the mint is larger than a regular dinner mint, has a chalky-white color and texture, and the word 'Foosh' is engraved on one side of the mint, with a familiar symbol of electrons swirling around an atomic nucleus. Surprisingly, this minty flavor has masked most of the bitterness, which potentially, could be strong due to the high amount of caffeine and B vitamins. It takes about 5-10 minutes for the mint to dissolve completely, depending on how intent you are on finishing it.

When it comes to energy, Foosh means business. They relate one mint to a cup of coffee, in means of caffeine content. I mean, if you're a coffee person, and this still doesn't convince you I don't blame you. That is, until you find out Foosh contains ginseng, taurine, niacin, thiamin, and Vitamins B6 and B12. By now, not only are getting the same caffeine amount, but you get the healthy stuff, too. Judging the effects of Foosh over the past few days, as I've been using these mints every now and then, I find a lot more than I initially expected. The kick is great. I liked how after only one mint, I feel a sudden burst of energy, and a general upbringing of my mind and spirit. Not yet have I tried two minutes at once, only because I haven't felt it necessary thus far. If you choose to, go nuts. On the other hand, one of the effects I've felt peeved me was how dehydrated I felt after the mint dissolved and the energy kicked in. My lips felt dry as dirt, and no matter how much water I would drink, the effect lingered. It left a decent crash as soon as all of the caffeine was used up, too.I want to know how the mint affected you; when you have the chance, drop by and leave a comment on your experience with Foosh.

In one mint, there's only 5 calories, 25mg of sodium, and no sugar. As for ingredients, there's sorbitol, natural peppermint extract, caffeine, other natural and artificial flavors, propreitary synergistic energy blend, Magnesium stearate, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, and blue 1. Although it's artificially sweetened, I find very little distaste in the mint.

On one last note, I want to remind you all the dangers of too much caffeine. It may be easy to access this much caffeine, but it never means you should. It's not safe to exceed 3-4 mints in a sitting, unless you're down to experience serious heart palpitations, massive headaches and stomach pains, and a mean crash. Overall, I believe Foosh has created the next generation of energy intake.

Taste: 6 - Strong peppermint flavor, with decent amounts of bitterness
Kick: This can vary. If you're having one mint, expect a good pick-me-up. Two mints, strong jitters. Three mints, well, you can tell me how that felt.
Overall: 9 - Great concept, and I want to make sure Foosh gets known to every caffeine consumer world-wide.

Reviewed by: Chan