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

Full Throttle Coffee Vanilla

I am continuing with my Full Throttle Coffee reviews, and this time I have the Vanilla flavor. So far, the Full Throttle Coffees have amazed me and have beat most of the Java Monsters as well as all the Rockstar Roasteds, I hope this one will too. The thought of Full Throttle coming out with coffee flavors and the fact that I've got them right here in my refrigerator still hasn't sunk in, but I'm sure it will sometime. It's been no more than 5 days since these drinks have been out, and yet I haven't heard anything about them from anybody but Jeff and I, I feel pretty lucky. The Full Throttle Vanilla has the same can design as all the others, which is a cork-like background, but this one is a white color, rather than a darker caramel or chocolate color. Full Throttle then slapped their glossy, in-your-face logo in the dead center of the can. I haven't really tried a good Vanilla Coffee energy drink, so I'm going to predict a powerful vanilla flavor, with some robust Columbian coffee, and possibly some mocha chocolate in the background somewhere. I'm about ready to find out here, so let's check this one out.

I opened up the can really quickly and got a sweet vanilla aroma with some strong coffee, reminding me of the Monster Java Mean Bean, an awesome drink. The color is a dirty white, not gray, as if someone put a lot of white coloring in a regular coffee-brown color. The flavor of the Full Throttle Vanilla seems to be like drinking pure vanilla coffee creamer with a bit of Columbian Coffee mixed in. What I'm trying to say is that this drink is sweet. It has a lot more flavor than the Full Throttle Caramel, but I'm pretty sure this one will give me an even larger stomach ache, due to the amount of sugar. Out of curiousity, I glanced over behind the can and noticed 43g of sugar, too much for a coffee energy drink, in my mind. As tasty of a flavor it has, Full Throttle just about ruined it was all the excess sugar, hence bringing down the taste rating I'm going to give it. Its aftertaste is a smooth robust coffee flavor that's pretty impressive. I'm really surprised this Full Throttle isn't gummy, because with that much sugar, cream, and milk, any coffee energy drink is bound to be really gummy. After letting it set for a little while, I find that this coffee is much better at room temperature, rather than being chilled for a few days. Overall, it's another one of those drinks that it's too sweet for some, but that energy drink fans who love sweet drinks will go crazy for. For the people who don't thoroughly enjoy a sweet energy drink, you might want to stick with the Monster Java Mean Bean.

As for ingredients, Full Throttle Vanilla has coffee (Columbian, 100%), skim milk, sugar, cream, cellulose gel, natural flavors, taurine, sodium bicarbonate, ginseng, carrageenan, caffeine, and guarana. I like how all the coffee energy drinks out there on the market have a nice ingredients list, all the basic ingredients, plus carrageenan, milk, and cellulose gel. Per can, you get a massive 250 calories, which most of it comes from the cream and milk, and 45g of sugar. Although 45g isn't a lot compared to all the other energy drinks, it's a lot for a coffee energy drink, perhaps too much for my liking. It has 5g of protein, which I belive it comes from skim milk; unlike many other energy drinks that do not have protein because it uses reduced fat milk. In terms of energy, this Full Throttle has 1,123mg of taurine, 167mg of ginseng, 27mg of carnitine, and a measely 1.3mg of guarana. In another spot, I find the caffeine content, 126mg, not a lot, but that's because you also have the natural energy coming from the coffee bean. So if you think about it, you need a lot of taurine, caffeine, or guarana in a coffee energy drink. All in all, if you find one of these vanilla energy drinks, stow it in a pantry until you're ready to drink it, unless you really want a sweet beverage.

Taste: 8 - Not a bad vanilla flavor, but just too sweet for a coffee beverage
Kick: 8.6 - This line of Full Throttles pound a punch, when it comes to a kick
Overall: 8.3 - An interesting one to try, I think

Reviewed by: Chan