Jason Draper - 2709 Reviews
Jason plays bass in Failures' Union and owns/operates a screen printing shoppe called Wooden T-Shirts. He also eats veggie dogs by the gallon.
Gold Thread Plant Based Tonics Lavender Bliss
This was surely made with modern day witchcraft, which is probably no different than olden day witchcraft. Herbs and other ingredients were mixed together to create what they call a tonic, but lets me honest here this is a potion; a delicious potion that I simply cannot get enough of. Sure I could go down to my local apothecary shop and pick up the ingredients to mix a potion of my own for relaxation and “bliss”, but why would I bother when this is available and so darn delicious. This is a concoction of linden flowers, saffron, lavender blossoms, chamomile, elder flowers, lemon verbena, sage leaf, and butterfly pea flower; all slow brewed to a wonderfully tasty beverage. It is lightly sweetly floral without tasting like you are licking a grandma. I feel good drinking this and I believe you will too. Embrace witchcraft. Drink potions, even if they are disguised as tonics.
- Rating
- Categories
- Other/Weird
- Company
- Gold Thread — Website — @GoldthreadHerbs
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Lakonto Monkfruit
- Author
- Jason Draper on 7/4/18, 9:59 AM
- Share
- Direct Link
Thirsty Buddha Sparkling Pineapple
It's been so very hot and so very humid in the world. Working in my shop it's probably at least 10-15 degrees hotter than it is outside. There is only so much water a human can drink when it seems to instantly sweat out of one's skin. Sure, I switch it up with unsweetened tea and seltzer, but neither tends to be very hydrating. This though, this was just the treat I needed. At just 11oz it refreshed and hydrated me more than a jug of water three times that size could have and it did it with style. This is more delicious than I ever could have imagined it being. This is a sparkling pina colada done in a way that I would consider right. Everything is in a perfect balance with the fruit juice making it slightly sweet. It tastes like fruit and coconuts (which some consider a fruit) and not just a syrupy overly sweet mess. I can't express enough just how hydrating this was and being sparkling gave it a little pizazz to spice up my day. This is going to be a regular for me this summer I can tell you that already.
- Rating
- Company
- Thirsty Buddha — Website — @ThirstyBuddha
- Country
- Canada
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 6/29/18, 4:26 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Susosu Essential Hydrogen Water
Whenever a company sends us water to review I always find myself at a loss. Sure, water from different parts of the county/world have slightly different tastes, but I really have no idea how to describe the differences. My palate surely is not sophisticated enough to be able to distinguish which states use fluoride and to what extent, or what minerals are more prevalent in one town that another. I will say there is a noticeable difference in waters that are pH balanced, they are somehow smoother and more enjoyable for me. Mineral water can have a distinct taste and what we have here is a mineral water, but it doesn't taste like the carbonated versions I have drunk in the past. Maybe the bubbles embellish the flavor. To me this tastes like a nice clean, smooth water. There is nothing more I could say to give it a better review. That is what I want out of water, and that is what it delivers. Sure, the company claims that it can be used as an antioxidant, energy booster, muscle rejuvenation, and that it slows aging, but I certainly can't tell if any of those things are true. I hope they are. I hope this is the healthiest thing you could ever possibly drink, because I find it refreshing and what more could I ask from water. My one complaint is that the cap does not reseal well, but at 300mL why should I have to reseal it?
- Rating
- Categories
- Water
- Company
- Susosu — Website — @SusosuWater
- Country
- Korea
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 6/25/18, 5:04 PM
- Share
- Direct Link
Teas' Tea Ice Steeped Cold Brew Raspberry Black Tea
I balked at cold brew for coffee when it became popular as being nonsense for people with too much time disposable income. Then it was finally forced upon me as a friend and I realized that I wanted to be one of those people because it was so much better than regular coffee; smooth and delicious. Now cold brewing tea is becoming a thing, and again I thought it was companies jumping on a trend, but I'll be damned if this is not the best sweetened raspberry tea that I have ever tasted. Just like with the coffee the tea is smooth, without being syrupy. I'm sure a bit part of the greatness is that actual dried raspberries are brewed with the tea and it's not an additive. The sugar level is kept to 15g, which makes it sweet, but tolerably so. Let me rephrase that, it a level of sweetness that you can actually enjoy. It doesn't overshadow the actual flavor of the drink, but it also helps them to shine a bit. It leaves a tad bit of bitterness to the tea, and that's how I like things. The price point on this will keep it from being a regular drink, but it is something I will definitely treat myself to from time to time.
- Rating
- Categories
- Iced Tea
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Organic Cane Sugar
- Author
- Jason Draper on 6/22/18, 4:22 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Good Idea The Sweedish Sugar Buster Sparkling Lemon Lime
Lemon lime is a pretty standard flavor that I'm sure most of us can do a memory recall for at any moment. Now flip that memory. No longer does the lemon have the wheel. In this beverage it's the lime that is steering the ship and its terrified sidekick is screaming because lime is taking the corners way too fast on these mountains roads, and is that screaming it hears from the trunk? Yes, there is very obviously an extra passenger on this wild ride and it goes by the name Chromium Picolinate. It gives this “safe” flavor a little something underneath that just doesn't taste quite right. In fact it might be this little stowaway that has gotten lime all amped up and wants it to be something it is not (along with being the factor that handles sugar spikes after meals). It's a familiar taste that I can't exactly pinpoint, but it sure is distracting. It falls somewhere between a diet taste and the flavor of fruit rind. I don't' get it, and I'm not a huge fan. Someone needs to get lime into a meeting so he can kick its habit and go back to be its regular awesome self.
- Rating
- Categories
- Sparkling
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 6/19/18, 6:36 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Monster Rehab White Dragon Tea
Hello, my name is Jason and I have an energy drink problem. It all started off with late night drives, and me grabbing a Red Bull or what have you to keep me awake. Then I was occasionally drinking them on long days of work to give me a push to make it to the end of the day. Before I knew it I loved the taste that I used to have to force myself through. I justified it to myself that it wasn't a regular occurrence and they were special treats for me. Then the turning point came. Over the course of the past two months Big Lots was blowing out different energy drinks for $.50 and $.33 respectively. I stocked up using the old adage that I would be losing money if I didn't. Then they were staring me in the face and instead of being a treat they became an every other day thing, now it seems it's every day. I keep telling myself that it's fine because the drinks I purchased got their energy from natural caffeine and vitamins, not weird chemicals. Now here I am and even though I drank one of my natural energy drinks a few hours ago I find myself in a gas station parking lot having purchased this Monster and I just don't give a rip. I will now blame it on my puppy. Have you ever had a couple month old puppy, they are a handful and wake up at the crack of dawn. My rise and shine time has been moved up a few hours and I'm still going to bed at the same time. I'm tired all the time. Of course it's not because I'm addicted to caffeine now (at least I hope). I'm just going to sit back and sip this can of deliciousness on this hot spring day.
I love these Rehab Monsters. Tea is one of my favorite beverages and mixing it with an energy drink, which I also apparently love now, is great. This has a combo of white and black tea in it, not too shabby. It also has a bunch of different fruit juices in it and that is where things get weird. This is supposed to be dragonfruit (or pitaya) flavored tea, but somewhere along the line the wires got crossed and it just tastes like lychee, which is somehow wonderful. I like dragon fruit, but the weird perfumey floral taste of this only makes me think of lychee. I'm guessing it has something to do with the white grape and dragon fruit comingling. I just hope other people enjoy this as much as I do so that it sticks around. Actually maybe it would be better for me if it bombs and this shows up at Big Lots for mere cents. I would instantly buy them all and then hit up the rest of the stores in an hour radius around me. Sorry Monster, but I have a new found addiction to feed and I might as well do it with your wonderful new flavor.
I love these Rehab Monsters. Tea is one of my favorite beverages and mixing it with an energy drink, which I also apparently love now, is great. This has a combo of white and black tea in it, not too shabby. It also has a bunch of different fruit juices in it and that is where things get weird. This is supposed to be dragonfruit (or pitaya) flavored tea, but somewhere along the line the wires got crossed and it just tastes like lychee, which is somehow wonderful. I like dragon fruit, but the weird perfumey floral taste of this only makes me think of lychee. I'm guessing it has something to do with the white grape and dragon fruit comingling. I just hope other people enjoy this as much as I do so that it sticks around. Actually maybe it would be better for me if it bombs and this shows up at Big Lots for mere cents. I would instantly buy them all and then hit up the rest of the stores in an hour radius around me. Sorry Monster, but I have a new found addiction to feed and I might as well do it with your wonderful new flavor.
- Rating
- Categories
- Energy Drink and Iced Tea
- Company
- Monster — Website — @MonsterEnergy
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Glucose
- Author
- Jason Draper on 6/10/18, 7:10 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Amp Organic Energy Drink Tropical Burst
Amp started off as Mountain Dew's energy drink that was put out by Pepsico. The Dew logo may not be on the can anymore, but it's the same formula and I'm sure extreme dudes and dudettes are the largest customer base of this product. My point is that since the original Amp was basically Mountain Dew infused with taurine and the like, it stands that this is some sort of organic Mountain Dew flavor and now the world no longer makes sense to me. Mountain Dew is pretty much the definition of junk food to me and the fact that there is an organic version (in some form) it has turned everything upside down for me.
The flavors in here are orange, mango, and passionfruit. They are all present, but in a strange Mountain Dew sort of way. I don't know how else to describe it. It's like they made three separate Dews, one for each of the flavors and then mixed them together. There is also something about this that tastes vaguely diet, even though it's chock full of sugar. At first I kind of dug the strangeness of it all, but the more I drank the worse it got. That could partially be due to the fact that I didn't do the customary chugging of the can and it warmed up over time, but the quality of the flavor definitely decreased for me.
The flavors in here are orange, mango, and passionfruit. They are all present, but in a strange Mountain Dew sort of way. I don't know how else to describe it. It's like they made three separate Dews, one for each of the flavors and then mixed them together. There is also something about this that tastes vaguely diet, even though it's chock full of sugar. At first I kind of dug the strangeness of it all, but the more I drank the worse it got. That could partially be due to the fact that I didn't do the customary chugging of the can and it warmed up over time, but the quality of the flavor definitely decreased for me.
- Rating
- Categories
- Energy Drink
- Company
- Amp — Website — @ampenergy
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Organic Cane Sugar
- Author
- Jason Draper on 6/9/18, 8:06 AM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Good Idea The Sweedish Sugar Buster Sparkling Orange Mango
This beverage was developed to help those who have normal blood sugar levels handle the sugar spike after a meal. No disrespect meant to the company but is that really necessary? In my nearly 39 years of existence I don't believe I have ever noticed such a thing happening to me. So, I guess if it does happen, it has zero effect on my life. Perhaps other people have a real problem with this, but if they do I am in the dark about it. The only times I ever hear the words blood, sugar and level in the same sentence is either talking about someone with diabetes, or someone is making an excuse for them acting like a jerk. Perhaps I live a sheltered life in this regard and there are millions of people out there who spike after eating and they have some adverse reaction. If those people are out there this compound of amino-acids and chromium that was developed in Sweden is here to help them out.
Since it's sparkling and unsweetened this tastes like a nice seltzer with a little something extra around the edges. Mostly it just tastes like orange mango sparkling water. I'm enjoying it for the taste if not for the intended effects. Chromium Picolinate is the only ingredient listed that I have never heard of. It apparently has use in diabetes and is also used for weight loss. Here it is just meant to help control ones blood sugar. See I learn things from the beverage world that I would probably never encounter otherwise.
Since it's sparkling and unsweetened this tastes like a nice seltzer with a little something extra around the edges. Mostly it just tastes like orange mango sparkling water. I'm enjoying it for the taste if not for the intended effects. Chromium Picolinate is the only ingredient listed that I have never heard of. It apparently has use in diabetes and is also used for weight loss. Here it is just meant to help control ones blood sugar. See I learn things from the beverage world that I would probably never encounter otherwise.
- Rating
- Categories
- Sparkling and Sports/Dietary Supplement
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 6/8/18, 6:54 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Protein2o Protein Infused Water Mixed Berry
Welp, this should be a whole lotta grozzzz. Ingredients: water, whey protein isolate (milk), natural flavors, sucralose, dyes. So they have mixed together water, milk, a diet sweetener and “flavoring” (this contains 0% juice). That sounds horrendous, but luckily the end result isn't too bad at all. It's not creamy from the milk, it's just a bit chalky, and the diet flavor is somewhat kept under wraps. A poor man's explanation is that it is a protein based vitamin water, or so the taste would tell you, even though it contains no vitamins to speak of. I don't hate it. I don't love it. It's simply there and it inoffensive, which is all I ask for sometimes. This is a beverage with an intended purpose and it fills that purpose swimmingly.
- Rating
- Categories
- Diet and Sports/Dietary Supplement
- Company
- Protein2o — Website — @Protein2o
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sucre
- Author
- Jason Draper on 6/4/18, 6:18 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Polar Seltzer Cucumber Melon
For years one of the things I have wanted most out of the beverage world was a Polar cucumber seltzer. Sure some other companies made them to varying degrees of wonderfulness, but I really wanted it from Polar, so it would be readily available in large quantities and be inexpensive. This summer my dreams were finally answered, and I thought I was getting an added bonus with the melon tacked on. A nice cucumber honeydew (or cantaloupe) combination is hard to beat in my world. The thing is that Polar went with a different melon, one that never tastes right in any form other than eating the melon itself. This is an approximation of cucumber and watermelon. While the cucumber taste in here is spot on and wonderful, the watermelon has that inevitable Jolly Rancher flavor to it. I don't know why it is impossible to capture the true flavor of watermelon but it plagues humanity. This is still good, due to the lack of sugar the fake watermelon flavor is passable. Next year, let's step up the game Polar, how about going with one of the other melons I mentioned, or even just straight cucumber. I bet it would be a best seller (if not from sales to me alone). While you're at it, how about putting the vanilla in cans as well? Or maybe a vanilla-pineapple mix-up. What this isn't a pitch meeting? My bad,
- Rating
- Company
- Polar — Website — @polarbeverages
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 6/4/18, 6:25 AM
- Share
- Direct Link
Monster Caffe Mocha
When I saw this, my first thought was, “Is this just a repackaging of the Monster Java line?” After drinking it and doing a little bit of research I'm still not sure. Perhaps if I drank them back to back I could give you a more definitive answer, but as of now I can only say…€¦maybe? This is chocolatey and very creamy. There is actual more milk in here that I would want. While I can get behind a latte, recently I prefer my coffee based beverages without cream. The chocolate in here is really nice though. It tastes like chocolate and not just chocolate flavor. Overall this tastes more like a frothy chocolate milk with a splash of coffee in it, rather than the other way around. All of the energy drink aspects of this are not present in the flavor at all. There is no chemical or liquid candy flavor at all.
I'm going to assume this is different than the Java line, because I still saw those in the cooler, and why would the store stock both? Perhaps the difference is this uses Arabica coffee. Who knows? It's tasty and that's all that matters to me.
I'm going to assume this is different than the Java line, because I still saw those in the cooler, and why would the store stock both? Perhaps the difference is this uses Arabica coffee. Who knows? It's tasty and that's all that matters to me.
- Rating
- Categories
- Coffee and Energy Drink
- Company
- Monster — Website — @MonsterEnergy
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sugar
- Author
- Jason Draper on 6/2/18, 3:49 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Bubbly Sparkling Water Grapefruit
After trying the strawberry I had high hopes for the other Bubbly flavors. That one strength to its flavor that you don't find in every seltzer. This grapefruit one is a dime a dozen (or 99 cents a bottle). It tastes like every other grapefruit seltzer I have had in my time walking this planet. That's not a bad thing, but I was hoping for a bit more pizazz. I wanted to feel like I was eating breakfast at a cabin in the woods and for some reason I thought citrus was the proper food. I don't know why my brain associates those things. It is a weird place to live. This tastes like grapefruit, but not so much that it makes your face scrunch up that so badly want it to do.
- Rating
- Company
- Bubbly — Website — @bublywater
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 5/30/18, 4:28 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Polar Seltzer Raspberry Rose
Summertime in Seltzerville in 2018 is very similar to that of last year. Most of the limited edition Polar flavors are slight twists on last year's flavors, while others such as this Raspberry Rose have just been brought back in the same form for summer consumption. I have no idea how we did not review this one last year. I guess it was when Mike and I were in a slump and were just burned out with doing Thirsty Dudes. Whatever the reason we missed it, and we apologize.
I am a bit surprised that this is the only returning flavor, as it was probably my least favorite of the 2017 line (I drank far too much of the mango berry). This is essentially a unsweetened , non-alcoholic wine spritzer. It's not something I would normally drink. It's lighter in flavor than normal Polar flavors. It also has an undertone that I will attribute to the fake wine aspect. I don't really know if that is true, because wine seems like the grossest thing to me. It just smells like rot to me. This isn't really a beverage for me, but friends who tried this, who enjoy wine said that it's pretty fantastic, so don't take my word on anything.
I am a bit surprised that this is the only returning flavor, as it was probably my least favorite of the 2017 line (I drank far too much of the mango berry). This is essentially a unsweetened , non-alcoholic wine spritzer. It's not something I would normally drink. It's lighter in flavor than normal Polar flavors. It also has an undertone that I will attribute to the fake wine aspect. I don't really know if that is true, because wine seems like the grossest thing to me. It just smells like rot to me. This isn't really a beverage for me, but friends who tried this, who enjoy wine said that it's pretty fantastic, so don't take my word on anything.
- Rating
- Company
- Polar — Website — @polarbeverages
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 5/27/18, 6:48 AM
- Share
- Direct Link
Treo Organic Birch Water Infusion Blueberry
I learned today that birch water is nature's Gatorade. According to the Treo website it is “full of naturally occurring electrolytes and antioxidants” and it “hydrates your body faster than water.” Interesting. Did you also know that it's what plants crave? Did you also know that we are in a real life version of the movie Idiocracy…€¦.says far too many people who think they are clever. Less complaining about annoying people and more talk about the drink at hand. Xylitol is naturally occurring in birch sap as well, so this is naturally sweet yet low in calories. Everything seems to be coming up roses for this style of beverage. The only thing is I'm not 100% sold on the taste. I could see it going down smooth after exercising or performing at a sporting event, but just casually sipping it is not really for me. It doesn't taste like maple, but there is something about it that I can't put my finger on that makes it definitely in the same family. For the record I am not a maple fan, so that could be the reason to my slight aversion to this. At least the blueberry in here is tasty and is like fruit and not just flavoring. Now I just want to listen to Trio, you know the band that sings Da Da Da that is not the Elastica version.
- Rating
- Categories
- Other/Weird and Water
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Organic Erytritol
- Author
- Jason Draper on 5/26/18, 7:36 AM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Kapoya Energy Drink Mango Passion Fruit
The following things are generally bad news for beverage companies. 1. Your products are found at Big Lots at a discounted rate (Say, oh I dunno…€¦ 33 cents per can). 2. You make beverages and us here at Thirsty Dudes have never heard of your company, and we are not 100% sure how to pronounce its name. 3. Your social media presence seems to have dried up (perhaps you haven't made a post in nearly two years). If all three of these things ring true, then it's more than likely that the company has folded and that once the shelves are clear I will never hear a word about the company again. In this case it's kind of a shame because for some reason that I cannot understand I do not hate this companies products. They are diet energy drinks that rely on the natural side of things to provide said energy. It's all B vitamins and caffeine in here. They are proud of the fact that they do not use taurine, but the strange thing is that energy drinks that do contain that specific ingredient tend to be the ones that taste like melted candy. Even without it each of these flavors taste like a melted Free-Z-Pop. Since the demise of this company seems to have already occurred, I'm going to pull a first time move here on Thirsty Dudes and just write one review and use it for all of the flavors, because I don't think this is going to be much help to anyone looking to try something new, unless they see it immediately and rush to Big Lots before the space is swapped out for another doomed product.
Blue Raspberry: It's a diet version of a flavor that doesn't really exist in nature. Blue raspberries aren't a real thing, so why do so many companies use it as a flavor? If you are reading this, chances are you know exactly what this flavor tastes like. Now just make that diet and you have what's in this can.
Mango Passionfruit: This is the flavor that is probably closest to the fruits it's meant to impersonate. It is ridiculously sweet. While there is no sugar in here there are loads of sucralose. This is the flavor I thought I would enjoy the most and while it's perfectly serviceable I enjoyed the last one the most.
Wild Grape: You know how grapes taste? Do you also know how grape flavored things taste? Well this falls on the latter side of the divide. I don't know why I really enjoy the taste of fake grape. I mean I love the real thing too, but sometimes on a nice hot day I just want a mouthful of fake grape. Maybe it has something to do with a childhood memory. Who knows? All I know is I enjoyed this more than I expected to, even in all its diet glory.
Finally, I don't know if Kapoya just missed the Stevia train, but I feel like had these used it as their zero calorie sweetener they may have been able to get away with labeling these as “all natural” and I'm sure that would have helped to move more units for more than $.33 each.
Blue Raspberry: It's a diet version of a flavor that doesn't really exist in nature. Blue raspberries aren't a real thing, so why do so many companies use it as a flavor? If you are reading this, chances are you know exactly what this flavor tastes like. Now just make that diet and you have what's in this can.
Mango Passionfruit: This is the flavor that is probably closest to the fruits it's meant to impersonate. It is ridiculously sweet. While there is no sugar in here there are loads of sucralose. This is the flavor I thought I would enjoy the most and while it's perfectly serviceable I enjoyed the last one the most.
Wild Grape: You know how grapes taste? Do you also know how grape flavored things taste? Well this falls on the latter side of the divide. I don't know why I really enjoy the taste of fake grape. I mean I love the real thing too, but sometimes on a nice hot day I just want a mouthful of fake grape. Maybe it has something to do with a childhood memory. Who knows? All I know is I enjoyed this more than I expected to, even in all its diet glory.
Finally, I don't know if Kapoya just missed the Stevia train, but I feel like had these used it as their zero calorie sweetener they may have been able to get away with labeling these as “all natural” and I'm sure that would have helped to move more units for more than $.33 each.
- Rating
- Categories
- Diet and Energy Drink
- Company
- Kapoya — Website — @kapoyaEnergy
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sucralose
- Author
- Jason Draper on 5/24/18, 3:11 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Kapoya Energy Drink Wild Grape
The following things are generally bad news for beverage companies. 1. Your products are found at Big Lots at a discounted rate (Say, oh I dunno…€¦ 33 cents per can). 2. You make beverages and us here at Thirsty Dudes have never heard of your company, and we are not 100% sure how to pronounce its name. 3. Your social media presence seems to have dried up (perhaps you haven't made a post in nearly two years). If all three of these things ring true, then it's more than likely that the company has folded and that once the shelves are clear I will never hear a word about the company again. In this case it's kind of a shame because for some reason that I cannot understand I do not hate this companies products. They are diet energy drinks that rely on the natural side of things to provide said energy. It's all B vitamins and caffeine in here. They are proud of the fact that they do not use taurine, but the strange thing is that energy drinks that do contain that specific ingredient tend to be the ones that taste like melted candy. Even without it each of these flavors taste like a melted Free-Z-Pop. Since the demise of this company seems to have already occurred, I'm going to pull a first time move here on Thirsty Dudes and just write one review and use it for all of the flavors, because I don't think this is going to be much help to anyone looking to try something new, unless they see it immediately and rush to Big Lots before the space is swapped out for another doomed product.
Blue Raspberry: It's a diet version of a flavor that doesn't really exist in nature. Blue raspberries aren't a real thing, so why do so many companies use it as a flavor? If you are reading this, chances are you know exactly what this flavor tastes like. Now just make that diet and you have what's in this can.
Mango Passionfruit: This is the flavor that is probably closest to the fruits it's meant to impersonate. It is ridiculously sweet. While there is no sugar in here there are loads of sucralose. This is the flavor I thought I would enjoy the most and while it's perfectly serviceable I enjoyed the last one the most.
Wild Grape: You know how grapes taste? Do you also know how grape flavored things taste? Well this falls on the latter side of the divide. I don't know why I really enjoy the taste of fake grape. I mean I love the real thing too, but sometimes on a nice hot day I just want a mouthful of fake grape. Maybe it has something to do with a childhood memory. Who knows? All I know is I enjoyed this more than I expected to, even in all its diet glory.
Finally, I don't know if Kapoya just missed the Stevia train, but I feel like had these used it as their zero calorie sweetener they may have been able to get away with labeling these as “all natural” and I'm sure that would have helped to move more units for more than $.33 each.
Blue Raspberry: It's a diet version of a flavor that doesn't really exist in nature. Blue raspberries aren't a real thing, so why do so many companies use it as a flavor? If you are reading this, chances are you know exactly what this flavor tastes like. Now just make that diet and you have what's in this can.
Mango Passionfruit: This is the flavor that is probably closest to the fruits it's meant to impersonate. It is ridiculously sweet. While there is no sugar in here there are loads of sucralose. This is the flavor I thought I would enjoy the most and while it's perfectly serviceable I enjoyed the last one the most.
Wild Grape: You know how grapes taste? Do you also know how grape flavored things taste? Well this falls on the latter side of the divide. I don't know why I really enjoy the taste of fake grape. I mean I love the real thing too, but sometimes on a nice hot day I just want a mouthful of fake grape. Maybe it has something to do with a childhood memory. Who knows? All I know is I enjoyed this more than I expected to, even in all its diet glory.
Finally, I don't know if Kapoya just missed the Stevia train, but I feel like had these used it as their zero calorie sweetener they may have been able to get away with labeling these as “all natural” and I'm sure that would have helped to move more units for more than $.33 each.
- Rating
- Categories
- Diet and Energy Drink
- Company
- Kapoya — Website — @kapoyaEnergy
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sucralose
- Author
- Jason Draper on 5/24/18, 3:10 PM
- Share
- Direct Link
Kapoya Energy Drink Blue Raspberry
The following things are generally bad news for beverage companies. 1. Your products are found at Big Lots at a discounted rate (Say, oh I dunno…€¦ 33 cents per can). 2. You make beverages and us here at Thirsty Dudes have never heard of your company, and we are not 100% sure how to pronounce its name. 3. Your social media presence seems to have dried up (perhaps you haven't made a post in nearly two years). If all three of these things ring true, then it's more than likely that the company has folded and that once the shelves are clear I will never hear a word about the company again. In this case it's kind of a shame because for some reason that I cannot understand I do not hate this companies products. They are diet energy drinks that rely on the natural side of things to provide said energy. It's all B vitamins and caffeine in here. They are proud of the fact that they do not use taurine, but the strange thing is that energy drinks that do contain that specific ingredient tend to be the ones that taste like melted candy. Even without it each of these flavors taste like a melted Free-Z-Pop. Since the demise of this company seems to have already occurred, I'm going to pull a first time move here on Thirsty Dudes and just write one review and use it for all of the flavors, because I don't think this is going to be much help to anyone looking to try something new, unless they see it immediately and rush to Big Lots before the space is swapped out for another doomed product.
Blue Raspberry: It's a diet version of a flavor that doesn't really exist in nature. Blue raspberries aren't a real thing, so why do so many companies use it as a flavor? If you are reading this, chances are you know exactly what this flavor tastes like. Now just make that diet and you have what's in this can.
Mango Passionfruit: This is the flavor that is probably closest to the fruits it's meant to impersonate. It is ridiculously sweet. While there is no sugar in here there are loads of sucralose. This is the flavor I thought I would enjoy the most and while it's perfectly serviceable I enjoyed the last one the most.
Wild Grape: You know how grapes taste? Do you also know how grape flavored things taste? Well this falls on the latter side of the divide. I don't know why I really enjoy the taste of fake grape. I mean I love the real thing too, but sometimes on a nice hot day I just want a mouthful of fake grape. Maybe it has something to do with a childhood memory. Who knows? All I know is I enjoyed this more than I expected to, even in all its diet glory.
Finally, I don't know if Kapoya just missed the Stevia train, but I feel like had these used it as their zero calorie sweetener they may have been able to get away with labeling these as “all natural” and I'm sure that would have helped to move more units for more than $.33 each.
Blue Raspberry: It's a diet version of a flavor that doesn't really exist in nature. Blue raspberries aren't a real thing, so why do so many companies use it as a flavor? If you are reading this, chances are you know exactly what this flavor tastes like. Now just make that diet and you have what's in this can.
Mango Passionfruit: This is the flavor that is probably closest to the fruits it's meant to impersonate. It is ridiculously sweet. While there is no sugar in here there are loads of sucralose. This is the flavor I thought I would enjoy the most and while it's perfectly serviceable I enjoyed the last one the most.
Wild Grape: You know how grapes taste? Do you also know how grape flavored things taste? Well this falls on the latter side of the divide. I don't know why I really enjoy the taste of fake grape. I mean I love the real thing too, but sometimes on a nice hot day I just want a mouthful of fake grape. Maybe it has something to do with a childhood memory. Who knows? All I know is I enjoyed this more than I expected to, even in all its diet glory.
Finally, I don't know if Kapoya just missed the Stevia train, but I feel like had these used it as their zero calorie sweetener they may have been able to get away with labeling these as “all natural” and I'm sure that would have helped to move more units for more than $.33 each.
- Rating
- Categories
- Diet and Energy Drink
- Company
- Kapoya — Website — @kapoyaEnergy
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sucralose
- Author
- Jason Draper on 5/24/18, 3:09 PM
- Share
- Direct Link
Polar Seltzer'ade Starfruit Lemonade
The weather has finally broke and it's been plain warm out. The sun is shining down the trees are sprouting leaves and I'm sitting on my back porch hanging with my new puppy and sipping on this can of seltzer'ade. Oh yeah, The artist formerly known as Editor Dan is also with me, encouraging my pup to be the jerk he kind of already is. He's a bad friend I tell ya. The only reason I mention this poor influence is that he tried this beverage and instantly proclaimed that it tasted like lemon Pez. He's not too far off base. It's not exact, but I see where he's coming from. I have no idea if this tastes like actual starfruit, because I haven't tasted one in over a decade. I can say that it is fruity and refreshing, and that I would be enjoying it a lot more if I didn't have to worry about this dog doing something stupid, like dig a giant hole in my lawn…€¦..too late.
- Rating
- Company
- Polar — Website — @polarbeverages
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 5/22/18, 6:01 PM
- Share
- Direct Link
Naked Nutrition Pea
Pea and rice are my favorite protein sources when it comes to powders. To me they taste the best and I don't feel gross drinking something that comes from an animal. For the record milk has grossed me out since I was a kid and I will never get over thinking about what it actually is, and how unbelievably unnatural it seems for one species to drink another species milk.
Anyway, this is made from peas, and just peas. Guess what, it tastes like peas. If you use water as a mixer it can be a little bitter. I tried it with water as well as almond milk, and I enjoyed the later much more. Listen, I know mushy peas are the worst vegetable on the Thanksgiving table, but they are much better in this form. It's the texture that makes them gross. I swear. Just buy something like this instead of whey protein, you'll feel better about your choice.
Anyway, this is made from peas, and just peas. Guess what, it tastes like peas. If you use water as a mixer it can be a little bitter. I tried it with water as well as almond milk, and I enjoyed the later much more. Listen, I know mushy peas are the worst vegetable on the Thanksgiving table, but they are much better in this form. It's the texture that makes them gross. I swear. Just buy something like this instead of whey protein, you'll feel better about your choice.
- Rating
- Categories
- Mix/Concentrate and Sports/Dietary Supplement
- Company
- Naked Nutrition — Website — @nkdnutritioninc
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 5/21/18, 2:45 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
- Share
- Direct Link
Polar Seltzer Pineapple Lemon Twist
It's that time of year again and the limited edition summer line by Polar is finally here. I have been checking the grocery store for weeks and it has paid off, as there are some new flavors this time around that definitely got me excited.
Pineapple is one of the greatest fruits we have discovered on this vast planet. Sure if you eat too much it can be painful. I once ate an entire pineapple, by self, in one sitting and it made my tongue bleed. Citrus can be a harsh mistress, but the taste makes it worth it. That side of this twist is fantastic. I'm not exactly sure who got away with pitching adding lemon to it though. Lemon is a budget flavoring and I feel that as humans we can move past it for the most part. I'm sure it was proposed as pineapple lemonade, which would have been incredible. That belongs in their Seltzerade line though, as here the flavor doesn't have the punch it needs to be classified as a lemonade. A pineapple lime would have been nice. I would have loved to have gotten a pineapple-apple seltzer, as the name would make me laugh every time I poured a glass. My number one choice would have been pineapple vanilla though. I've made it on my own and it's delicious.
As it stands this is fairly tasty and I went through the bottle quick. I just feel there are better potential pairings out there that were missed out on.
Pineapple is one of the greatest fruits we have discovered on this vast planet. Sure if you eat too much it can be painful. I once ate an entire pineapple, by self, in one sitting and it made my tongue bleed. Citrus can be a harsh mistress, but the taste makes it worth it. That side of this twist is fantastic. I'm not exactly sure who got away with pitching adding lemon to it though. Lemon is a budget flavoring and I feel that as humans we can move past it for the most part. I'm sure it was proposed as pineapple lemonade, which would have been incredible. That belongs in their Seltzerade line though, as here the flavor doesn't have the punch it needs to be classified as a lemonade. A pineapple lime would have been nice. I would have loved to have gotten a pineapple-apple seltzer, as the name would make me laugh every time I poured a glass. My number one choice would have been pineapple vanilla though. I've made it on my own and it's delicious.
As it stands this is fairly tasty and I went through the bottle quick. I just feel there are better potential pairings out there that were missed out on.
- Rating
- Company
- Polar — Website — @polarbeverages
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 5/20/18, 12:05 PM
- Share
- Direct Link