Think Gum

The nice people at Think Gum got in touch with me and asked me if I would like a sample of their gum to review at the perfect time. I'll never lie to you guys: lately, my attention span has been about as good as the dog's in "Up". I sit down to try and write, and it's like "WAIT! There's something shiny!" or "Oooh, Dr. Phil has on moms who dress like they are cast members of Jersey Shore!" or "Damn, gotta go to work!" (Sadly, the glamorous world of food reviews does not allow me to avoid a "real" job.) Well, now is the perfect time, I suppose, so here goes the review...

Some of Think Gum's benefits are supposed to be that it has (I'm cheating and using the package blurb here) "brain-boosting herbal ingredients that are proven to enhance concentration and improve memory." Ummmm, what were we talking about again? Oh yeah, gum...

Think Gum was actually founded by a young whippersnapper named Matt Davidson who came up with the idea for the gum while studying molecular and cell biology in college. Matt went to U.C. Berkeley -- and Berkeley, of course, is known far and wide for its enduring love of all things herbal. Matt happened to be reading a study about how in a particular factory, the factory managers kept track of how the workers performed while working and breathing in different herbal extracts. While to me that sounds like the stuff bad sci-fi movies and conspiracy theories are made of, Matt actually took the time to learn something and paid special attention to the fact that the workers responded well to scents like peppermint and rosemary. He then set about on his own idea, and after a lot of work, Think Gum was born.

All of that is interesting and everything, but how does it taste?

Good question. Each piece contains not only the peppermint and rosemary, but also ginkgo biloba, bacopa, vinpocetine...and guarana, which is a natural source of sweet, sweet caffeine!



Each piece has a thin candy coating. I liked that the candy shell yielded softly and didn't cause crunchy shards to break off like most candy coats do. Actually, it reminded me more of the coating on the Premium M&M's. Rather than being a crunchy candy coat, it's almost a soft, lacquer-like shell. The texture is also a little different from most gums. Sure, it's chewy -- but it is also soft, and it's not sticky.

Tastewise, it starts out all about the peppermint. It's a fresh, earthy taste -- sort of like chewing on a fresh sprig of mint. It's sweet, but not in a candy way. The mint flavor stays at the front and is strongest for about the first three minutes of chew. After that you start to taste the rosemary.



The rosemary side is distinctly more bitter...but in a good way. It takes some of the edge off the peppermint before it reaches the point where you'd get that menthol-ish burn peppermint sometimes causes. It's an herby, robust flavor. The more you chew, the stronger that flavor seems to get. If it gets to be too much for you, or if you just want to recharge it, I suggest simply holding the gum in your mouth for a few seconds without chewing. That seems to "reactivate" the mint, and the gum will taste sweeter again. Between the mint and the rosemary, the flavor of this gum has amazing staying power. I chewed a piece for about half an hour before it started to weaken.

As for feeling like I was retaining things better, or whether my concentration had improved, etc., that's harder to say. I am currently on so much medication that I'm probably the worst person to even try to review it in that context. But I can say that I felt more alert after chewing, and I'm guessing that's at least partially from the caffeine. Each two-piece serving of gum contains about the same amount of caffeine as half a can of soda. And that's not overdoing it. I like that I got a little boost without it being so much caffeine that I feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest, or I may want to do extreme sports or party like a drunken frat boy, or any other overly caffeinated cliché you can think of that I didn't.

Overall, I liked this gum a lot for its unique flavor. I like the fact that it's both herby and minty, and manages to pull it off without tasting either like medicine or like chewy dried spices. I also liked the little energy boost I got, and I will definitely keep on chewing!




PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company.

CALORIES:
5 calories per two piece serving.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
thinkgum.com

Dr. Pepper with Real Sugar: Limited 125th Anniversary Edition

I first read about Heritage Dr. Pepper back in January when Steve over at Bev Review reviewed it (click the link to check out his take). Sadly, that version never made its way out to my neck of the desert, because Heritage Dr. Pepper was limited to areas where Dr. Pepper is bottled under license by Pepsi.

But now, for those of us living in places where Coca-Cola manufactures Dr. Pepper, it's our turn to gloat...because just in time for the Dr. Pepper's 125th birthday, we are being treated to some old school Dr. Pepper made with -- as the packaging loudly and proudly proclaims -- real sugar instead of the dreaded HFCS. And I found twelve packs for sale at my local Vons supermarket, so of course I had to pick one up.

The exterior packing is all the same, but inside you have the chance at getting one of six different vintage Dr. Pepper can designs (check out Steve's latest post here to see them all).

Unlike Coke and Pepsi, which were staples in my house as a kid, neither of my parents were Dr. Pepper fans, so we seldom had it at home. In fact, if I ever even had a Dr. Pepper back in its pre-HFCS days, I have no memory of it. Even as an adult I rarely drink it. And when I do drink soda for non-review purposes, I drink diet. My brother, on the other hand, loves Dr. Pepper and always has some in his fridge -- so I snagged one of his, solely so that I would have something to compare the "Real Sugar" version to. (I would normally never dream of snatching one of my brother's cold sodas. No, not me. Seriously.)



So how is it?

Well, just as with standard Dr. Pepper, the flavor is almost undefinable. It's something like cherry cola -- but not, as there are also some root beer notes. I also noticed that without the syrupy sting the HFCS gives to the "normal" version, more of the fruit notes come out. Berries in particular...but what berry? Is it raspberry? Blackberry? Maybe even strawberry? Beyond simply "berry," I don't know what to tell you, but it's there. Along with maybe a hint of vanilla and possibly even chocolate.

It's not that it tastes radically different from its "normal" counterpart. It just tastes...well, I guess cleaner is a good word. It is also much less strongly carbonated; and I think the fact that it's flatter lets you get more flavor out of it, as well.



This is, not surprisingly, a limited edition product. So if you're a fan and you see it somewhere, buy it and stock up now. I can't say I'll be hoarding this the way I hoard the Kosher for Passover Coke (aka Coke made with real sugar), because I am just not that big of a Dr. Pepper fan -- but I did vastly prefer this version to the normal one.



And this leads me to leave a parting plea to Coca-Cola: PLEASE, how about a real sugar version of Coke Classic? How many times do you have to let Pepsi pants you guys on this issue? Now if you'll excuse me, I have talked about this so much that I have to go hunt down down a bottle of Mexican Coke...which is rather conveniently, but sadly not cheaply, available at my local WalMart, to get a fix. (Yes, Coke made in Mexico still has sugar in it.)



PURCHASED FROM:
Vons Supermarket

PRICE:
$5.99 for a package of 12 cans.

CALORIES:
150 calories per can.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Each can contains 41 milligrams of sweet, sweet caffeine.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
drpepper.com

Trader Joe's Espresso Chocolates

TJ's has redeemed themselves with this one!
This is one of those candies I am a bit late to on the review. Both Jim from Jim's Chocolate Mission (read his review HERE) and Cybele from Candy Blog (read her review HERE) I had been eyeing the candy on the TJ's shelf for a while now but for various reasons just never got around to buying. My last trip I had made a point of looking for them. I wanted a coffee/chocolate combo and I wanted something different then chocolate covered espresso beans (not that they aren't pretty spiffy themselves)
Would it be embarrassing to admit that I barely waited until I was at my car to open the box and have one?

Just like on the front of the box the candies themselves look like little logs- they even have the faux wood graining on the top. The first one that I ate I had whole allowing it to completely melt in my mouth. The dark chocolate of the outer shell is just this side of of semi-sweet, and works really well to contrast the bitter espresso. The espresso filling really is a completely liquid center and when the chocolate shell breaks down oozes out and is cool on the tongue. The espresso center it's self is not the strongest coffee flavor out there. But it does have a nice bitter edge to it and I give TJ's points for doing it "black" instead of the way most coffee fillings seems to go on the overly sweet and creamy side.

This is one of my favorite coffee chocolates yet!

PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

Squirt Citrus Power

Squirt!
Regular Squirt was one of the little things I had missed while living in Atlanta. I don't know if Grapefruit soda as a whole isn't very popular there or if in a soft drink market ruled more so by Coke then the rest of the world (Atlanta is Coca-Cola's headquarters in case you didn't know)it just didn't have a prayer, but in any case the end result was I didn't see it for four years.

I was intrigued when I saw this new version on the shelves. Traditonal Squirt is caffeine free and not only does this version have caffeine but it is also spouting "power", heck how could I not want to try it.

Squirt Citrus Power is actually one of the handful of soda/energy drink hybreds like Vault or the RIP Moutain Dew MDX. It boosts the caffeine levels of an enegry drink with added taurine and a bunch of B vitamins. Everyone needs more vitamins in their soda.

Let's get to the important part. How does it taste?
Well, it tastes like Squirt only not. I, for one like the robust, slightly bitter flavor of regular Squirt. Squirt Citrus Power is more mellow. Just a bit sweeter and saltier. The after taste is also different, personally I thought the aftertaste of the Citrus Power version was almost melon-like. No idea how I got melon out of citrus but that's what it reminded me of.

I liked it. It gave me the energy of an energy drink but without that kids asprain taste. It was sweet but not too sweet and it was close enough to regular Squirt that it's like drinking soda.

PURCHASED FROM:
Jay's Shell Station Monrovia, Ca

Mountain Dew Super Nova- Limited Edition

And here we have the last of the three new Mountain Dew's Super Nova
Super Nova is supposed to be a strawberry/melon flavor. I am starting to think this has not been my week to try new things. I don't know what it actually really tasted like but it didn't remind me of strawberry or melons. It minded me most of Cherry Rolaids. And somehow I don't think that was the flavor they were going for.

Like the other two flavors there is vaguely lemonade thing going on. And while that was good for the other two it was just vile here.

I think my vote is going to Revolution!
That said Code Red is still the best Dew!

PURCHASED FROM:
Jay's Shell Station, Monrovia. Ca

Mountain Dew Revolution- Limited Edition

Round 2 of the Dewmocracy challenge!
Revolution is another of the three Dew Drinker designed flavors.

Revolution is a Wild Berry flavor with added Ginseng. This reminded more of a Raspberry Lemonade then Wild Berry- maybe my taste buds are going in my old age- or maybe it's because at work I drink a potentially hazardous amount of Raspberry lemonade. I don't get the Wild Berry at all... Although raspberry is after all a berry. Maybe this is supposed to be like the Joe Francis version of raspberry? and with no age of consent issues!

Much like Voltage, personally I found it to be super sweet. And while I did suck down the bottle at about double the rate that I went through the Voltage I can't see myself buying this on a regular basis. Yes, once again let us remember I am an old chick who can't handle her caffeine and for my day to day soda consumption I stick to diet. So far this is winning my vote but we still have 1 more flavor to go!

PURCHASED FROM:
Jay's Shell Station Monrovia, Ca

Jolt Spearmint Gum

Sometimes there is just not enough caffeine in my normal beloved Coke Zero to jump start my mornings- especially now that I have the some what weird distinction of being a bartender who works mornings

This morning was one of those mornings. I saw the gum and since it boasted that two pieces of gum where equal to one energy drink I gave it a shot.

Yes, it does indeed work! I got the same rush as I did from drinking a can of Red Bull or RockStar.

Taste wise the gum is also not bad. Just your typical run of the mill spearmint. There IS a bitter after taste. It tastes like a combination of artificial sweetener and too much caffeine. Even with that I still prefer the gum over a can of either of those drinks any day.

Word of advice, if you chew more then 2 pieces in a roughly four hour span of time like I did (three hours of sleep will do that to you) it will pep you up, but there be warned you may experience a massive crash. I did and it was not fun.

In any case this is now a staple in my work apron!

Recoil Energy Drink

I'd like to give a thank you to Adam from Samantha Lyle Fitness for getting in touch with me and sending me out the sample I am reviewing

Thanks Adam!

That done lets talk about the drink.
Here is the website blurb:
How are you going to get through a long day of work, soccer practices, and bedtime stories? Samantha's RECOIL ENERGY is specifically formulated to give that needed boost. RECOIL ENERGY reinvigorates you with L-Carnitine, Taurine, Ginseng, and B Vitamins with only five calories per can (8.3 FL OZ). RECOIL ENERGY gives you that extra boost without the diet busting sugar. At the office or on-the-go, RECOIL ENERGY will help you outlast the competition. RECOIL ENERGY is an integral part of the Samantha Lyle Fitness Plan.

I got this in the mail the other day but I waited to try it until today because I have an unbelievably long day that is split up and I only got 4 hours of sleep yesterday- if I ever needed an energy boost today's the day.

What does it taste like you ask?-
Pretty good. It reminded me an awful lot like Red Bull only sweeter and with a soft carbonation. I liked it, what I never liked about Red Bull was not the flavor it's self (and let's be honest it tastes kinda like baby Tylenol and I have always liked that taste) but the bitter after taste. Recoil has a sweet aftertaste that is best described as Inca Cola (which is a fruity almost bubble gum taste) and I for one am an Inca Cola fan.
Ok, you caught me I scarfed the can pretty fast.

The big question is really did it work?, did I feel a boost of energy?
Actually yes, I did. Normally by 7:30 pm (or 9 hours into my shift that doesn't end until midnight more or less) I would be starting to slug and lag but even by 9:00 pm I was still feeling relatively perky, I should probably say I made that up. Perky is not a word associated with me pretty much EVER but I did feel a lot more "with it" then I normally do-and I had drank the can around 3:45. I wouldn't mind having a stash of these on hand for those long days.

I wanted a second opinion on this one because I don't drink many energy drinks so I turned to my friend and co-worker who for the record has asked to be referred to as Ultra Mega Chicken for his take. Ultra Mega Chicken is a certified energy drink addict. I have seen him drink as many as 3 Rockstars in one shift (oh to be young and impervious to caffeine!) his verdict:
He loved the can!- gee shocking a busty chick and a big gun are indeed good selling points with early 20's men!. Taste wise while he liked it he does prefer Rockstar more. But he was really impressed by how quickly he felt perked up. In fact he said that it happened faster and with drinking less then it normally would with Rockstar- coming from him I would say that's pretty spiffy.

PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company. Visit the website for more products and information at Whylyle.com

IceBreakers Energy Mints

Mints with caffeine?- Sign me up!

I don't remember what caught my eye first, the cute tin or the fact that it was a caffeinated mint. Either way it left me in blue stained tongue happiness.

The mint is about the size of Certs. Actually we are going to keep talking about Certs because the best way to describe the taste would be to tell you that if a tube of Certs and a bottle of Scope had a love child it would be the Energy mint. The mint is way more more on the mouth wash side then crisp peppermint but it is oddly addicting.

While there is caffeine in the mint according to the package it takes 3 mints to get the same amount you would from a half a cup of coffee. As a hard-core caffeine fan (I drink Starbucks quad-lattes, I am pretty bad ass) that isn't enough to get my heart rate up but for those of you who like to actually sleep at night it could be the boost you need... The downside is thanks to the blue speckles (that kids is called freshness) in the mints if you do have more then one of them you WILL end up with a blue tongue.