Energy drinks with caffeine taste good, no doubt about that. However, these days people are looking for better and healthier options for everything they eat, which is why decaffeinated beverages have become so popular! But do energy drinks taste good without caffeine? Keep reading to find out!
Energy drinks can taste great, even without caffeine! Actually, caffeine adds a bit of a bitter taste to beverages. So, you won’t feel this bitterness with energy drinks if you opt for a caffeine-free option.
If you are a health-conscious person, you are definitely looking for some better alternatives to regular energy drinks. Also, you can brew yourself some natural energy drinks that you can make at home by yourself. However, there are some downsides to caffeine. So, to make your way across all these facts, please read the entire article!
How Do Energy Drinks Taste Without The Caffeine?
Naturally, caffeine is a bitter and alkaline compound. But the amount of caffeine in one serving of an energy drink is not much. So, you don’t understand the bitterness that much. Without caffeine, energy drinks can taste less bitter, which makes the taste even better.
Energy Drinks have a lot of ingredients that account for their final taste. They can contain carbonated water, citric acid, taurine, sugar, glucose, caffeine, food colors, additives, artificial flavors, etc. All these ingredients combine and produce the ultimate flavor and taste.
For example, Red Bull is a popular energy drink and is said to have a citrusy, sweet flavor. Of course, there is caffeine in the original red bull. The amount is about 77-80 mg per can. In fact, most energy drinks contain caffeine in this range.
However, this amount of caffeine is minor when it comes to taste. Only if you try to observe more carefully can you actually feel the bitterness. Think of this, can you taste the caffeine in Coca-Cola? You can’t, right!
So, if you choose caffeine-free energy drinks, you can barely tell the absence of caffeine in these drinks. Nevertheless, if you have a sharp taste sense, you can say that the energy drink now tastes better and sweeter due to the lack of caffeine.
Some may think that these energy drinks won’t taste the same anymore without caffeine. But they taste equally amazing! Try a drink yourself today and decide for yourself!
What Are Some Tasty Alternatives?
There are many caffeine-free beverages on the market which are improved versions of their originals. In fact, they taste a lot better and have quite a demand now!
Energy drinks are one of the most sought-after beverages in today’s world. The demand for drinks like Monster, Red Bull, Bacchus, Rockstar, Burn, and Zevia will never be out of demand. It’s hard to switch to other options when you’ve consumed one kind of drink for a long time. But here are some tasty alternatives that you may try!
Monster Unleaded
The most popular caffeine-free drink on this list is Monster Unleaded. Indeed, it doesn’t contain caffeine, but it can still serve you well as an energy drink.
Moreover, the caffeine here is replaced with L-Arginine, an amino acid. It can help stimulate insulin production, growth hormones, muscles, etc. They also get transformed into Nitric oxide, which can cause vasodilation and increase blood supply like caffeine.
Taste
When it comes to taste, Monster Unleaded has the best reviews. In fact, people who love Monster will love Monster Unleaded as well!
It has the same sweet and fizzy taste as a carbonated drink, but with a little citrusy punch. You will not even taste a hint of caffeine in these drinks.
Can It Be Served As An Energy Drink?
Usually, caffeine increases your blood supply and metabolism and thereby helps in energy production. Besides, caffeine blocks the adenosine receptors, which help you feel awake and full of energy.
But without caffeine, there is also plenty of sugar in these energy drinks which can keep you going the whole day! Also, there are other components like taurine, carnitine, Glucuronolactone, Asian ginseng, Vitamin B complexes, etc. All these ingredients combine to produce a lot of energy, more prolonged than caffeinated drinks.
Amount Of Caffeine
It contains 0 mg of caffeine in a serving, making it relatively superior to the originals! This new line of beverages makes the non-caffeinated version accessible to the public.
However, they contain 55 grams of sugar per 16 ounces, which is a lot! This sugar content is the main source of energy in these alternatives.
Red Bull Organic Sodas
After the craze for caffeine-free beverages started to rise, Red Bull introduced a new line of caffeine-free drinks – the Red Bull Organic Sodas.
They taste fantastic, and the added benefit is that- they use natural ingredients to make these sodas. Of course, these are organic and healthy!
Taste
This new line of Red Bull drinks comes in four different flavors—bitter lemon, Simply Cola, tonic water, and ginger ale.
Bitter lemon contains lime juice and citrus extracts, so it tastes like lemon. Besides, it contains some herbs that can be bitter, hence the name. Tonic water tastes like lemon water too. On the other hand, Ginger Ale has a spicy taste and uses natural ingredients like ginger, lime juice concentrates, etc.
Furthermore, Simply Cola tastes like cola, only less sweet. It contains hints of cinnamon, ginger, etc., with about 32 mg of caffeine per serving. It is the only flavor with caffeine.
Can It Be Served As An Energy Drink?
Just as the company revealed, they are the caffeine-free versions of the originals. But they are not energy drinks. They’re organic sodas that taste almost identical to Red Bull, or even better.
These are just improved and better versions as they are caffeine-free. The price is also the same as the original Red Bull – 2.39$ per can. They also contain carbonated water, sugar, lemon extracts, concentrates, herbs, artificial flavors, colors, etc.
Amount Of Caffeine
Truth be told, the primary purpose of launching this new line from red bull was to introduce caffeine-free variants.
Bitter Lemon, Ginger Ale, and Tonic Water contain 0 mg of caffeine per serving. However, simply cola contains 32 mg of caffeine per serving, as mentioned earlier.
How To Make A Natural Energy Drink That Tastes Amazing?
You can make yourself some energy drinks by using the natural ingredients lying around your kitchen. You do not have to buy any organic soda or artificial energy drinks for this. Try following this simple recipe below.
Also, you can use coconut water, vitamin B complexes, Kombucha, etc., as natural sources of energy. A smoothie made from berries, wheatgrass, and beet is a perfect natural energy drink. However, take a look at the following easy recipe.
Step One: Take about 350ml of carbonated water. You can use the sparkling water from Bubbly or buy a bottle of Perrier.
Step Two: Squeeze half a lemon and extract its juice. Add this to your water.
Step Three: Add about one scoop of Beta-Alanine powder. One scoop contains about 3 grams, just the amount you need to make one serving of this natural energy drink.
Step Four: Add 500 mg of guarana powder. It is a herbal source of natural caffeine. They come in seeds and can have twice the caffeine of coffee beans. The natural source is better than using chemical caffeine.
Step Five: Add any sweetener of your choice. You can use honey, sugar, or even Stevia. However, you may skip this step if you don’t like your sweet drink. Give the glass a good mix. Ta-da! You just made a natural homemade energy drink! Drink to your heart’s content!
Pros And Cons Of Caffeine In Energy Drinks
To be fair, caffeine is a widely-debated item with several pros and cons. However, considering the health risks, the cons overshadow the pros!
The good side of caffeine is that it helps you feel energized and more focused on work. It clears the brain fog and helps you keep going the whole day. It keeps you alert, which is essential to start your day!
However, the bad sides include intolerable headaches, migraines, indigestion, stomach pains, increased blood pressure, heartburn, etc. They cause unusual tremors in the eyelids and can cause rapid heartbeats, which you feel as palpitations. You feel the worst palpitations right after you wake up from sleep.
Caffeine has been linked to renal stones and an increase in bone fractures. So, the highest recommended amount is 300-400 mg of caffeine per day! Pregnant women and people with heart diseases should avoid caffeine.
What Other Drinks Caffeine Could Be Hiding In?
Some regular food items, including chocolate beverages, milkshakes, tea-based Kombucha, some decaf coffees, cereals, and Coke, have hidden caffeine content in them.
Cereals containing chocolates like Cocoa Pebbles contain 1 mg of caffeine per 3/4th cup. Also, cereals with Matcha flavor contain caffeine. Matcha contains 65-70 mg of caffeine/teaspoon.
Besides, the decaf you get from Starbucks may still contain 25 mg of caffeine per serving. The decaffeination process is not accurate enough to extract 100% caffeine from it.
Chocolates are a good source of caffeine. Notably, dark chocolate can contain up to 20mg of caffeine per ounce. Using this chocolate in any drink will make it caffeinated.
The Coca-Cola or Coke you consume contains 24-32 mg of caffeine per cup or 250ml. However, diet coke contains more caffeine, about 45 mg.
Conclusion
Once you get used to the taste and craze of energy drinks, there is no turning back! The taste of these drinks is quite addicting as they are very delicious. But if you are conscious about your health, you may want to switch to caffeine-free energy drinks. So, do energy drinks taste good without caffeine? Yeah, they do!
I hope this article helped you learn about energy drinks, their taste, and their nutritional values. Thank you for reading the entire piece with patience. Have a great day!
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Photo altered by dejittr.com | Photo attribution: Qasim Malick
