E10 Non-Caffeinated Energy Drink

This has been one of those elusive drinks people have been trying to make for years, a drink that will give you all the energy and staying power without any dependence on addictive substances. That is the promise of the new E10 Energy drink - with only 3 calories, no sugar or even more importantly, no caffeine. I have tried other non-caffeinated energy drinks and shots, but so far none have really lived up to my expectations. They either tasted bad or just like a soda, and none of them provided much in the way of a real energy boost.
I understand there is more than caffeine that can give you energy. Ginseng taken daily can help. There are things like Ribose, not to mention just getting your daily vitamins and just getting enough sleep . The thing about all these solutions is that they don't really solve the main issue - that we are an addicted society, where over 90% of Americans consume caffeinated substances - and although caffeine is not specifically counted as a legal addictive substance, many of us need our caffeine fix to get moving. As powerful as a caffeinated drink might be, no amount of herbs and spices can fill that specific need.

Nutrition/Buzz:7
As for energy, e10 tries to boost you up with Vitamin C and B complex and Ginseng, which is very common for energy drinks. THe other big herb they add are Maca root ( supposedly used to help virility and strength) , Schizandra ( another one used for its aphrodisiac qualities, although the Chinese use it as a sedative), an immune booster called astralagus, and Glutamine, which does not really boost energy at all. Still this seems to have nothing that bad for you, unless you count the thing they use to sweeten the drink.This drink has very low sodium, sugar and no calories. However, this is filled with sucralose - which is not the healthiest of sweeteners, even if it has no calories.
In terms of actual boost - this surprisingly did give me a lift. Not a get-me-over-the-morning-hump amount of energy, but a nice little lift in the late afternoon, where I seem to get droopy but don't want a caffeine buzz keeping me up at night. While not a powerful blast of energy, there was enough in here to give the drink some merit. I was pretty impressed that I made past my evening slump with this drink, and still able to drift off to sleep at a decent time.

Taste:8
I found this drink to taste very different than I was expecting, as it came off as neither too sweet and had no hint of tartness or sourness. It is a light berry flavor, with a strong carbonation that made it very very easy to drink down. I did not find this like a soda at all, as it had much less flavor and balanced sweetness.

Packaging:4
Definitely not a collectible can here. This 12 oz drink is in a soda container, not even going for the 12oz slim energy drink size. The only problem here is the connotations one makes with energy drinks vs. Sodas. I hear they have switched to a nicer and more pleasantly designed can, So I will hold off my big reservations until I can find the new can and give an update. I heard of a third design with new endorser Jerry Rice is in the works too.

Website:2
Are they serious? They actually paid another comany for this thing? I went to their design firm, Appleby arts, to look at the other work the design company has done - and unless they got this site in trade they were completely ripped off. This site looks fine by 1997 standards, but in the with today's technology, there is no reason to make your site look like it was designed by the template tool of Geocities. I understand that this web design company is local, both out of Boulder City Nevada - but that is no excuse for this design mess. Now in terms of information, They do tell you about the herbs in their drink, and they try to tell you about the nutritional information by linking it to a non-existent word document??? Save your money on a big endorsement deal (energy drink endorsement deals with celebs rarely work - and are not worth the money. As an example, name me 6 celebrities that sponsor energy drinks - ones that make them A.K.A. Hogan Energy does not count) and spend your money making a great website instead.

Many thanks to the energy guru at Taurine Rules for sending me this tasty can to try out!