Amp Energy Gum

Few caffeinated foods scare me. Energy drinks are easy. Caffeinated candy? No problem. Even caffeinated beef Jerky. I love trying caffeine in interesting ingestables, and squeal with glee over the sight of a new energy thingy waiting on my doorstep.
Except gum.
Maybe it is that I was burned by so many gums in the past. Maybe it was that there are not that there are so few gums out there worth trying. So I approached AMP Energy Gum with some trepidation.

Packaging:8
The container looked innocent enough. Actually, It looks downright beautiful - in the common AMP theme of black and neon green. It uses a very techno-forward layout, with futuristc fonts and swishy Matrix-esque design. It also labels in big leers that each serving has 80mg of caffeine per serving; a pretty hefty dose for a gum. It was only when I looked on back and saw that one seving is 2 pieces of gum that I relaxed a little. I have tried many gums in the past that have 40mg of caffeine with no problem. That only comes when they pack in 80-100 into each piece.
I relaxed a little, as I popped a couple chicklets from the blister pack and crunched in.

Taste:10
These taste just like AMP Energy drink! This has to be the tastiest energy gum I have ever had. This easy to chew gum would stand its own against any gum on the convenience store shelf - in taste and lasting flavor. The orangey-citrus taste has nary a hint of bitterness or sourness you usually find in caffeine gum. The aftertaste was not even noticeable - and the flavor lasted a good fifteen minutes - which is a whole hell of a lot longer than I can usually chew any piece of gum for.
Buzz:9
While not a powerhouse, like Stay Alert or Go Fast, 40mg per chicklet is very nice - and perfect for spacing out over the course of a day. The 40mg of caffeine per piece is helped out by a nice dose of taurine and vitamin B - and all without sugar and very few calories. I enjoyed a couple pieces to start off the morning, and then spaced the rest out to one every hour or so - and felt alive, alert and full of energy the whole day through - enough to make it through a sleepover birthday party with a house full of screaming eight year olds and video games.

While AMP energy drink might give a couple hours rush - but are hardly portable or convenient, it is a snap to grab a pack of these and keep going all through those hard to function days.
Of course, that just sets the bar for all other caffeinated gum. If this one can taste so good, that means there is no reason for others to not be as tasty or long lasting either.

Photo from:
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//100225/480/20ea2c3c89464d5d81f2d6c204353169/