Mpower Energy Mints

Today I feel Mpowered. Not really empowered, especially not empowerful - but Mpowered; a very decent new energy mint with tons of crumbly caffeine. There is lots and lots going right for this treat - but unfortunately there is quite a few un-empowering stumbles along the way.

Taste:7
The great news is that this stuff tastes great! With very little (but not absolutely none) medicinal flavor or aftertaste, these chunks of mint can actually freshen breath a bit too. I can and have munched right through a few very happily.
The problem is the crumbliness and hardness of the mint. It is big enough you want to suck for a while, but it ges a little chalky. But when you bite into it, it kinda crumbles in your mouth. It was not really a turn off - but it was disconcerting. I would not crunch on these like people crunch on Altoids or Penguins.

Buzz: 10
The buzz is absolutely perfect, with a lovely 120mg boost in here. It is enough to actually feel, but not over the top crazy. it also has some other goodies, like taurine, B-Vitamins, and ginseng. The green tea adds to the caffeine amount, but I have no idea if it actually makes much of a difference. I can tell you that I got a very nice 3 hour non-jittery buzz from this big ol' peppermint, much more than I was expecting!

Packaging:4
Sometimes you get it, some times you don't. The biggest turn off is the most obvious one - it is a medicinal blueish -turquoise color. That - and the whole package looks like it comes right from the medicine cabinet. I certainly did not feel empowered to do anything. What would make an energy company choose this design? From what I saw of their website, there is some great design talent there, which is even more confusing. Who was their target audience here? I loved what was inside, but the pill case has got to go.

I did like that they listed the caffeine amount along with all the other nutrients, and the blister pack is a fine delivery system. But I think it might take some work to convince buyers that this much caffeine can come in something that is in the hue of medicines and diets.