Guayaki Enlighten Mint energy drink

Leave it to Guayaki to not only make Yerba Made not only a delicious caffeinated treat, but to make it very hip as well. They have been making Mint Yerba Mate tea for years now, but have just released it as an energy drink with some beautiful packaging, sweetened to perfection and lightly lifts spirits as well as the culture at large as well.

This company has created an empire around creating and sustaining the life that surrounds the Ache Guayaki tribe, who are the ones who produce Yerba Mate. This company has a mission to steward and restore some 200,000 acres of rain forest and help create 1000 jobs. Every time you buy a Guayaki product, you work towards helping maintain a way of life, plus you know you are getting some very healthy stuff - full of organic high quality ingredients.

Taste:10
It was very very hard to stop drinking more than one of them. While I liked their other Yerba Mate energy drink, Lemon Elation, I found this to be even better! The strong honey flavor blended with the flavor of real mint for a very unique experience. Usually when companies say that something is mint, they mean it has that strong fakey peppermint that leaves a menthol breath freshness. Not the case here.
This has real mint, like the kind I can find in my garden. This seemed to be a very natural fit for the mate tea - and is without doubt the easiest to consume cold drink I have had in years. I could easily finish off three or four of these in one sitting if they were around.
Buzz/Nutrition:9
Of course everything is Organic, as well as KSA certified Orthodox Kosher. This is about as good for your body as a drink could get. Yerba Mate has tons of health benefits, including fighting bad breath, gastrointestinal problems, weight loss and of course sweet sweet caffeinated energy. There is a minimal amount of ingredients in here, mostly mate, peppermint, sugar, and honey.

There is 150 mg of natural caffeine per can, which is a bit less that you can find in your regular energy drinks. While 150mg is not very much, It is if you can't stop at just 1 can. If this had a stronger dose of caffeine this would be the perfect energy drink. As it is, it is still pretty damn satisfying.

Packaging:9
This line of cans is a big step for Guayaki, a company which usually creates packaging with Olde Tyme lettering, crests, wreaths and flags. Instead of going for that crowd, the drinks make a radical departure, using very bold illustrations and bright colors - wise move. For this flavor they use a woman of indeterminate age holding up a juice box. My guess is this is supposed to be a gourd, the traditional device for drinking Mate out of. However, I can't help it, it looks more like a Capri Sun foil pouch than anything else. While not necessarily innovative, they have about as good an energy drink can can possibly get!