Give Energy Lite - pear apple cherry

I hate to admit I am an addict. Even the word "Addicted" brings to mind burrought-esque quivering gelatinous people crouching in corners or the weak and easily led.  It is hard to admit, even to myself, that I am an addict.  I discovered this is without a doubt true when I tried to go one lazy morning without caffeine - I just got lazy and did not consume anything until after noon.   I found myself getting a headache and becoming irritable, and not having a clue why.

Thankfully, I had Give Energy Lite's pear apple cherry drink to soothe my jonesing body.  I finally had to admit to myself that I have an addiction when within 5 minutes of chugging this can down I felt right as rain again.  This drink not only looked good to my eyes, it smelled great, tasted decently and worked wonders on my foggy and sour head.  I might be an addict, but at least my drug of choice is fruity and sweet.

I loved the original Give Pear Apple Cherry energy drink when I reviewed it some months ago - and while I did not like this one as much, it still was a very yummy drink I felt honored to be able to try.

Taste:7
Like many of Give's flavors, they don't make it easy for the reviewer.   It is simple for us to drink it and go, "Yup - it is orange", or " this is a bad Red Bull clone".  This becomes much harder and more fun when the flavor is Pear Apple Cherry - and even more when it is a Lite version.

Really, if this did not say it was supposed to taste like Pears, Apples and Cherries, I never would have guessed it.  This tastes a whole lot like sweet light fruit punch.  I would hide a bit of the herbal medicinal flavor that is probably the stevia showing through - as that has a green underripe flavor that is hard to mask.  I like the agave nectar used, and wish they used much more - and the stevia a whole lot less.  I loved the full calorie version soooo much - I guess I was let down that the Lite version did not hold up as well.

Packaging:8
Like the other Give flavors, this is a beautiful can, designed by an artist, not just a desktop publisher. Not only is the design beautiful, it also speaks to the inherent green nature of the company. The only thing I wold suggest is a way to help incorporate the actual drink flavors within the design, to keep the cans from standing out from one another.

Functionally, there are issues. They hide their caffeine content inside an energy blend - so there is no way to tell how much of whatever there is in here. Especially when your drink has yerba mate, Gotu Kola, guarana and caffeine from tea ( all of which are caffeinated), not listing an actual caffeine amount is really bad form. The lid was slapped on without regard to direction, no double facing and some silly an unneeded explanatory paragraphs about the drink.

Buzz:9
Give cleared my head, openeed my mind and refreshed me completely. I know this is the same formula as the other Give Energy drinks, only they wisely used stevia and agave nectar - so there is hope for those out here who hate Nutrasweet, saccharin, sucralose and all those other chemical non-calorie sweeteners. Like their other Lite flavor, I liked all the natural caffeine substances they packed in here, though I do wish I had a way to tell.

I also appreciated the rest of the can being full of natural, healthy and vegan ingredients. There is not a whole lot to this drink, and I appreciate the simplicity. While I was not left climbing the walls, I was able to get on with the rest of the day with a smile on my face.