airforce Nutrisoda Energize, Mandarin and Mint, 8.4-Ounce Cans (Pack of 12)

These airforce Nutrisodas are absolutely wonderful. "Energize" is but one of five or six other flavors that they offer, and is one of my favorites. These have no sugar or aspartame and have 0-5 calories each, their flavors are quite scrumptious, they aren't too bubbly, and the colors in a glass are truly gorgeous. I'm always dieting and love to pour them into a Riedel wine glass, and more than console myself that I'm not having wine with everyone else. They also mix well with hard liquor if you're into that--the nutrisoda website has a whole spiel on mixology that's quite amusing. Try the variety pack if you're curious about them all. Although Energize isn't one of my favorites (I prefer Calm, Slender and Flex), I do drink one a couple of times a week, and my boyfriend prefers Energize as his top fave, so these are really individual choices.

Be aware, these aren't 12 ounce normal soda cans, they're 8.4 ounce cans. Once you get past that, it's great. I'm about to order another case.

If you are like me (and few people are so keep *that* in mind), you do not care for the taste of many energy drinks. For me, I suspect it is the taurine. It's a bitter taste that most drink makers try to hide with intense citrus. It never works. Mandarin Mint is no exception... however... once refrigerated, the taste was fairly decent. The "mint" flavor is drowned out by the taurine, but on the other hand they almost cancel each other out - which is pretty much a *good* thing. And the "mandarin" flavor is supposed to be a little more bitter than typical "orange" flavoring, so it does a good job of masking the remaining taste. As for the "energizing" effect, I give this drink a jittery thumbs up.

My short answer: Don't drink them when warm, but otherwise chug-a-lug!

The "orange" you taste will be the powdery fake orange flavor most commonly associated with children's chewable aspirin. Take that flavor and mix it up with the bitter, unpleasant taste that all energy drinks seem to have -- which may be taurine, for all I know. The bottom line is that this drink tastes bad. I'm telling you now. It tastes bad. But, I am happy to report that the LIME version of this beverage is actually very good!

Whether the Nutrisodas live up to their hype, I can't tell you. I can tell you it tastes very refreshing and is much less sweet than a diet soda sweetened with nutrisweet. It's also more expensive, though. Get enough to use the super saver shipping or the shipping costs as much as the soda.