MatchaBar Hustle Classic Lemon Lime Energy Drink Review

Here we have our first matcha energy drink, the confusingly named "MatchaBar Hustle Classic Lemon Lime." The can is simultaneously clean and cluttered, with easy-to-read text that appears in overwhelming amounts, and a simple visual style that does little to help guide the prospecting drinker to what they really need to know about the product; sure, we get that there is matcha, but what the hell does "Hustle" mean here?

Our first sip will not win over non-matcha fans, not by a longshot. The texture is floury, gritty, clumping up your palate and staining it deeply of slight bitterness- not even the inelegant effervescence can inspirit the mouthfeel. Your palate feels almost dried after each sip, and you sip again hoping to hydrate your tastebuds only for the citrus syrup to wick away their moisture. Sixteen grams of sugars, from organic cane sugar, is all the experience has to work with, stretching every saccharine second but struggling strikingly against the pungent stranglehold of the matcha. And it is a shame really, as the flavor, the muted cross of lime and lemon works rather well with the earthy bite and unrefined carbonation, drinking almost as a slightly sweetened seltzer.

We get 120 milligrams of caffeine to play with, and like I always say, that is really all you need. The buzz lasts a fairly solid two hours, with a very faint sugar rush expediting the kick and subsequent slight crash. On the whole, MatchaBar Hustle Lemon Lime is a beverage I will not soon forget, though I would not mind to.

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