Ed Hardy Orange Energy Sticks Review

Other than that the box is now orange, it isn't any different from the former pomegranate variety. Sure, the billed flavour has obviously changed, but I would expect them to change, or at least alter, the illustration and not just the colour, considering how they surely have many at their disposal. But yes, I did like the previous design, and it looks ever as good with a fresh coat of paint.

There's a lot of the expected orange fruit to each individual grain, and while it has a good degree of tartness, it remains ever true to any candy tasting of the such. This isn't accomplished thanks to a predominate sweetness, but rather to how the actual flavouring is respectfully ignorant to following the naturally complex construction of the citrus. Rather it tastes simple and one dimensional, with the only organic breath being from the aforementioned tartness. But we really must discuss the problem with zero calorie saccharinity, as although it avoids tasting artificial, it doesn't declare the robustness required for such a fruit. Plus, the use erythritol gives each subsequent packet an ever growing, and eventually almost relentless cooling effect. But if this undesired sensation occurs only when you have more than one sachet, then why not just limit yourself to one, you may wonder? Well if you did that, you'd only be having eighty milligrams of caffeine.

Like I just said there's only eighty milligrams of caffeine in each of the three included parcels, though I should mention that there's also some B vitamins present. One serving, if you will, gives out only a two hour or so long kick, with two servings bumping it up to three. Three servings in, however, and you'll experience a near four hour long kick, none of them with jitters. Overall, Ed Hardy Orange Energy Sticks are small and three of them are potent, but the taste is just too much to endure.

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Ed Hardy Pomegranate Energy Sticks Review

The box pictured contains three Ed Hardy Pomegranate Energy Sticks, each of which contain eighty milligrams of caffeine. It's named after the famed tattoo artist, and so the visuals are expectantly great, bordering outstanding. It pronounces energy strongly without falling into cliche, outside the presence of animals, and for all its uniqueness it's worth forgiving the textual busyness.

Each sachet dispenses numerous coarse crumbs that are soft to the tongue but firm to the tooth. They taste of pomegranate, an initially successful flavour that's sweetened properly and has a slight sourness as well as a note of tartness. Both give the otherwise basic flavour some appreciated depth, though it remains nothing particularly impressive, and while the flavour won't be winning any awards, it's able to mask the bitterness of the caffeine with no following aftertaste. The saccharinity isn't exactly naturally derived, with it using sugar alcohol erythritol, but thankfully it doesn't explicitly taste so, as while there obviously isn't any real sugar, it functions ably enough that you don't ever notice so. Overall, Ed Hardy Pomegranate's flavour is decent, but becomes frustratingly boring after your first packet.

One pouch really only has eighty milligrams of caffeine and some B vitamins, which gives up to a two hour buzz. Another serving increases the kick to three plus hours in length, and yet another stirs up an hour more atop of that. In the end, Ed Hardy Pomegranate Energy Sticks' weakest element is its taste, which is unfortunate considering you must suffer through it to experience all the potency the product offers.

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Firestar Cola Energy Powder Review

In addition to being their most unique offering, Firestar Cola is easily the best looking of any in the line. The black and red colour combination is naturally appealing as well as being well suited for anything energy related, and the design's flames really pop compared to previous varieties.

The flavour begins sweetly acidic, with deep notes of citrus, cinnamon, and vanilla, all binded to create a familiar cola taste. The fruit implications are of lemon, orange, and lime, and although none of the three are explicit flavourings, their slight strength differences are represented by their respected order. The prior trilogy are all connotations however, so don't go anticipating anything in the sense of sour or tartness. There are some hints of clove subjacent to the former spice, and while only a suggestion, it provides such laudable depth to the aforementioned. The vanilla is authentic and imbues excellent creaminess, though it isn't displayed comparably to cream soda. What is perhaps the experiences best characteristic is how well everything tastes with such a frank saccharinity, as while each aspect is exceedingly sugary, nothing ever feels unpleasantly or inorganically so. Overall, Firestar Cola's flavour is how one imagines any such soda would taste had it been boiled down into a powder.

Lamentably so, there is only about half the caffeine of previous varieties, which in turn only provides a two hour or so long buzz. In the end, Firestar Cola, outside the unimpressive kick, leaves me with great excitement for more soda inspired flavours from the, or really any, company.

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Firestar Cherry Energy Powder Review

The pinkish hue of the package is certainly appropriate for the supposed cherry flavour, and while I was initially to object the using such a colour, it quickly grew on me, considering how well they utilized it. The deep suggestion of red in the aforementioned chooses not to allow the pink to mandate who the target audience is, though it does definitely insinuate towards one gender. But the success is found in that it balances stereotypically appealing to one sex, while not totally losing the other by being too feminine.

The recognized maraschino cherry is so obviously sweet, and I say that given that the first ingredient is sugar, but it doesn't ever appear to be fully realized, as although it strives for more of a candied interpretation, the taste is ever so simple and almost stupidly so. It would have absolutely been preferred that they attempt to mimic a more difficult variety, something with tartness, sourness, or something, but while there isn't any complexity in the fruit's personality, and though it's about as bare bones of an explanation of the flavour genre as possible, it thankfully isn't all that the experience has to offer. Much like the previously variety, there is a fairly strong depiction of spearmint, that here, is surprisingly present. It isn't as potent as it is in the former, but it is more than enough to liven the carbohydrate crystals as well as exaggerate how refreshing they feel on the tongue. Overall, there have been a quite a few cherry energy powders, but Firestar pleasingly breathed some eventual individuality into something that could have stayed as one dimensional as it was initially.

The ingredient cocktail really only contains somewhere around 200 milligrams of caffeine, but this honestly isn't an issue, given that the buzz lasts around four rather jittery hours. Overall, Firestar Cherry's creativity over the just previously reviewed variety helps obscure any problems concerning the taste.

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Firestar Ice Mint Max Energy Powder Review

Firestar Ice Mint really comes in two versions, with one having half the caffeine as the other, but because the two have the same alleged flavour, the higher caffeinated variant is the only one that is to be reviewed. Its packaging is blue with lighter blue flames circling the logo, which itself has a rather nice silver and yellow graphic. There is also a good degree of text to be read, but it isn't relentless, and so while the eyes are kept busy, the design never looks congested.

The grains are distinct but soon melt, and they taste starkly of mint, though it isn't as cooling as it sometimes can be. The flavour profile is actually alike spearmint, though only far stronger than what gum companies makes one used to, and the infrigidation is most similar peppermint. But the latter is actually a blend of spear and water mint, so the perceived taste is understandable. After the palate's first encounter with the coarse powder, your throat is largely chilled by the menthol of the flavour, and as you experience more sugar crumbs the sensation intensifies and engulfs wholly. It, however, never reaches an unpleasant strength, and the two and a half gram supply per sachet is exhausted rapidly and unfortunately so. Overall, Firestar Ice Mint Max is wonderful to eat and is well crafted even if mint is a rather unexciting flavour.

There isn't any mention of exactly how much caffeine is contained, outside the mention that it's as powerful as two cups of strong coffee. But with that and the previous flavour in mind, it's fine to estimate about 200 milligrams. The kick lasted four or so hours, with some jitters and no crash. All in all, Firestar Ice Mint Max is sharply executed and contains no real flaws, but personally the general taste of mint isn't a favourite.

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Uranium Energy Powder Review

Harcos most unique was absolutely saved for last, as before this I've never come across a yellow cake flavoured anything, other than well, yellow cake. The aforementioned colour, though, ends up being alone outside the black text, and understandably it quickly becomes too much. There's no relief from it and if only a quick passing glance is afforded, then everything just blurs boringly together.

As an avid baker myself, the scent of cake is well known to my nose, but oddly Uranium resembles more of a pudding mix than anything. The flavour is much of vanilla and it's coarsely textured and dually buttery. The fact that the product is nearly entirely sugar means that there's a great degree of sugariness that authentically sweetens the taste to that of the batter of the immensely popular oven cooked confection. Thankfully, there is no raw egg consumption here, which while that should be enough to censor the lust to lick the spoon, we all know that it never is. But the sacchariferous chastity isn't quite able to hide a slight aftertaste from the caffeine that's not quite bitter but still lamentable, and although it does distract, by no means does it ruin the experience. The powder is ever pleasing and though this could be on account on the wildly exotic flavour, one should chose to focus on the positives and enjoy the yellow cake taste of Uranium rather than strip it of its identity and criticize the negatives.

There was only two hours of energy felt, and the buzz detected was rather weak, which does make sense with only ninety milligrams of caffeine to perk you up. All in all, Uranium's revivifying creativity isn't perfect but it's a meritable attempt regardless.

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Radium Energy Powder Review

Radium is one of the few remaining Nuclear Energy Powders left for me to review, and all that can be said personally is, "ooh, look at the pretty blue of the crystals!" They match the yellow label quite nicely, and though the product is far from a children's item, the combination of colours would certainly appeal to one. And even though that should be a criticism, it's not one exactly, but it most surely could become a problem.

The scent of the grains is divine, but the real success is with how it tastes. The sweetness is strong, and it cloys not too unlike how eating a few Pixy Stix feels; it's in a wholly enjoyable manner, and it's thoroughly congruous with the flavours. The raspberry aspect of the experience is sharp and candied to a pleasurable degree, and it's reminiscent to really anything with the flavouring "blue raspberry." There's an agreeable strength tartness to the fruit, and though it's largely mild when comparable to the saccharinity, it is equally important in crafting the fullness of the berry. There's also a placid sourness evident, but it's tasted alongside an equitably tepid lemonade flavour. The strong presence of sugar is entirely complementary, and in general it orchestrates beautifully with the earlier taste. The physical powder melts wonderfully on the tongue, and the initially crude dust swiftly deliquesces into a silky percolation of potent pleasure. All in all, Radium may not be as palatably sensual as the Black Cherry variety was, but the consumption was immensely delightful regardless.

The energy ingredient cocktail only consists of ninety mg of caffeine, which in turn only provides a few hour buzz. There weren't any jitters, and there wasn't any sort of crash, but it really just wasn't all too impressive. All in all, Radium is definitely one of the stronger products by Harcos, although it may not be their very best work.

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Barium Energy Powder Review

Barium is probably the easiest variety yet to pronounce, and though the yellow and blackish purple are pleasant together, the overall denuded appearance of the bright sticker is starting to overstay its visual welcome. The design is still as appreciatively appropriate as ever, but with so little optical uniqueness between flavours, the amount of pleasure acquired is starting to wane.

The texturally grainy substance's liquefying point feels kindred to the natural temperature of your mouth, and the product then subsequently becomes a smooth syrup that's just as enjoyable as its initial stage. Black cherry is the flavour attempted, and the surprising success of the taste signifies immense care as to how it was crafted. It's tart when it needs to be, sour when required, and it's thoroughly sweet without ever overwhelming. The actual flavour profile of the black cherry is deeply authentic without ever losing the much lauded candied quality, and the fruit remains ever so desolated and is never disturbed as it dictates the palate. The powder imbibes much of the tongue and friends' moisture if and when a more than generous quantity is bequeathed, and this doesn't develop nearly as severely if only a meager amount is dispensed. An aftertaste does not occur, though your mouth certainly feels sacchariferously dusted that is not all too dissimilar to the days following Halloween or Easter. Overall, Barium's flavour is unexpectedly pleasurable, and it's easily better tasting than the similar Encaff Energy Stix.

Ninety milligrams of caffeine isn't what it used to be, especially given that this is all that Barium contains in the realm of energy ingredients. Sure, the sugar helped spark some of what was ultimately a two hour buzz, but my namesake chemical just wasn't able to provide a sustained or impressive kick. In the end, if a caffeinated sour cherry Pixy Stix sounds too good to be true, than Barium Energy Powder is definitely worth a look into.

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Plutonium Energy Powder Review

There's not much to say about Plutonium's tube, as it's essentially identical to the previous variety Strontium. Both clear conduits sport a fairly bare design that's appealing and appropriate, however other than colour and name, there's virtually no difference. The green powder, though, does complement the yellow more so than did the red, but the alleged flavour isn't what one may expect. The common assumption is that it would taste of lime or apple, but it instead is supposedly pear flavoured, which while that doesn't sound at all bad, it isn't what first comes to mind.

The grains of the powdered nectar melt immediately, and the crystals initially resemble a light pear to the taste. The meager flavouring is authentically molded after the fruit, and the strength of the pear gains decent momentum as sugar deliquesces. The flavour is exclusively of the said fruit, and though there's a strong sweetness sting that's sharply detected afterward, the pear's intensifying allows everything to remain evenly proportioned. Out of the prior is an addition of a sourness that, along with the acute saccharinity, instills a firm honeyed quality that was entirely anticipated and mainstream. There's an odd plastic aftertaste, however, that's perceivable through the aforementioned sugar inundation. It is rather mild, though, and while it's wholly disadvantageous to the flavour's quality and the genuineness of imitated fruit, it was far more tasteful than the ninety milligrams of caffeine would of been. Plutonium's flavour does withhold its fair share of complications, but overall completing the contents of the confection cannula was both easy and pleasing.

All that's intended for energy, other than sugar, is the precedently acknowledged amount of caffeine, which clocks in at ninety mg. From this, I had under two hours of what's referred to as energy, and only an insignificant crash followed. In the end, Plutonium Energy Powder doesn't excite nor does it disappoint, and it's this pedestrian impression that deters a full recommendation.

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Strontium Energy Powder Review

Strontium is one of the several varieties available in the Nuclear energy powder line, and they all come in a tube rather than a sachet that houses other energy powders. The decision to utilize tubing makes sense, I guess, as each variety is named after a chemical and if high school chemistry taught us anything, it would be that test tubes are the only way to hold chemicals, outside the flask. Strontium's container is clear, exposing the red grainy substance, and this along with the red cap attempts to create a visual signal that the supposed flavour is strawberry. The packaging also features a yellow sticker that holds the bare necessity of text(name, bar code, ingredients, etc.), and while clutter is expected given its small size, the label is surprisingly clean and it easily stresses both the novelty of the product as well as keeping a playful seriousness.

Strontium Strawberry is successfully able to mask the natural bitterness of caffeine while also presenting a palatable flavour. It begins with a sourness that's overt in a fashion not all too different from your typical sour candy, and the initially coarse texture smooths out quickly once it meets the saliva. The actual taste is first identified proceeding the sourness and is obviously of strawberry, and while the sour degree instills a strong confection presence, its high sweetness also aids in this honeying. It isn't confounding that the genus fragaria flavour disregards tasting natural, however the taste is well rounded in the sense that the sugariness is strong yet respectful of the flavour it garnishes. The disconcerting thing, however, about the overall taste is that the strength of the strawberry is so mild, almost taking a backseat to the sour and saccharinity, but it adduces a zaftig quality that's meritorious. No other fruits or flavours advertise other than the strawberry, and while there wasn't any notice of bitterness or unpleasantness before or following, the sweetness did become somewhat cloying as the eight grams of powder left the tube. Overall, Strontium tasted robust and each grain of powder provided pleasure, however I have trouble keeping the curved ended tube upright. But while that doesn't exactly have much to do with flavour itself, it was certainly a problem once I opened the product to experience the taste.

Each tube contains: caffeine(ninety mg) and, well nothing really but caffeine, which is partially forgivable given the achieved veiling of its taste. I say partially as I've had more potent powders as well as weaker ones. I felt only about two hours of energy, perhaps less, and I did feel minor jitters. I did crash, however it may of been because of all the sugar. In the end, Strontium Energy Powder wasn't the best looking, tasting, nor was it the most powerful energy product, but of its kind, I would acclaim it as the more well rounded of the three that I've come across.

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Fire Star

Let me start off by thanking Andrew Guise for sending me these. In a similar fashion to Encaff Energy Stix Fire Star is what I call a tongue powder. Being a fan of Encaff when I got the opportunity to try another tongue powder I quickly accepted and a few short days later I received a small package in the mail and low and behold it was several packs, I mean "sachets" of Fire Star. I personally don't know what to expect from Fire Star. Will it end up being a sweet success like Encaff, or a bitter mess like Buzz Bites?

FIRST IMPRESSION: The sachet to Fire Star consists of a red background, a few lines of text and several flames of fire surrounding the sachet in an oval like fashion. Personally I feel that there is too much red. While I'm usually a fan of the colour red Fire Star just goes overboard. I do like how the text is kept to a minimum. Overall the packaging is far from the worst, but the red is just too overbearing. The billed flavour to Fire Star is lemon, which while I'm in love with lemon, I highly doubt that it will be enough to mask the bitterness that is 200mg of caffeine.

TASTE: After ripping off the top of the sachet, I poured some of the contents on my tongue. The flavour starts out a sweet and tart lemon flavour that sends a tingling sensation across your mouth. The sensation isn't very strong, but it still adds some complexity to the flavour. The flavour isn't sweet, which lets the tartness shine. There's a strange plastic taste that lingers in your mouth well once you've swallowed, but since you'll probably be consuming Fire Star slowly you might not notice. Overall, I'm impressed with how well Fire Star was able to hide the horrid caffeine taste. Though not very complex Fire Star is a great tasting tongue powder that is right up with Encaff in matter of taste.

KICK: Each sachet contains, well caffeine, but unlike Encaff, Fire Star contains 200mg of the white powder. Once I finished the sachet, I noticed that I was a little more awake than usual and this feeling increased until I was wide awake. I didn't get any jitters, which was nice. This lasted for around four to five hours and once that time was up I received no crash.

FINAL WORD: Overall, I feel that Fire Star is a well-made energy product and in many ways superior to its competition. While the sachet could benefit from a different colour scheme the taste and kick were satisfying enough to make up for it. Fire Star is a great addition to the growing tongue powder category and leaves me in a great state of excitement for more flavours of Fire Star, as well as other tongue powders in general. From the time I held the sachet in my hands to when I was all hyped up on 200mg of caffeine I feel that Fire Star is a potent, great tasting energy product that is worth a purchase, or getting free...4.1/5

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Encaff Energy Stix

First off thanks to Graham Wilson for sending me a sample of Encaff Energy Stix. While Encaff Energy Stix may look like a powder drink mix, it actually is a tongue powder, similar to Pixie Stix but with caffeine. After the success of Atomic Bites Orange Raspberry, another candy-like energy product, I have high hopes for Encaff Energy Stix.

FIRST IMPRESSION: Before I start, I have to say that taking a picture of Encaff was really difficult. After many poor pictures I found that taping the packet to the back of a notebook worked quite well, but it still wasn't enough to get a good picture. Anyway, I like the packet to Encaff Energy Stix. The black background really lets the funky neon swirls stand out and do their job. The design is clean with only the logo, slogan, weight and "up to 6 hours of Power" for text. The only problem I have with the packet is that there is no flavour indication. While I know that there is only one flavour(black cherry) and that this packet isn't for individual sale, it still would have been nice to still have it. Other than this the packet is clean and attractive.

TASTE: I ripped off the top of the packet and poured some of the contents on my tongue. The flavour starts out with a heavy black cherry taste that is quickly taken over by a sweet cherry flavour. The black cherry taste is rather overbearing, but thankfully it gets overthrown by a much more pleasant candy-like cherry flavour. If you put smaller amounts of the powder on your tongue the black cherry taste isn't nearly as strong, which I recommend doing. After I finished the first packet I was so impressed that I immediately ripped open a second one, but sadly it wasn't as good as the first. Perhaps it was too much too soon. Either way Encaff Energy Stix is still delicious, but I recommend waiting a while before you have another.

KICK: This is the where Encaff starts to lose its luster. Each packet contains, well seventy five mg of caffeine. While I didn't get a powerful or long lasting buzz or, I did receive a rather quick kick. In around ten to fifteen or so minutes after consuming two packets I began to feel more alert and energized. This lasted around two and a half to three hours. Once the the two+ hours was over I gradually drifted back to my normal mentality. All in all the kick is definitely the weakest part of Encaff Energy Stix.

FINAL WORD: Overall, I'm impressed with Encaff Energy Stix. While the kick is in need of a tune up, the attractive package and great candy-like taste make up for it. I feel that Encaff Stix is a great stepping stone for the relatively new and bare energy powder category. I hope that this market will grow and use Encaff as an inspiration of what to do and what not to do. All in all, if your looking to combine your caffeine and Pixie Stix addiction, then Encaff Energy Stix is worth a buy...3.9/5

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