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RIOT Energy Cherry Watermelon
Decent taste for zero added sugar or sweeteners. But too much going on in the flavor profile with cherry, watermelon, and green tea.
Overall Score
/10
Introduction
My expectations are never high for Whole Foods energy drinks, but I have it on a friend's recommendation that RIOT is actually legit. 100% plant powered is intriguing marketing and I like the caffeine level at 160mg.
Taste
5.5
The taste is really interesting. There's a lot going on, with the cherry, watermelon, and green tea all hitting my palette at the same time. That said, once the flavors settle, it's a solid drink. I took a sip of my friend's Berry variant and it was a lot simpler in a good way. I'll definitely be putting out a review on that as well.
Appearance
6
Decently cool logo and a simple color scheme. I'll give it a 6 since the logo and "100% PLANT POWERED" catches your eye.
Kick
7
The good thing is despite being a plant-based, health focused drink it has a lot of the classic energy drink ingredient staples. 160mg of caffeine, 100mg of L-Theanine, B12, and adaptogens. All with zero added sugar.
The kick I got from it was significant, immediately feeling a small boost that sustained over the next hour or so.
Conclusion
I'll give the drink a slight boost for tasting as good as it does with no added sugar or sweeteners. It's also 25% juice which I like.
Overall, I just wish it had a simpler flavor profile so it didn't clash with the green tea.
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