Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Chamane Coffee Energy Drink - Whole Foods: Mt Laurel, NJ

Chamane Coffee Energy Drink - Whole Foods: Mt Laurel, NJ
Time for another Whole Foods beverage review! This time I have something that I found very graphically interesting, but off putting flavor-wise. Chamane, pronounced Sha-man, is made with two things that I very rarely enjoy.

This beverage combines all of the flavor of coffee with the power of an energy drink. Now, it's pretty clear by now that I am not a huge fan of either product. I drink coffee occasionally, mostly with my caffeine addicted boyfriend, and I drink maybe 2 energy drinks a year. Why buy this? I'm a sucker for interesting packaging. (Surprise surprise.)

Look at these bright colors and bold graphics! There's just so much going on.

The bottle seen above is made of aluminum, just like soda cans and fancy beer bottles, so all of the bright cartoon-y colors have this metallic sheen to them. Sadly the effect works much better in person than it does in photographs, but trust me when I say the graphics look more impressive in real life. Normally I would find busy packaging like this to be obnoxious, but all of the attention to detail really makes this design work. Along with the green balloon-lettered logo and rainbow text, there are tiny blurbs and doodles scattered around the edges of the bottle. These little messages vary from correctly pronouncing the beverage's name, to chilling instructions, to boasting about it's non-medicine-like taste. I really like the sketchy look used for the little doodle-artwork, but the text blurbs that focus on boasting about the potent energy levels seem to be a bit unnecessary.



I followed the chilling instructions that were provided before drinking this beverage. (Which is recommended to be kept pretty cold. I'm not sure if that is for preservative reasons or if that is the best way to enjoy this specific beverage.)
Okay, it looks pretty. I knew that. Now I have to actually drink this stuff, and I am a little scared to be honest. Energy drinks and I don't mix.

Once the cap was removed I was pleasantly surprised by the aroma. This stuff smells a lot like a bottled Starbucks mocha. There are obvious coffee and chocolate notes, but chocolate is not listed anywhere in the ingredients, so I have no idea where the scent is coming from. (Maybe the beet sugar?) I don't drink much coffee, and I avoid energy drinks, but this is leaps and bound better than what I expected. This might be the best smelling energy drink I've ever had, but this is a drink not a fragrance. Let's see how this tastes. 

The liquid inside was a much darker color than I was expecting. The scent was so sweet and creamy I was expecting a tan or beige-y color, but this looks just like flat cola or black coffee. It doesn't look carbonated in the photos I took, but there is some light carbonation.

I took a sip, and it tasted like flat Coca Cola mixed with coffee. Which sounds really unappealing, but it really wasn't bad. A while ago there was a coffee soda released in Japan, which got some bad reviews, but this stuff was pretty good. I think it might be the best tasting energy drink I've ever had. (Other than the novelty Nintendo ones which were far better than they had any right to be.)

For all you coffee-lovers out there, I asked my caffeinated boyfriend to give this a try, and here is what he had to say: It reminded me of drinking an off-brand cola at first, but it left a bitter coffee taste in your mouth after you swallow.I really liked it.
There you have it. Coffee-addict approved. (After I shot these photos he finished off the glass seen above.)

Overall I enjoyed this beverage, and I found that it really did give me energy for the rest of the day without making me insanely hyper or causing me to crash, but I rarely drink these things. If you're a seasoned coffee or energy drinker, the energy levels here might not do it for you, but it'll taste pretty damn good.

EDIT 3/29/14: I just found out this is a pretty popular Energy Drink in France. Check out the official website! It's so pretty and well done!
© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net
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