by Maxwell Payne

Created on: June 29, 2009

Review of Amp Energy with Green Tea Energy Drink.

Price: $1.50 to $3.50
Size: 16 ounce cans
Availability: Available in most markets.
Website: http:/www.ampenergy.com

Amp Energy drinks are produced by Pepsi and initially started out as a Mountain Dew inspired energy drink to compete with other energy drink companies such as Monster, Red Bull, and Rockstar.

Pepsi's initial attempt at an energy drink was called Mountain Dew MDX, described as a hybrid energy soda. After MDX was discontinued, Pepsi released a single energy drink called AMP Energy that featured the Mountain Dew branding and logo on the packaging. Within a few short years, Pepsi expanded the Amp Energy line to include multiple flavors and even a few drinks designed for 'specific' energy needs.

By the time Pepsi announced a line of tea infused Amp energy drinks, the Mountain Dew logo and association with that beverage was mostly gone. Officially Amp Energy Green Tea is described as an energy drink 'with' green tea in it. I believe that this distinction is made to showcase actual green tea extracts in the beverage, rather than simply making a green tea flavored drink. The full list of ingredients can be found at the official website listed above.

Kick -

I've never found any Amp energy drinks to deliver that much of a kick. In my opinion, most of the energy derived from Amp energy drinks can be obtained cheaply by simply buying a Mountain Dew.

Amp Energy with Green Tea had a slight kick, or what one might describe as a 'cleaner' kick than the other Amp Energy drinks in the line up. There wasn't a feeling of a sugar rush or that 'can't sit still feeling'. This was a bit surprising as Amp energy drinks usually have more sugar per serving than their competitors. For some energy drink consumers this will be disappointing, for others it will keep them focused and alert.

Like most energy drinks, this energy drink contains caffeine, ginseng, and B-vitamins. Pepsi has also added a chinese fruit extract called yuzu; in other versions of Amp drinks, Pepsi has also incorporated various extracts that aren't found in most energy drinks into their other Amp products.

The drink will wake you up a little, but hardcore energy drink consumers won't notice a difference and Amp Energy with Green Tea falls behind most other energy drinks in the kick department. This was also a surprise as the Amp Energy with Green Tea has more caffeine than the original Amp.

Taste -

I found Amp Energy with Green Tea to be citrus flavored with what I can only describe as a metallic aftertaste. The drink overall can be refreshing, more than regular Amp and many other energy drinks. The citrus flavor comes through strongly making it hard to chug the drink down and the aftertaste leaves you looking for something to wash it down with.

Personally, I found the flavor to be too strong for a tea based drink, a sentiment expressed in other reviews on the web. Pepsi has chosen to use high fructose corn syrup in many of it's drinks, which adds to the heavy taste and heavy texture of the beverage. At least for the Green Tea version, this does not work well with a naturally light textured and light flavored beverage.

Verdict -

Overall, this isn't a terrible energy drink. The buzz is nothing amazing but the taste in unique. For those who don't like the harsh taste of traditional energy drinks, Amp Energy with Green Tea might be worth a try. But those who enjoy green tea alone will find that Amp's formula is a bit overpowering over the natural green tea flavors.

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