Amazing Company with Nutritious Formula still Falls Short. - Sambazon Amazon

June 23, 4:13 PMCaffeine ExaminerBig Red Boots  

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When I found this drink at my local natural grocers I was psyched! Sambazon is the leader in Acai berries, producing some of the best juices around. For this energy drink, they teamed up with 2 other amazing super-companies to produce this organic all natural good-for-the-earth energy drink.
Sambazon is, along with Guayaki and Steaz, one of those energy drink companies that you would be a BIG meanie and an all around not-nice guy for knocking. Even Condoleezza Rice named Sambazon winner of the “Secretary of State Award for Corporate Excellence” for helping to create worldwide awareness and demand for the Açaí fruit while supporting local indigenous communities in Brazil. They have over 150 employees working for them in the US and Brazil, and generate sustainable employment for over 5,000 locals in Amapá and Pará States in Brazil (direct and indirect jobs). Guayaki is well known for being another Very Important Company, as well as Steaz, for employing and producing fair trade materials for their energy drinks.

That's why it hurts to say that this drink sucks big giant Toco Toucan droppings.

I so wanted to love this drink - seeing as I so loved Steaz and Guayaki's offerings into this market. The emblems were there, the badges of honor, the hope of a better future with every gulp - but the can design lacks power, the buzz is not all it could be, and the taste was like slightly alcoholic fermented fruit.

Packaging:7
slim 12oz can. The can is a nice metallic purple with some background graphic stripes. This can is very pretty. Like Steaz, however, there is a science to capturing the eye and standing out from the crowd. While the purple background is not a mis-step in itself, there is no way someone would ever choose this instead of all the others out there. The CEO of Sambazon said this drink was in direct competition with Red Bull and Monster. Sorry - but the goofy font choices and green/purple design scheme are silly next to a Go Fast or Crunk, and become one big purple blur when surrounded by all the other healthy energy drinks on the Natural Foods shelf. Matt Bright of Fortified Design created a very pretty can, but it certainly needs some major tweaks if they want to take on the big boys.

Taste:4
Using the best stuff on the planet, Guayaki Mate, their own acai and Steaz tea, I really thought there could be NO WAY this would not rock the universe. One of the reasons I rated this so low is because the expectation was so high. The best way to describe this flavor is it tastes exactly like a grape juice that fermented in the sun. All the sweetness is gone from the drink, and the light carbonation does not help the matter. There is quite a lot of tart here, but nothing to balance it. The fruit seems very chalky, not sweet, like an underripe berry in a fruit dish. I had a couple of these, just to be sure it was not a bad can, but alas, there is too much strong sour and not enough sweet fruity to win me over. The problem might lay in the Acerola fruit (Acerola, an exotic citrus cherry, helps deliver over 1000% of the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C per can) when mixed with the acai, yerba mate, and green tea you get a combination that is anything but winning.

Buzz/Nutrition:7
The buzz is powered by the yerba mate, green tea, and guarana. There are 120 calories and 28.5 mg sugar, which is quite a lot for an energy drink. For those of you who do like this flavor, there is a diet version of this drink coming out which might be advantageous. In addition to the80 mg of natural caffeine , Sambazon Amazon Energy also has an added kick from the Yerba Mate and Green tea. I did not go flying around the room on this stuff, but it did give me a boost for a couple hours. I would put this lift as the same you would get from a good 12oz cup of coffee.

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