Starbucks Doubleshot Energy + Coffee Review

Starbucks has been hush-hush recently about their +Energy option you may or may not have already heard of.

In fact myself being one of the key caffeine fiend targets being marketed to, I can’t say I wasn’t a little surprised they weren’t knocking at my door trying to get me to buy the add-ins. Well what do you know, this morning (6am) I open my door to find a set of Starbucks’ newest knight in shining armor, Starbucks DoubleShot Energy + Coffee.

This review you’re about to read is a first-hand exclusive, these drinks were not on sale at the time of writing this, and sales are expected to start in the middle of June, patience is key.

Starbucks Doubleshot Energy + Coffee 21st Century Milk Man?

What a way to start the morning! “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers instantly popped into my head, childhood memories of Folgers commercials burning in mind, and a realization that the former concept of having a Milk Man deliver milk every morning comes nowhere close to fresh delivered cans of extra caffeinated coffee.

*Crack* goes the tab, pressure furiously releasing from the Energy Standard 15oz. can, condensation dripping down the side, is this all just a dream? Starbucks with its Robber Baron style can’t possible create something that gets me excited again can it? Snap out of it, there’s no holding back now, swish gulp and down the hatch.

That’s What We Call “Variety”

The three flavors so far are Vanilla, Coffee, and Mocha. All three have similar yet distinct flavors despite me being somewhat unconfident if I were to be given a blind taste test. One thing I will tell you is that the Coffee flavor tends to taste the least sugary as well as being the only one to actually resemble coffee.

Mocha has a light aftertaste of coffee but it tastes more like a single pump of coffee syrup was added to a Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink.

The Vanilla comes in second to the Coffee and my guess is it’s supposed to capture the White Chocolate Mocha lovers out there, not the serious coffee drinkers. All three flavors had a mild but present bitterness that was only sometimes noticeable, I figure this is due to ginseng and guarana. Other than that I was actually quite surprised by the taste of these drinks, I’d be hard pressed to tell much of a difference between the pre-existing bottled coffees sold by Starbucks and these new ones, except for one minor detail.

Even Coffee Needs a Pick-Me-Up

The ingredients on these cans are nothing short of amazing, for a coffee at least. Per 15 fl oz. there is 1800mg of Taurine, 450mg of L-Carnitine, 180mg of Inositol (also known as B8), 325mg of Ginseng, and 90mg of Guarana. In fact that list is quite good for any energy drink, often times the amount of ginseng is negligable and guarana (which works better than caffeine anhydrous) is forgotten, this drink spared neither.

Considering these drinks carry the Trademark of Doubleshot I would expect that these new ingredients would be added to a pre-existing doubleshot mix. Already containing 150mg of caffeine (from the Doubleshot) we’re looking at a good 225mg of caffeine per can. UPDATE Contains 146mg per 15 ounce can. Morning is bearable again!

In light of the above information, you should be confident in guessing the effects were substantial. In fact, better than even I would’ve guessed. A small but noticeable buzz, minor shaking but stable enough not to interfere with work, in all a good experience that woke me up smoothly and transitioned into a “Lovely Day”.

Starbucks Doubleshot Energy + Coffee is a Winner

Sometimes companies just get things right, and Starbucks has certainly achieved something in my mind. One thing that amused me was Starbucks’ marketing techniques claiming, “Wake up with Starbucks Doubleshot, Stay up with new Starbucks Doubleshot Energy + Coffee”. I’ve tried Doubleshots for the morning and honestly I get more of a buzz off of water. Doubleshot Energy +Coffee is up more in the level I need for the morning. Not too much caffeine, and not only caffeine as the main ingredient.

If you don’t have time to wait in line for a handmade drink, or to home-brew your own coffee, keep your eye out for this Doubleshot Energy trio in local Starbucks stores, 7-11, and grocery stores this June. MSRP is USD $2.59 per can and they come as singles, 4 packs, and 12 packs.

NOW available on-line from Amazon.

Overall Score: (5/5)

Review by Josh (blog: Cubicalism & Coffee)

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