With finals week here, every high school student is struggling to have the energy to stay up late or stay engaged and learning early in the mornings. This month, Ariana and Alice visited different cafés to test out energy drinks and Red Bull Spritzers.. We asked each barista to make us an energy drink with surprise flavors and these were the results!
Location: Good Vibes Espresso
Overall Rating: 9/10
Flavors: Dragon Fruit, Raspberry, Coconut, Pink Lotus, and Lemonade
Taste: 9/10 – This surprise Lotus energy drink from Good Vibes Espresso was super good, and definitely got me through my day! It was a little bit on the sweet side, but overall tasted really good. I would definitely order again but ask for it to be a little less sweet!
Environment/Customer Service: 10/10 – The name is Good Vibes Espresso for a reason! The barista was incredibly sweet and engaged in conversation. Overall, an amazing experience.
Creativity: 7/10 – The blend with the differing flavors mixed very well through the coconut undertones canceling out the fruity flavors. The drink combination is something I have been served before, but their menu has a lot of other unique concoctions.
Price: $8
Location: Anthem Coffee
Overall Rating: 7/10
Flavors: Mango Tango
Taste: 7/10 – This drink tastes good overall, but was not outstanding in my opinion.
Environment/Customer Service: 7/10 – The environment was good, while the baristas were friendly, the customer service was not impressive.
Creativity: 7/10 – The drink tasted pretty basic, and did not stand out to me in taste at all.
Price: $5
Location: Kassie’s Korner
Overall Rating: 8/10
Flavors: Blue Raspberry, Apple, Lotus, and Lemonade
Taste: 7.5/10 – The flavor combination is not something I usually drink, so it was nice to try something different! The drink tasted good overall, but was on the sour side.
Environment/Customer Service: 10/10 – The environment and barista were outstanding, with amazing customer service even though they were extremely busy!
Creativity: 8/10 – I liked how this surprise drink was on the sour side and not fruity like how the usual surprise drinks are.
Price: $6
Location: Gravity Coffee
Overall Rating: 8/10
Flavors: “Stardust” from secret menu: pink beyond base, strawberry, watermelon, with coconut milk topper
Taste: 8.5/10
This drink had a very good flavor combination and if you’re a milk topper person over lemonade, you should definitely give this a try.
Environment/Customer Service: 10/10
The Gravity employees are normally nice and for this visit, they did not disappoint. Making sure to ask if I had a rewards membership and checking to see if I had any flavor distastes before making the drink, they ensured my experience was a good one. The sit in Gravity shops also have a really good environment for studying or just having a quiet sit down spot.
Creativity: 4/10
This drink was already on the secret menu but I do appreciate the fact that the barista put me on to this new menu. The drink was generally cute and I was not disappointed when trying it, but there was just not that much creativity.
Price: $7.21 for 24 oz.
Location: Cutter’s Point
Overall Rating: 8/10
Flavors: Peach, Guava, and Orange Juice Topper
Taste: 7/10
I really enjoyed the flavor of this one, but it was just overall too sweet. There was also a bit of a syrupy after taste that I can only assume was caused by too much flavoring. But I did like the use of orange juice because it was a twist on what people normally do (lemonade or coconut milk)
Environment/Customer Service: 8/10
My barista was very nice and really seemed to be excited about being able to make her own drink. Before I took off, she asked me if I liked it, and if I didn’t she would be willing to make another one free of charge.
Creativity: 9.5/10
This drink was not on any menu for them and the use of an orange juice topper just really set it over the top for creativity points.
Price: $6.93 for 24 oz.
Location: Dutch Bros Coffee
Overall Rating: 9/10
Flavors: Iced Dinosaur Egg Rebel: blue raspberry rebel with (a scoop of the “Unicorn Blood Rebel”) white chocolate and almond
Taste: 9.5/10
As compared to others, this drink didn’t have the syrupy taste or artificial flavoring aftertaste. Instead, it felt like drinking something that was more naturally sweet or candylike. These flavors collaborated very nicely and I might go back and try a blended one next time.
Environment/Customer Service: 9/10
The barista there was very upbeat and nice. She made sure to check if there were any flavors I didn’t like before making me a drink. It was nothing especially great but she did seem more genuine and talkative than the other cafes that I visited.
Creativity: 7/10
The drink that was made was already on Dutch Bros is known for their numerous variations of Rebel Energy Drinks so it makes sense that the barista would choose a flavor combination that is already on the menu. The drink itself is very creative
Price: $7.55 for 24 oz
In the end, these energy drinks have seriously kept us boosted and we were extremely happy with the results. From best to worst, here’s how we would rank these drinks:
Good Vibes Espresso
Dutch Bros Coffee
Gravity Coffee
Cutter’s Point
Anthem Coffee
Kassie’s Korner
