The energy drink category has exploded over the last couple of years, with much of the excitement coming from sports nutrition brands that are expanding their horizons and taking an advanced approach to the energizing beverage space. PEScience is one of the many supplement companies that has thrown its hat in the ring recently with the Versa Energy Drink, featuring a relatively light 125mg of caffeine from a blend of caffeine anhydrous and di-caffeine malate, taurine, and theanine.
PEScience debuted the Versa Energy Drink a couple of months ago, bringing it to market in three fruit flavors, all of them free of sugar and pretty close to zero calories at ten in its slim and sleek 12oz can. We went ahead and purchased the complete collection of the beverage via the nine-can variety pack with Mandarin Orange Mango, Black Raspberry, and White Cherry Slushie. We were extremely interested to find out how good of a competitor Versa Energy is and if the brand has managed to carry its flavoring talents across from its reliably delicious supplements, like the gourmet Select Protein Powder.
Review
We had never seen a beverage from PEScience, and when that’s the case, it’s always interesting to see the kind of approach taken in the flavoring of something like an energy drink. The Versa Energy Drink is actually a bit of a surprise, as it is very much a sweet and enjoyable experience, better than many others out there. The carbonation is nice and light, not at all invasive, and these flavors certainly pop with the precise sweetness that you’d expect from each of the recipes in their names.
Our two favorites from the menu of the Versa Energy Drink are Mandarin Orange Mango and Black Raspberry; however, that is purely due to personal preference. The White Cherry Slushie is incredibly accurate and hits you with a strong artificial cherry taste, which is not our thing, so if you are a fan of cherry energy drinks, PEScience’s cherry experience should be exactly what you’re looking for.
Mandarin Orange Mango is an all-out citrusy flavor bomb that’s mostly dominated by mango, with some noticeable hints of orange and mandarin being the most evasive in each sip, although at the same time, that is not an easy taste to hit. As for the Black Raspberry Versa Energy Drink, we didn’t expect it to be as good as Mandarin Orange Mango; however it is, and it provides what can only be described as a thicker raspberry taste. It has a familiar raspberry sweetness as a strong base that maintains its presence throughout each mouthful instead of popping and fading.
The all-important taste is there for PEScience’s Versa Energy Drink, but there is also some of that chalkiness and teeth-packing effect if you drink a fair amount. We’ve experienced this in other energy drinks, especially those that have robust formulas and many of the beverages in Europe. The best way to describe it in more detail is it’s where you quickly drink an energy drink, and there is a build-up of texture left behind on your teeth and sometimes a lingering taste throughout your mouth. It’s not soft noticeable while you’re consuming the product, although it is once you finish.
Summary
PEScience has done a great job in its first go at the category in the Versa Energy Drink, keeping the formula simple and to the point with a blend of taurine, theanine, and caffeine, and accurately delivering on the complex tastes it’s gone after. As mentioned, it does have a bit of an aftertaste or, technically, after-effect, but that doesn’t play into the experience while you’re drinking or the energy you get from the 125mg of caffeine. It is certainly a great effort from the brand and has us excited to see where Versa Energy goes from here, such as more flavors, versions, spin-offs, and all of that excitement.
