Drink Reviews: Rockstar Energy Roasted

Price: $1.50 to $3.00

Size: 16 fluid ounce cans.

Availability: Most markets.

Website: http://www.rockstar69.com

Rockstar Energy put both other energy drink makers and coffee places like Starbuck's on notice with their line of coffee inspired energy drinks. Rockstar Roasted is marketed as a coffee + energy drink much like Monster's Java Monster energy drinks and Starbuck's Coffee + Plus energy beverage; both which I recently reviewed.

Rockstar Roasted comes in 3 primary flavors: Mocha, Latte, and Light Vanilla.

The Taste:

Rockstar Roasted is actually a blend of expresso, cream, and energy blends and Rockstar does a decent job of masking the bitterness associated with caffeine. Mocha is smooth with a noticeable chocolate taste to it. However I found this flavor's texture to be a bit muddy from halfway down to the end of the drink.

Latte is fashioned to taste like coffee shop expresso served cold. It is smooth and a bit sweet at times but nothing to write home about. Light Vanilla, as the name implies, is a lower calorie, lower sugar version of Rockstar Roasted with a sweet vanilla taste. Probably the smoothest of the 3 flavors although not the strongest in terms of flavor.

I should note that Rockstar recommends that these drinks be consumed ice cold or poured over ice; I've tried warm coffee based energy drinks before and is isn't an experience that I recommend. All the drinks have a bit of a frothy head to them which adds to the flavor experience.

The Kick:

Rockstar states boldly on the website that Roasted contains 50% more caffeine than their original Rockstar Energy drink. Using expresso over regular coffee probably boosts the caffeine content as well as a boost of their own energy blend. The drink contains over 240mg of caffeine per 16 ounce can. This is compared to about 160mg of caffeine per can in the original Rockstar drink. Not quite a 50% increase, but rather about an extra serving worth of caffeine as original Rockstar has about 80mg per 8 ounce serving.

The kick on this drink is really quite decent, and this is coming from a person who doesn't really enjoy the majority of Rockstar's lineup. Half a can is sufficient for at least 2 to 3 hours of a decent caffeine buzz; a whole can will give most people a borderline hyper can't sit still buzz. You have to try it out and see how much you need at a time.

I found it a bit hard to focus on a task at hand for the first 30 minutes or so after drinking the whole can at once; after about an hour I felt alert and less jittery.

There is a decent amount of sugar in this drink as well as fat. The crash does come so I recommend drinking water in between chugging down this coffee inspired drink. The crash didn't arrive for me for at least 4-5 hours which is appealing if you need to, you know, actually get some work done.

Overall:

Compared to Monster's Java Energy, I personally felt Monster tasted a bit better BUT Rockstar's coffee version has more caffeine and for some this will mean a far bigger buzz. Compared to Starbuck's Coffee + Energy drink; both Monster and Rockstar coffee drinks tasted better which was a surprise. However Starbuck's does offer a wide range of flavor options.

I felt like the caffeine effects lasted longer in this beverage than Rockstar's Juiced and Original products and the taste will appeal to those who hate energy drink tastes and like coffee tastes. Originally energy drinks appealed to those who hated coffee so it is interesting to see the energy drink makers switching it up.