Waking up every morning and starting your day energized can be a struggle for everyone. Especially as the weather gets colder, it makes it even harder to get out of bed and stay awake in class. So what is the answer to this crisis? Caffeine. More specifically, energy drinks. Don’t get me wrong – I love coffee, but sometimes, it isn’t an easy option to drink before school. Coffee requires you to compromise your sleep by waking up earlier, whether you are making it at home or going to a cafe. It can also be very expensive to go out and get a coffee every morning. In addition, the lines themselves will often make you late for school. For these reasons, I find it obvious that this coffee isn’t the most effective way to get your day going. This is where energy drinks come into play. First, you can buy them in bulk with many different flavor options to switch it up each day. Second, it is more affordable than buying coffee every day. Third, it is more time efficient for your morning: as there is no need to wake up earlier, you can just grab and go. Because there are so many brands of energy drinks and it might be hard to choose from, I have compiled a couple of brands that are the best (in my opinion).

To begin with, we have Redbull. To quote its popular motto, “Redbull gives you wings,” and I can attest that it most certainly does. Most everyone knows Redbull or has seen the logo somewhere, as the company sponsors a wide variety of athletes across the world. Redbull was founded in Austria in 1984 and has long established itself and its energy drink reputation. You might be familiar with one of the new flavor drops, Iced Vanilla Berry, as it has been very prominent on social media with everyone trying and reviewing it. If you haven’t tried it yet and need some energy, I recommend getting one. One great thing about Red Bulls is that there are a number of different flavors to choose from to fit whatever mood you are in!

Moving onto Celsius, there is a lot to cover. First off there have been a lot of scandals with this brand saying the drinks are very bad for you so drink at your own risk. Secondly, I find that some of these flavors are easy to get sick of. Now moving on to the good aspects of Celsius! Similarly to Red Bull, Celsius has also gotten pretty creative with some of their flavor combinations which make them all the more intriguing. Relatively recently, Celsius has also released a larger version with new flavors that offer 70mg more of caffeine. The normal size has 200mg of caffeine and the larger version has 270mg of caffeine. The flavors are also newer, and my personal favorite would be the Orange Creamsicle.

Alani is the next drink that has also been prevalent on social media and was created in 2018. Alani also has a variety of fun flavors to try but my warning is that they are pretty sweet. To be honest, these drinks are not my favorite, but many people love them and always recommend them. One thing I appreciate about this company is their packaging and designs on the drinks. They are always super bright and colorful which was definitely a large part of the reason that I have tried some of the flavors. Additionally, I have been seeing the Christmas edition drink called “Winter Wonderland” everywhere but I have yet to try it so if anyone has tried it let me know, please. Overall I would recommend that you at least give these a try, especially the one with the coolest packaging.

Similar to Redbull, Monster is also a sponsor of sports teams so you have most likely seen their logo somewhere. The company sponsors athletes in motocross as well as a number of other popular premier league soccer teams. Sugar-free is the way to go when it comes to these drinks and they have around 160 milligrams of caffeine. In addition to having energy drinks, Monster also has coffee energy drinks, juice energy drinks, and tea energy drinks. After asking someone who only runs off of caffeine, Lindsey Griffin says, “Monsters taste like chemicals but in a good way!” I hope that is a persuasive take that tempts you to try a monster. Along with the other brands monster has many different flavors to choose but the names are a bit obscure so make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

Lastly, we have ZOA. I have never had a ZOA but after speaking with people who have I feel I can report a correct overview of the brand. To start off the brand was founded in 2020 and wanted to make zero-sugar energy drinks that are not horrible for you. To quote a couple of students Sousa Waggoner explained that she has tried this energy drink and “liked the peach one.” She did add that one time the person who was driving her drank one and it almost caused them to crash the car due to the sheer amount of energy it provided. So…drink at your own risk? Haley Weber can also confirm that she likes these energy drinks, specifically “the cherry limeade and the tropical punch.” These reviews are even making me want to try them, wow!

After reading this I hope everyone feels enlightened and ready to start their journey of trying different energy drinks. Keep in mind there are plenty of other energy drink brands to try flavors from, so don’t feel limited to these. And now, I’d like to leave you with a personal anecdote. Yesterday I decided to stop and get a sugar-free apricot strawberry redbull and it did not prove me wrong. First of all, it tasted amazing, secondly and most importantly I was able to study and be productive for at least four hours! If that doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will. Thanks for reading, peace!