Still As Life

V Berry is in my opinion the nicest variation of the V energy drinks. It does however come at a cost, it has a lower caffeine quantity. It is probably also the healthiest of the V range as it actually has some fruit juice in it (thus the reduced caffeine quantities in order to fit the juice).

Taste wise, it does still have the regular V flavour, it is quite prominent, but the added berry flavouring makes it much nicer in my opinion.

Whether this is true or not, I’m not sure, but I have heard that V Berry was intended to provide a V variation that was closer to the Red Bull flavour, and thus creating some more competition with Red Bull.

Like I said, I don’t know if that’s true, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

V Berry are currently $2.20 a can at Coles and are available individually, in 4 packs, and occasionally you find them in an 8 pack (6x V and 2x V Berry). V Berry is also available in a 35oml bottle. You can also get it at Woolworths, Aldi, Kmart, Big W, Spar, 7-11, most service stations, most other smaller food stores and many vending machines, and no doubt many more places as well.

V Berry Nutritional Information

The label indicates the following per 100ml:

V Berry has the standard warning not to drink more than 2 cans per day.

V Berry Ingredients

The ingredients according to the can are as follows:

Carbonated water, sugar, reconstituted fruit juice (apple (2.9%), blackcurrent (2.6%), raspberry (2.5%), lemon (0.3%)), acidity regulators (citric acid, sodium citrate), taurine, guarana extract (0.12%), flavours, glucuronolactone, caffeine, vitamins (niacin (B3), pantothenic acid, B6, B2, B12), ginkgo biloba extract (0.004%).

V Berry is different to the other V energy drinks in that it has fruit juices, but also with the inclusion of the ginkgo biloba extract. Ginkgo biloba can have any of 3 effects on humans, it can improve blood flow; it can protect against oxidative cell damage from free radicals; and it blocks many of the effects of platelet-activating factor (platelet aggregation, blood clotting) (Wikipedia). As Ginkgo supplements are generally taken in between 40mg and 200mg doses a day, I don’t see that the tiny amount in V Berry or any other energy drink is enough to really have any effect at all, except to say that it is there.

Drugs.com lists a multitude of adverse side effects that ginkgo biloba extract can have, including:

• headache
• dizziness
• heart palpitations
• GI and dermatologic reactions
• Ginkgo pollen can be strongly allergenic
• The fleshy fruit pulp may cause allergic dermatitis similar to poison ivy.

Again, I don’t think that the quantities in an energy drink would be enough to cause these side effects, but it doesn’t hurt to be aware of them

V Berry Ratings

Quantity - 250ml
2.5/5

Price - $2.20
3/5

Flavour
3/5

Overall
3/5

Popularity: 48% [?]

So you’ve got your normal V, then theres your sugar free variety, aptly called “V Sugar Free”.

This variety of V actually tastes very much like the regular stuff. Like any sugar free variant, it does taste somewhat worse than the original, but it’s not much worse.

They are currently $2.20 a can at Coles and are available individually or in 4 packs. V Sugar Free is also available in a 35oml bottle.

Theres not much more I can say about it really. It’s not a bad drink, it’s not a good drink. Is it healthier? Good question. I say no, it is worse for you than the regular stuff. I will explain why after the ingredients list below.

V Sugar Free Nutritional Information

The label indicates the following per 100ml:

This is identical to that of the regular V, and also very similar to Coles Zu Sublime Energy Drink.

V Sugar Free has the standard warning not to drink more than 2 cans per day.

V Sugar Free Ingredients

The ingredients according to the can are as follows:

Carbonated water, sugar, acidity regulators (citric acid, sodium citrate), taurine, guarana extract (0.12%), sweeteners (acesulfame potassium, aspartame), colour (caramel (derived from wheat)), glucuronolactone, caffeine, inositol, thickener (xanthan gum) vitamins (niacin (B3), pantothenic acid, B6, B2, B12), flavours. Contains phenylalanine.

So why do I believe that the sugar free variant of V is worse for you than regular V?

You may have noticed the little warning at the end of the ingredients, contains phenylalanine. This is because one of the artificial sweeteners used in place of the sugar, aspartame, is a source of phenylalanine. Now, is phenylalanine bad? No, it’s a naturally occurring amino acid. It’s in proteins and meats and so on. However, according to 3DChem, aspartame has roughly the same amount of calories as regular table sugar. So, you are getting the same amount of calories, it’s just not sugar. In addition to that, there are health problems linked to aspartame, particularly related to people with PKU (phenylketonurics) and diabetics. It seems that there are also a lot of diseases that are related to aspartame, there is a fair amount of information about this on sweetpoison.com, it’s definitely worth a read if you are interested in finding out more about aspartame.

The Aspartame Information Center is adamant that the synthetic chemical is safe. While that may be so, I personally think that the amount of it that can be found in diet drinks would be cause to make it unsafe if continually ingested in those sorts of quantities on a regular basis and is thus why I generally avoid drinking diet drinks, as I said, earlier, it’s around the same amount of calories, so there is no benefit to it in my opinion (plus diet drinks generally taste worse). It’s up to you to decide what you think about it though and do more of your own research into it.

Further reading on aspartame and phenylalanine:

• Sweet Poison
• Wikipedia - Phenylalanine
• What is PKU?
• 3DChem
• Aspartame Information Center

V Sugar Free Ratings

Quantity - 250ml
2.5/5

Price - $2.20
3/5

Flavour
1/5

Overall
2/5

Popularity: 100% [?]

V is manufactured by Frucor Beverages in New Zealand and is one of the first energy drinks in a can to appear on the market in Australia (on their website, V acknowledge Red Bull as being the first) and it seems to have remained one of the most popular.

I refer to V a lot in other energy drink reviews, so I thought it’s about time I wrote about it.

V has a unique taste that I can’t really compare to anything. I have heard it is meant to be a lime flavour, but aside from the green theme on the cans and their website, there is nothing that I can find from V as to what flavour it is actually meant to be.

I regularly refer to V as one of the worst tasting energy drinks, but I will admit, that there is a time when I liked it, and before I did this review, it has probably been 3 months since the last time I had V. I find that the taste of V is very easy to get sick of reasonably quickly. I didn’t mind it when I had it today, but I would definitely be over it if I had much more.

They are currently $2.20 a can at Coles and are available individually, in 4 packs, 6 packs, and occasionally you find them in an 8 pack (6x V and 2x V Berry). V is also available in a 35oml bottle.

V Nutritional Information

The label indicates the following per 100ml:

If you read my earlier review on the Coles Zu Sublime Energy Drink, you may have noticed that the Zu additives are near identical to the additives in V, the only real difference being that V has 10mg extra of Inositol.

V has the standard warning not to drink more than 2 cans per day.

V Ingredients

The ingredients according to the can are as follows:

Carbonated water, sugar, acidity regulators (citric acid, sodium citrate), taurine, guarana extract (0.12%), colour (caramel (derived from wheat)), glucuronolactone, caffeine, inositol, vitamins (niacin (B3), pantothenic acid, B6, B2, B12), flavours.

V Ratings

Quantity - 250ml
2.5/5

Price - $2.20
3/5

Flavour
1.5/5

Overall
2.5/5

Popularity: 88% [?]

As with many other products that Coles do their own brand of, Coles have brought out their own energy drink, “Coles Zu Energy”. It is available in two flavours, today I will be reviewing the Sublime flavour. If you are looking for the Ballistic flavour, have a look at my “Coles Zu Ballistic Energy Drink” page.

Coles have really been pushing these drinks, at market day back in week 1 of uni, Coles had a stall setup where they were giving out heaps of cans of both flavours for free. There was no other energy drink company present at market day at all, so Coles pretty much had a free reign.

The Sublime flavour is meant to be a lime flavour similar to the taste of the standard V flavour. However, in my opinion it is far better. The regular V flavour doesn’t sit too well with me, but Coles Zu Energy Sublime is very nice. It doesn’t taste anything like lime, but it is good.

Each can is an average size of 250ml and as you can see from the photo, the colour of it is not that appealing, but it does taste much better than it looks.

They are currently $1.49 a can at Coles.

Coles Zu Sublime Nutritional Information

The label indicates the following per 100ml:

It is recommended on the can not to drink more than 2 per day which is a pretty standard warning.

Coles definitely did something right with this one, it tastes great and has a similar level of energy additives to the more expensive energy drinks. It does seem to sometimes coat your mouth with what I assume is a layer of sugar, I suppose this is something to be expected from a cheaper drink though. It doesn’t always happen, just sometimes, most often when I am eating pizza as well. So it may be something to do with that mix somehow.

Coles Zu Sublime Ratings

Quantity - 250ml
2.5/5

Price - $1.49
4.5/5

Flavour
3/5

Overall
3/5

Popularity: 45% [?]