“We saw how popular Red Bull and Starbucks were, and we took the idea of the energy drink and put it into a mint form,” says Talbott, co-founder of JoCo Brands, which manufacturers the mint. It took them 4 years of formulation to get the flavors just the way they wanted to, and while I tried this product first about 5 months ago, the second wave with a slightly changed package was just released.

These mints started out in 1996, when the energy market was relatively younger. This was not the first caffeinated mint, as Penguin had a caffeinated brand years before. Unlike Penguins, these were caaffeinated with guarana, theobromine (derived from cacao beans) and theophylline (from tea leaves). and also the marketing of their first blend was radically different – used for gifting and special occasions more than being readily available to the consumer.

Realizing where the market was at, they released into 7-11 stores and other major distribution channels, changing the formula and the packaging to add more caffeine into the little mints, and make the package more accessible. The mints sent to me were tasty, easy to eat, quick acting and overall fantastic!

Nutrition:9
ok – here is the math, straight from the founder’s mouth. “VoJo Extreme is more competitive to the energy category with its caffeine equivalent of five Red Bull drinks in one box of mints,” Talbott says. “The Extreme will carry more of an energy boost and will be a larger mint.” 5 red bulls have 400 mg, so with 40 mints a box, each mint has 10mg of caffeine in them. As to the other stuff in there, I am impressed by the addition of B vitamins and Taurine. This really is a tasty way to get your energy in the morning – as well as all the stuff you can expect from your average energy drink. There are 0 calories in here, which is nice. It is sweetened with sorbitol and alas, sucralose as well. While sucralose works in the flavor, it is not as desirable as other sweeteners would have been. Still, these are a heck of a lot better than the Ice Breakers variety, using aspartame as their sweetener.
Taste: Peppermint:9 Citrus:8 Berry: 3
They have released the Extreme mints in three varieties. The peppermint is fantastic, easily dissolved in the mouth so you get the rush much quicker, and actually is minty. You can still taste the caffeine, as it leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste in your mouth. However, this aftertaste is pretty negligible, as I have had numerous gums and candies with a whole lot pore nastiness at the finish. The mint flavor is pretty strong, overcoming the sour quite well and leaves your breath fresh. The citrus is not really a mint, as it does not freshen your breath. What it is though, is a fantastic candy which is both tangy and full of great taste. I would not get the citrus to freshen your breath, but could see it as a fun way to get energized without needing the room and refrigeration of energy drinks.
Stay away from the berry pack. All of my guinea pigs agree, The berry is tart and harsh, not sweet enough and hard to finish. I am a bit surprised that with the other two flavors hitting the mark that this one missed so widely. If you only can find the berry – pass it up completely. It would be better to wait until you saw one of the other flavors, just so you don’t equate the other flavors with this one.
Packaging:7
This is a defiite improvement over the earlier style. Since relaunch, they have made the holes for the mints as wide as they could possibly go without digging into the plastic. The packs look cool and clean, and easily slip into the pocket. I do wish they would label the caffeine content on this, as people were confounded, trying to figure out if the product had 3mg, 8mg, or even 40mg of caffeine. What I would like to see is more information as to the levels of B vitamins and taurine they put in here, as it is common for people to try to watch what they eat and drink. They do list their company, phone number and website, all of which are very helpful.
Website: coming soon – still not active

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