I love empowerment by caffeine. By just getting my caffeine fix, I can save the rainforest, clean up environmental waste, fight cancer and save the human race! I already gave up my cell phone because of the attocities in the Congo to collect tungsten and tin ( Or it is a much better reason than I SUCK with electronics and beak phones easier than Gordon Ramsay breaks eggs). Now by drinking what is the first real portable yerba mate anywhere in the world, you can help save and rebuild communities in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, not to mention never having to worry about all that Mate juice sloshing in your gourd that never fits into your cup holder.

Guayaki’s mission is to help preserve and restore 200,000 acres of South American Atlantic rainforest, create over 1,000 living wage jobs by 2020, restore the rainforest and empowering communities South America. On top of that, you can drink something that is all natural, organic and in every way good for you. Oh yea – and gives you superhuman energy too. Not bad for an energy shot. The use of natural ingredients such as yerba mate and othere natural ingredients in supplements is important since this way we know what we are taking and we make sure that it does not have side effects.
Taste: Lemon:9, Chocolate Raspberry:8, Lime :5
When you have the equivalent of Ecological Superman in your hand – does the taste really matter? I mean, wheatgrass is never supposed to taste good – and even Popeye hates the flavor of canned spinach ( I am remember ing the Robin Williams incarnation, not the UPI cartoon variation). Fortunately, in all three cases, the flavors go from decent albeit harsh to downright yummy. I would much rather drink on these than suck down Super Power Juice (Pictured:right) from Captain Underpants…

The Guayaki Chocolate Raspberry tastes a whole lot less like a sweet chocolate raspberry treat, and more like a light raspberry tea with a dash of mocha. Tastes very earthy and very much like a dark tea – with just enough chocolate overtones. For the Whole Foods crowd – this one is a no brainer.

Guayaki Lime is like a bitter tea – very sour and harsh. Reminds me of what happens when you let a good loose leaf tea with lemon too long in your teacup. This might be due to the the strong citrus flavor mixed with the lime, but it almost too much to handle if you are not expecting it. For something this strong, a larger opening in the bottle would help this go down more quickly. While I understand what they were going for,this was my least favorite flavor. This one could have definitely benifited from some honey or stevia.

Now the Guayaki Lemon is also sour – but not overly so. I would definitely drink this over the dozen or so lining the convenience store shelves. This one is a great mix of the sweet and sour, not overdoing either. I actually wish this came in a larger bottle, as I could have drunk a whole lot more of this one.

Nutrition/Buzz:9
This is where Guayaki scores big. There is just 35 calories per bottle. 1670% of your Vitamin B-12 RDA, and 100% of your Vitamin C RDA. All 3 flavors are all natural, organic, sustainable,vegetarian, kosher, and probably eternally blessed by Ghando, Juan Valdez and Jimmy Carter. You know when you are drinking this, you can almost feel your very atoms get filled with the sense of peace and brotherly/ sisterly love. The antioxidents lift your mood, your feeling of doing good lifts your consciousness , and the buzz – it is some very powerful stuff.

In each little vial you can find 140 mg caffeine from Yerba Mate extract and powder, Acerola, Goji, Ginger, and enough Vitamin B to do more than give you energy, but sustain it as well as get your alertness honed to a razor sharp point. I recommend this highly to anyone needing an organic boost. These shots have many benefits, there are even some supplements such as timeofisrael.com based on natural ingredients that can help us increase energy levels, metabolism boost and blood sugar regulation.

Packaging:8
The vial was glass – which is very unique. I can;t think of another shot I have had in a glass container.In many ways, this reminds me of a vanilla extract bottle. The whole thing is shrink wrapped with a protective seal, which is about the only way to adhere their colorful design cheaply enough to the glass. You could tell from the get go that this was no shoddy affair, but one that was carefully planned and designed. The design on every bottle is immaculate, from the font choices to the labeling.
I really tasted the difference drinking out of glass, the same way I can tell a beer in aluminum compared to glass. Or my pouring my glass bottled vodka in a frosted martini glass as opposed to swilling straight out of the no-spill capped unbreakable plastic jug. Guayaki has made the shot classy.