Natural Highs Adina Vanilla Nut Case

A Fair & Honest Energy Drink Review

Natural Highs Adina Vanilla Nut Case Retail Package Description

The can is yellow and metallic with a dark chocolate colored tribal demonish/goblinnish face design in the middle of the front. It's an attractive can, and the colors are pleasant. The text at the bottom of the can reads, "Fair trade Columbian coffee with milk antioxidant booster – coffee energy drink". The logo that sits next to the tribal Mesostopheles is a "fair trade certified" logo. The back of the can lacks a motivational paragraph, a precedent that most energy drink companies should follow. There are some icon graphics with short text under them. I'll describe them as best I can:

Michael Jackson's gloved hand holding a tiny hamburger bun – The text underneath reads, "Always Fair (Transfair USA Certified)

A ninja throwing star made of lightning bolts – The text underneath reads, "Natural Caffeine plus Guarana"

Duct tape over a threaded machine bolt (looks metric to me) – The text underneath reads, "Nothing artificial".

Two white space ships in attack formation – The text underneath reads, "This can has Antioxidants Equivalent to 4 servings of fruit (Measure USDA/ORAC).

Lastly, Adina wraps it up with the simple slogan, "Feel Good, Do Good"

Caffeine Addict's Natural Highs Adina Vanilla Nut Case Review

It doesn't take a great deal of effort to consume two of any flavor of the Adina. The double espresso does have 150mg of caffeine (50 more than the other flavors), so it's the clear choice amongst Adina products for people who have energy as priority one. For those of us looking for a tasty, antioxidant coffee drink with about the same boost as a Red Bull, Adina Vanilla Nut Case is a wise choice. It is delectable and smooth. There isn't even a hint of black coffee bitterness, it's relatively sweet and creamy, without breaking your fat/carb/calorie intake budget.

The sodium is a little out of control (250mg or 11% of your USRDA), which is about half what you might expect out of a canned soup product. In short, even if it's initially thirst quenching, the combination of caffeine and sodium in this drink could affect your body's hydration levels.

For me, this chilled drink is far more enjoyable and convenient than stopping at a coffee shop to get an iced coffee product. I'd compare this drink's effectiveness to a 8-12oz. cup of brewed coffee, which is reasonable, but I don't believe a regular cup of flavored coffee (which will probably cost you $1.50 or more, and the inconvenience of stopping to purchase it) will provide you with 4 full servings of fruit worth of antioxidants, delicious organic coffee goodness, or nothing artificial.

All-in-all, is Adina the best energy drink of 2008? No. Is it the best value? No. Is it even the best coffee drink? Debatably. I personally would still prefer a Monster Chai Hai (which, yes, I know it's a tea, but you're not writing this review) for 30 cents more, an even better flavor (while Adina is no slouch, Chai Hai is plain awesome), a more intense energy experience, and 7oz. more to enjoy. Adina really only wins out on antioxidants, and after my V8 Pomegranate/Blueberry Fusion 3 times a day, I already feel pretty stocked up on antioxidants.

Energy Junkie's Natural Highs Adina Vanilla Nut Case Review

So, a package arrives at Jason's door. I'm not busy, so I look it over. "From San Francisco?", I asked myself. I was clearly concerned that, having received a package from San Francisco, Jason might be gay. I decided to do all his friends and family a favor and open the box. My suspicions were confirmed, inside were frilly 8oz cans of "fair trade", "antioxidant", "natural" frou frou coffee man attractors. I've always suspected Jason might be gay, but I wasn't ready for this kind of reality slap in the face. Around here, we drink big 16oz. sodas loaded with high fructose corn syrup and inane amounts of caffeine and guarana. I held that tiny organic coffee in my hand and mouthed the immortal words of every 40 year old South Carolina middle school graduate, "We don't take kindly to your kind around here".

Just then, Jason came in. "Oh, my Adina's here. You should try one." My worst nightmare, I was torn between turning down something free and compromising my heterosexuality. Having already text messaged all our friends, and most of Jason's family, I didn't want to offend my newly "outted" buddy. I decided to just open the can, and knock it back, and pretend it's good, like I do with Pabst Blue Ribbon when dissolute women are around.

About 4 seconds later, I returned my face and neck to an upright position, having tried attentively to suck the very aluminum out of the inside of the can, in hopes it had absorbed just a picoliter more of that delectable vanilla nut flavor. Like the Grench's heart growing three sizes, I began to understand, "Maybe people in Columbia deserve a fair price for coffee this good, and maybe, just maybe antioxidants aren't homosexual mind control drugs, like the fluoride the government puts in our water."

While my heart was outgrowing the x-ray machine, I also noticed a respectable increase in energy from the 100mg of natural caffeine. Not loaded with energy, but it's by no means disappointing. At this point, anything that keeps me from getting a caffeine headache is doing a pretty good job.

I can't say that I'm crazy about paying $1.99 for an 8oz of coffee, but I do think you can get it slightly reduced in price by buying the value 4-pack. Maybe this is just the antioxidant homosexual mind control drugs talking, but Adina makes me feel comfortable enough with my own sexuality that I may just start brushing my teeth again.