Caffeine Products

When you think of caffeine you generally think of coffee and tea. You might also think of Coca Cola. But since the 1980s a phenomenon has hit the caffeine drinks market that is only just beginning to level out, and that’s the ubiquitous energy drink. Brands include the familiar Red Bull, the growing Monster and any number of others from all over the world. You can drink them for a quick lift or add them to an alcoholic drink to produce a heady cocktail.

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The most recent caffeine explosion, though, is the caffeine shot – a 60 to 90 ml bottle full of caffeine. But caffeine has been used in other beverages for some time. It’s an ingredient in Coca Cola, for instance as well as Pepsi. It’s present in chocolate and you can buy it in pill form. So where did it all start? When did we discover caffeine and its uplifting properties?

Tea

Tea has been drunk for thousands of years. The Chinese were drinking it 4.000 years ago for its stimulating properties. Generally tea contains less caffeine than coffee. But how much caffeine is in your tea beverage depends on the kind of tea you are drinking, where it comes from and how it’s prepared. Caffeine in black tea has the same effect as that found in coffee; it increases alertness, speeds up you reaction time and helps your concentration. It’s also thought to stimulate the kidneys and digestive juices.

One of the benefits of tea over coffee, where caffeine is concerned, is simply that a cup of tea has less caffeine content than a similarly sized cup of coffee – about 20 mg less. And because of how it’s processed, black tea contains more caffeine than green tea. In fact green tea might be the perfect caffeine drink as it contains just enough to give you a lift but not so much as to do you harm. Japanese monks drank it to help them meditate for longer periods.

Soft Drinks

Soft drinks, or carbonated drinks, with caffeine in them first hit the stores in the 19th century. Their popularity really increased, though, in the fifties and the latter part of the twentieth century with the popularity of the ‘soda fountain’. This saw the surge in sales of brands like Coca Cola and Pepsi cola both with their injection of caffeine, although without the punch of a strong cup of coffee or a full on energy drink.

Energy drinks

Energy drinks derive their stimulant power from caffeine. There’s usually about as much caffeine in a normal energy drink as there is in a cup of coffee. And they don’t just use conventional caffeine. Some also use caffeine derived from the Guarana plant. It comes from the berry of the plant that’s found in the Amazon rain forest and has a type of caffeine that’s 2.5 times as potent as that found in coffee.

Today, you can’t go anywhere without seeing advertisements extolling the benefits of energy drinks. They’ve become the most popular way of using caffeine in liquid form. And the best-known name in energy drinks has to be ‘Red Bull’. Red Bull’s sponsorship of just about everything from Formula one racing to music events keeps it sternly in the consumer’s
caffeine hungry eye. And they don’t just use conventional caffeine. Some also use caffeine derived from the Guarana plant. It comes from the berry of the plant that’s found in the Amazon rain forest and has a type of caffeine that’s 2.5 times as potent as that found in coffee.

The idea for the Red Bull product originated in 1984. But it took three years of hard work to arrive at the ‘Red Bull gives you Wiiings!’ slogan and much else beside. In the next ten years the company began to expand globally and in 1997 moved into Europe and the Americas.

The idea for Red Bull originated with founder Dietrich Mateschitz when he was travelling in Thailand for Blendax toothpastes. He came across a drink called ‘Krating Daeng’, the Thai words for ‘Red Bull’. It was an inexpensive tonic drink sold in a brown bottle that Tai factory workers used to stay alert during shifts. He approached the owner of the company who made it and together they decided to start a business.

Red Bull GmbH was set up in Austria in 1984 and the rest is history, as they say. The energy drinks sector was born. By 2004 the market was worth 2.5 million Euros and Red Bull held sway over 70% of it. It was a marketing and product phenomenon.

Red Bull is a carbonated yellow coloured drink adapted from the Thai one with about as much caffeine in it as a cup of coffee. The claims the company made for it were that it increased physical endurance, improved concentration and reaction speed, improved vigilance and stimulated the metabolism – all attributes that relate back to caffeine. What’s impressive is that the original research company panned it, saying no product had ever failed that convincingly, yet Mateschitz saw the results as positive because 50% of the test group said it was great and the ambivalence would cause controversy and discussion. In time it also created a vast market and a market sector, the energy drink.

The first energy drink was, therefore, launched in 1987 in its sharp, slim blue and red can with the charging red bulls. At first things looked bleak, as only Austrian petrol stations sold it because bars saw it as some sort of medicinal concoction and refused to stock it. But soon Austrian clubbers and snowboarders discovered that Red Bull had a reviving effect and took it to raves where alcohol was banned. Before long skiers found that, mixed with vodka, it was more than just reviving and Red Bull became a bar room mixer.

Over the next few years, distribution continued across Europe. In 1997 Red Bull entered the U.S. market and after five years established distribution nationally, with that country eventually generating nearly half the company’s turnover.

Red Bull is hardly the only energy drink brand on the market today. Many new drinks have latched onto Red Bull’s coattails with some success. Large companies entered the market with their energy drink offerings. Anheuser-Bush had ‘180’, Carlesburg ‘Battery’, Cadbury Schweppes ‘Venom’, Coca-Cola ‘Burn’ and ‘AMX’ and Pepsi ‘Amp’. Smaller companies succeeded as well, such as the Austrian ‘Shark’. Most of these competitors aimed for the same youth culture market as had Red Bull, with their edgy names and anti-establishment associations.

Of course to try and catch up with the sector leader companies have come up with outrageous names, such as ‘Bawls’, and have dug even deeper into the youth market, holding or sponsoring events such as BMX, Paintball and Gaming.

‘Jolt’ is an energy drink that markets itself on taste. It actually tastes good. It is an ideal blend of vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, electrolytes and of course, caffeine. It has the most energy of any ‘soft drink’ available.

The German brand ‘Effect’ is marketed as the ‘mental energizer’. It’s now the number four selling energy drink in Europe. Apart from the usual claims to restore or boost energy, this drink also claims to help you reach your full creative and spiritual potential. Its ingredients include Taurine, the amino acid; Caffeine; B vitamins and Glucuronolacton.

From the United Kingdom comes ‘Charge’. Its main ingredients are Taurine and caffeine. There’s also Guarana and a mix of vitamins. Then there’s ‘Duracell’, a drink that comes as a battery – at least the design does. The liquid itself has the usual ingredients.

The Spanish brand, ‘Dark Dog’ has made a name for itself in Europe with its sponsorship campaigns. Again it’s Taurine and caffeine that lead its list of ingredients.

American energy drink, ‘Monster’, has one of the most recognisable brand logos on the energy drink planet, the three green claw marks. It’s aimed directly at the youth market and has an aggressive sponsorship programme incorporating risk sports such as motorcycling, skateboarding and other racing types; music, events and promotions. It’s all a bit ‘in your face’, though, with drink variations called ‘Hitman’, ‘Khaos’ and ‘assault’. It’s the usual caffeine and Taurine mix with B vitamins.

It might be worth considering when you’re buying an energy drink that it’s not just the caffeine that can produce side effects. If the drink is high in sugar or fructose content it can cause a sudden ’crash’ when the sugar leaves the bloodstream and the energy high is no longer there. Also, energy drinks with a high sugar content can act as a laxative.

Energy shots

As the market for conventional energy drinks flattens out the energy shot market continues to expand. Energy shots are small, 60ml or 90ml (2 0z or 3oz) drinks that are packed with caffeine, B vitamins and amino acids and, on the whole, taste terrible. But that’s all part of the deal. They’re supposed to taste more like a medicine than a drink you take purely for the pleasure of drinking it.

Shots were created for people who want a concentrated dose of caffeine without having to swallow a can of energy drink or a cup of coffee. Students who are cramming for exams, or partying well into the night, drivers who need to stay awake and construction workers on long shifts all use them.

Then, of course there’s the price. If you compare the price to that of a soft drink the shot would cost almost ten times as much… it’s a lot to pay for not very much in terms of volume. But those who use them don’t worry about the price.

The main brands include 5-hour energy, which began in 2004. It is the market leader in the United States. Now Red Bull has a 60ml shot and Coca Cola has jumped on the bandwagon by introducing a shot based on its NOS drink. There’s also similarly named 6 Hour Power, 7 Hour Energy and others. The ‘Target’ 5 Hour Energy Shot is now available in Britain.

Caffeine pills

You can buy caffeine in capsules or tablets, but this is probably the most controversial method of ingesting the drug. Students are known to use caffeine pills to help them study or cram for exams and there have been deaths related to pill use. But like all of these products it’s misuse of them that causes problems. And they are no substitute for sleep. Pills can be bought without a prescription and include brands such as No Doz, Pro Plus, Caffedrine, Vivarin and Pep-back. Best have a nice, steaming hot cup of coffee, but if there isn’t one available a pill will do the trick.

Pro Plus is a caffeine filled stimulant pill, each one containing 50mg of caffeine. So, two tablets are about equal to a cup of espresso. Like their other caffeine heavy counterparts they purport to give you extra energy, feel more awake and bring you relief from tiredness.

Finally

There a numerous ways to get your caffeine kick. Whether you opt for the traditional coffee or an energy drink or the more recently introduced energy shot is up to you. Bear in mind, however, that any caffeine drink should be taken sensibly. It would take a Herculean effort to kill yourself through excess caffeine, but it has been done.

Perhaps the worst side effect of drinking the stuff occurs for most people when they come off it. Don’t forget, once you’ve built up your tolerance to Caffeine you are technically addicted to it. So coming off means you will suffer withdrawal symptoms. They include headaches, sickness and tiredness. Luckily you can get rid of the headaches by using a painkiller or a small amount of caffeine. And they don’t last long, about a week. Whether caffeine drinks are good for you or not good for you is a debate that will go on until the world has run out of coffee. So best to take in moderation and enjoy…