What Does Caffeinated Water Taste Like?

What Is Caffeinated Water?

There seems to be caffeine in everything these days. In fact, the caffeinated beverage market is growing like crazy to meet consumer demand. Caffeine is the most popular consumed psychoactive substance in the world. From energy drinks and sodas to juices and protein drinks, caffeine is being infused into all kinds of beverages. Have you heard of caffeinated water? Yep, it’s a thing.

Caffeinated water is simply water with caffeine. Sounds simple, right? But not all caffeinated waters are made the same. Curly’s Caffeine Water, for instance, is one of the first caffeinated waters on the market, offering artisan bottled water with small amounts of caffeine derived from organic coffee beans, plus natural electrolytes. It’s perfect for people who want to hydrate and have level energy all day without all of the sugar, calories, high levels of caffeine found in other caffeinated drinks.

Caffeinated water makes complete sense when you think about it. What is the purpose of caffeine for most people? Energy. There are a lot of tired people out there looking for a boost. In the U.S., approximately 89% of adults consume caffeinated beverages on a daily basis. That doesn’t include the hoards of teens that call Starbuck’s home and mix Red Bull into their smoothies.

Some people drink it only in the morning to wake up, while others need it to stave off the afternoon slump. Some drink some type of caffeinated beverage all day long. Interestingly, the more caffeine you drink, the worse the withdrawals when you go too long without it or try to cut back. Your afternoon slump can often be due to a caffeine slump, instead. You were revved up all morning and then crash in the afternoon. The remedy to alleviate withdrawal symptoms? You guessed it. Caffeine. Works like a charm.

So what can you do to avoid the wicked cycle and get off the high-caffeine merry-go-round? Drinking more water will keep you hydrated, but unless it has small amounts of caffeine, you’ll still feel that crash. 

Caffeinated water with low levels of caffeine fills your body’s craving for caffeine while hydrating you at the same time. Small amounts of caffeine are much less likely to cause a crash later on or any withdrawal symptoms. In fact, caffeinated water is a great way to wean yourself off of highly caffeinated beverages. Even better if that water has electrolytes, too.

What Does Caffeinated Water Taste Like?

No matter what you read about a food or drink product, if it doesn’t taste good, you won’t buy it. Before you waste your money on yet another crappy-tasting caffeine drink, let’s get to the bottom of what caffeinated water tastes like.

First, you have to understand that caffeinated water is relatively new to the market. There are a few players, as well as liquid caffeine you can add to anything. Here’s the problem. Caffeine tastes terrible on its own. It’s bitter as hell, and the kinds you find in most non-coffee and tea beverages are typically synthetic. 

The reason there isn’t a ton of caffeinated waters out there is that most of them taste terrible. People try them once and spit it out or force it down. The manufacturers add a lot of caffeine and with nothing like sugar and artificial flavors to mask it, you can taste the bitterness and a weird aftertaste. 

That’s why having small amounts of caffeine is best. All you taste is water. No bitterness. No aftertaste. Curly’s figured this out early on. In fact, it’s why they created Curly’s Caffeine Water in the first place. The founders had tried all of the other ones on the market and couldn’t stomach them. They put their heads together to come up with the right ratio of caffeine-to-water, using only natural caffeine, so all consumers taste is pure, clean water. 

So, what does caffeinated water taste like? Pretty awful unless it’s purposely formulated to have no taste.

How is Caffeinated Water Different From Energy Drinks?

All you have to do to understand the difference between caffeinated water and energy drinks is to look at the labels. Without naming names, we’ll explain what some of the more questionable ingredients are in one of the most popular energy drinks.

Glucose and Sucrose

Any ingredient ending in “ose” means it’s a sweetener of some sort. Sucrose is table sugar and glucose is another natural sugar. We all know sugar of any kind isn’t all that great for us. This particular energy drink has 39 grams of the stuff. They have a “sugar-free” version that is full of artificial sweeteners, all of which have sketchy reputations at best.

Now, let’s get a visual on that sugar. Four grams of sugar equals one teaspoon of sugar. When you consume one can of this drink, you’re ingesting nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar at one time - or more than three tablespoons. Three tablespoons? Experts recommend women get no more than six teaspoons of sugar per day and men about 9 teaspoons. Drink one of these, and no matter your gender, you’re already over your daily max.

Caffeine

This particular energy drink contains 80mg of caffeine, about the same as a cup of coffee. There are plenty of energy drinks out there with much more. The issue is the source of caffeine. Unlike most coffees and teas, energy drinks are notorious for having synthetic caffeine. The caffeine is fake, meaning it didn’t come from coffee beans or tea leaves. It’s made in a lab using chemicals such as methylene chloride, ethyl acetate and carbon dioxide. Um, no thanks.

Why can’t they use natural caffeine, instead? Price. Synthetic caffeine is cheaper than sourcing natural caffeine. It also is said to give a faster punch than natural caffeine that has a slower release of energy.

Artificial Colors

We’ve all seen this one before. Artificial colors aren’t from real sources. They, too, are made in a lab using weird chemicals that our bodies weren’t meant to ingest. Will they hurt you? The science is still out on that one. There are plenty of experts who believe artificial colors are not good.

One study found Red 3 causes cancer in animals, and several other dyes were also carcinogenic. It also discovered at least four dyes (Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6) cause hypersensitivity reactions, particularly in children. Several European countries have banned certain artificial colors from their products, and some U.S. brands manufacture products for those countries without the dyes they put into the same products sold to Americans. Yikes.

Caffeinated water, at least the high-quality ones, do not contain any of these ingredients. You won’t find sugars (artificial or natural), artificial colors or flavors, or synthetic caffeine. What you will find is sweetener-free, calorie-free water with natural caffeine, and if you choose Curly’s, you’ll get natural electrolytes, too. That’s it. Pure and simple.

Will You Feel Different from Drinking Caffeinated Water?

Harvard’s School of Public Health says, “Drinking enough water each day is crucial for many reasons: to regulate body temperature, keep joints lubricated, prevent infections, deliver nutrients to cells, and keep organs functioning properly. Being well-hydrated also improves sleep quality, cognition, and mood.”

When you are hydrated, you just feel better. Do you get headaches when you haven’t had enough water? Want another visual that will haunt you forever? Medical News Today says that when the body is dehydrated, the brain can temporarily shrink, actually pulling away from the skull. Yep. Your dehydration is literally causing your brain to hurt. 

Now, what about the caffeine part? Well, we know caffeine boosts our energy, mood, and focus. And after reading this article, you understand that there is such a thing as too much caffeine. If you drink water with a bunch of caffeine, you’ll feel a lot like you drank another beverage with a high caffeine content - a surge of nervous energy and then a crash.

Look for caffeinated water that has low levels of caffeine, as in 20mg. At that amount, you won’t taste anything, but you’ll still get a gentle boost of energy. And if you choose one with electrolytes, you’ll stay hydrated for longer and see a faster recovery if you’re dehydrated or after a workout. 

Because low-level caffeinated water with electrolytes has small amounts of caffeine and the power to hydrate even more effectively, you should feel light and balanced all day. No nervous energy or jitters and no slumps or crashes later.

You can drink it all day and into the evening without the side effects that you may experience with higher levels of caffeine. Of course, if you are sensitive to even small amounts of caffeine, you may want to experiment to find out what works for you.

Caffeinated water may just become your favorite go-to. Choose wisely and give it a try. See if you don’t feel better. Want to give Curly’s Caffeine Water a whirl? You can find it in some grocery stores or order directly.