Review for Runa--Berry

CAFFEINE CONTENT

120 mg

EASE IN ACQUISITION—1

In my last post I indicated (and as I recall expressed a small degree of vexation) that the cans don’t appear to be available from the company website.  Fortunately for interested parties, 24-packs are available on Amazon.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—1

I don’t think there’s any better way to express my sentiments regarding the packaging than what I wrote in my review of the original Runa, ergo I’m going to copy and paste the text here.  You can move on to the next (more pertinent) section if you’ve already read that review.

It’s not often I get something as new and unusual as Runa, and at the same time, it’s not often that something this unique gets so little attention in the packaging department.  For starters, Runa is made from the tea of a caffeinated plant that I hadn’t so much as heard of before reviews for Runa started popping up on various review sites (possessedbycaffeine.com and caffeineking101.blogspot.com).  While you can find yerba mata and tea-based energy beverages just about anywhere (even Wal-Mart has Sambazon), Runa’s guayusa base is a first, and really deserves some special attention.  That being said, if you’ve got something as unique and cool as this on your hands, why not show it on the can?  Why would you stick it in something so bland as the bare aluminum it comes in, and leave the advertising of the guayusa at the mere mentioning of it in the small, 12-point font band at the bottom of the can?  Like I said, the fact that guayusa is very cool—but it’s something that needs to be boldly advertised with bright and beautiful imagery on every single freaking can (I know they can do it, just check out the bottles on the website!); as is this is something that most people would just pass over.

TASTE—8

Given my previous experience with the original Runa, I was pretty uneasy about what reviewing the berry equivalent would be like.  Fortunately, it tastes good—nothing life changing, mind you, but good enough that I wouldn’t have any issues with drinking it again.  As far as flavor is concerned, it tastes like a drink made from açaí more than anything else—moderately earthy, only somewhat sweet, the berry flavor generally muted, but all in all it is fairly agreeable.

KICK (INTENSITY)—7

In the absence of the need to gag down the drink, I found it all the easier to enjoy the promise of “clean energy” Runa makes and delivers.  You want to be out-of-your-mind wired?  You may need to find another beverage.  But if you’re wanting something clean and natural to add some spring to your step and make concentrating/focusing all the easier, chances are you’ll find something to like in Runa—Berry.

KICK (DURATION)—7

Three hours, no crash.

THE DRINK OVERALL—7.33

Like I said, I can see myself drinking this again if it became readily available nearby.  It tastes reasonably good, and I enjoyed the kick.  That said, I’d love to be able to find out what sort of buzz I’d get if I had more than one can per sitting….

WEBSITE: runa.org

KEYWORDS: Runa Berry energy drink review, guayusa, all natural