Smart Energy: Blood Orange & Chilli

Ohmywowthatisawesome

Quite literally, that's exactly what I said when I had the second swig of the can, and the chilli really hit me.

It felt kind of like drinking a laksa, except the mix of hot chilli and sweet juice swirled around my tastebuds and decided to rape and pillage its way down.

I've tried a lot of caffeinated drinks in my time as both a gamer and a tech journalist (in fact it's the fuel that keeps us going), but never have I had one with such a strong effect before.

I was wired. Halfway through the can, I couldn't sit still, needed to move, feeling warm all over. My eyes bugged outwards, or at least felt like they had, completely awake in a feeling that I thought a drink could never really produce.

Sure, by then the drink became less smooth, and felt like sugary 1200-grit sandpaper with less bleeding, but I was so awake I didn't care. By the time I had finished the can, I had a powerful urge to get somewhere - fast - and no real idea where I had to go.

It's the kind of awake you'd expect if you were woken up after a good ten-hour sleep by getting a bucket of ice-cold water dumped on you, and simultaneously a thousand fireworks being lit right next to your eardrums.

If you're the kind of person who needs to stay awake at night to game, finish off that essay or just want something with a kick, smart energy is definitely the drink for you.

And if you're not into chilli there's good news - other flavours like Blueberry and Citrus are also out there that should prove milder. They sell for roughly $2.70 a can.

I'm going to go back to sitting here twitching for a little while, until the effects of the drink wear off.