EATER - No longer content to be the cause of just small caffeine highs across the country, Coca-Cola is finally taking a page from the early aughts and launching a full-on energy drink, Coca-Cola Energy, for the first time in the U.S.
Coca-Cola Energy, which boasts 114 milligrams of caffeine per 12-ounce serving in comparison to a regular Coke’s 34 milligrams (for reference, a 12-ounce cup of coffee has about 136 milligrams of caffeine), has already been available in 25 other countries, including Spain and Great Britain, since earlier this year. But starting in January 2020, U.S. consumers will be able to fuel up on Coke Energy in four flavors: original, Zero Sugar, Cherry, and Zero Sugar Cherry (the new Cherry varieties, created with Americans in mind, are not offered in Europe).
Why is Coca-Cola only now getting into the energy drink game, decades after Monster Energy, AMP, and Red Bull drinks first seized the imagination of extreme sports enthusiasts, teens one-upping each other, sleep-deprived college students, and all-night gamers? Extracurricular activities, apparently. “People are busier than ever. They don’t just work from 9 to 5 and call it a day. Their lives are full, and they’re doing so many more things after ‘work,’” Coca-Cola brand director Janki Gambhirsaid in a statement, correctly identifying the curse of productivity and eroding work-life balance so endemic to late-stage capitalist hell. “Coke Energy offers great-tasting energy to do the things they need to do, but also the things they want to do.”
For a long time in my life, mainly college, Diet Coke was everything to me. A mixer for my whiskey, a substitution for water, a "healthier" option when dining out, a chaser for my shots, you name it. DC was my ish. I've fallen off that wagon a bit lately but just when I thought I was done, Coca-Cola PULLS me back in. Full disclosure, I anticipate this tasting awful. No energy drink is "good" but most of them get the job done. I'll be excited to try this when it comes to the states. Ugh, why do all the other countries get the cool stuff first?