Frappio Espresso Latte
Cost: $1.99 16 oz
Taste: 7
Power: 7
The good stuff: Caffeine, Ashwangandha
I’ve never really been in to coffee drinks…I can take the occasional Starbucks super sugary mocha, or vanilla flavored drink here and there, but over all I really don’t care for the whole coffee taste. Typically I’d prefer something a bit different for my caffeine fix which is one reason I got so into energy drinks initially. Since coffee is not exactly an energy drink (even though it can have a serious kick) I have avoided stuff like Starbucks Frappuchino on this site. Every so often though, a coffee drink comes along that is actually pumped up and sold as an energy drink….and that’s where Frappio comes in to the picture.
Frappio is best described as a milky smooth espresso. Think of the Extreme Coffee Shock Mocha and then knock it down to about 1/4th the flavor intensity. What you end up with is a very light, smooth and easy to drink can of coffee that actually has a very balanced taste to it. The major ingredients are basically coffee and milk so the base recipe is actually pretty simple keeping the flavor simple as well. What you get is a large cup of espresso with any sharp edge to the taste knocked completely off, then charged up with a bit of added caffeine. There is a very slightly noticeable metallic ring to the flavor, but I don’t think that most folks would ever notice it, and it’s certainly not something that detracts from the drink at all.
Frappio does have a decent kick, although it’s not as strong as I was expecting. To me it was comparable to maybe a cup and a half or two cups of coffee…still a lot of caffeine, but as spoiled as I am these days even that is nothing shocking. Frappio does wake you up, and it does so pretty quickly which is always a good thing in the mornings. An interesting note however is that the Ashwangandha in the drink is supposed to reduce “Stress related hunger” for up to 4 hours as well as improve memory and boost concentration all of which are definitely welcome in my world at 6:55 on a Monday morning. While I can’t say much for the memory claims I can say that while I was still feeling damn hungry after downing a can of Frappio I did in fact feel a bit more focused when I sat down in front of my computer and started working….again, definitely a welcome result.
Overall, Frappio is very much worth trying. If you like coffee drinks odds are you’ll like this, and if you need more power than a standard cup of coffee, but not something as strong as the Extreme Coffee products Frappio should fit right in.
http://www.frappio.com