High school is not the best environment for teenagers. Students are known for staying up late and waking up early. Sometimes the desks are just way too comfortable as well, which is a problem in and of itself. A common solution is energy drinks, which raises the question, which one is best?

First, a best brand has to be established. Instead of energy drink brands being all the same with different flavors, different brands offer different positives. More athletes enjoy Celsius, like junior Kady Harth, who believes that the drink offers unique energy benefits.

 “I usually go for Celsius because Celsius has vitamins and usually more caffeine,” Harth said. 

Others might avoid a certain brand if they happen to run sweeter. Senior Jacob Alexander has his own opinions and advises others to avoid certain drinks.

“Stay away from Bang,” Alexander said. “It just kinda burns, and it hurts. Way too sweet.”

A good balance for many, like Alexander, who do not like too much sweetness is sugar-free Redbull or the fruity Monster flavors. 

Senior Laurel Bennett used to only like the coffee flavored energy drinks from Monster, but she discusses a traumatic event that weaned her off of the drink.

“I loved the coffee Monsters, but then I found a chunk at the bottom of one, and ever since I’ve had to run them through a sieve before I drink them,” Bennett stated. 

Along with branding, flavor is also a very important part of the selection process. Now that the popular brands have been established, it is time to look at flavors. More fruity flavors were popular with Alexander, Harth and Bennett, but they all had different opinions on their favorite. Alexander said that his favorite was the sugar-free Redbull, or the White Rockstar. Rockstar is an older brand of drink that was not mentioned earlier as consumers tend to buy the newer drinks. Bennett states that her favorite is a bit unique: the Ultra Fiesta Mango Monster. The Ultra Fiesta Mango flavor is a bit of an underdog, as it is not even the most popular Monster Energy mango flavor. Usually, people would say that the most popular Monster mango flavor is the Mango Loco, but not Bennett. 

Harth brought up an interesting choice. Energy drinks are heavily regulated and sometimes cross the line, or consumers do not buy certain flavors as much as others. This leads to the subject of discontinuing or banning certain flavors. One of these was Harth’s favorite flavor: the Cranberry or “red” Redbull, which, to the disapproval of many, was discontinued and only comes back at certain times. 

Finally, the question of why people drink energy drinks still exists. 

“Whenever I do drink them, it’s usually when I’m tired,” Alexander said. “It helps me get through the day without losing a lot of energy and it helps me focus,” 

Bennett said that focus is a big reason for her as well, but Harth gave a scarier reason for drinking energy drinks. 

“When I don’t drink one in the morning I will get headaches and sometimes before a game I drink one; it’ll help me out during the game,” Harth said. 

In conclusion, different people like different things. If someone is an athlete or even if they are just a little more tired than normal they will choose different brands or types. So while a greatest energy drink may be hard to pin, a common flavor that was mentioned by all three was the Sugar-free Redbull. The mellow flavor mixed with the same amount of caffeine as every Redbull leaves not a lot to be desired. No matter what one may drink them for, energy drinks are something that most people will encounter, and for most, flavor matters.