STING Energy Drink ESPRESSO

Flavor of STING Energy Drink ESPRESSO

The sound of gas escaping when opening the bottle is off-putting... Even though I knew it was carbonated, I really wish they hadn't made a carbonated coffee drink (^_^;)

When pouring it into a glass, a distinctive sweet scent reminiscent of Lotte's coffee gum from the Showa era fills the air. This sweet aroma is something you won't find in creamy American coffee energy drinks or regular coffee beverages in Japan.

Though not particularly enthusiastic, let's give it a try...

As I take a sip, a strange mix of sugary sweetness and the bitterness, sourness, and astringency of coffee spreads in my mouth. It's like drinking liquid coffee gum, based on the smell. If you grew up with Lotte's coffee gum, you can probably imagine the taste. Who would have thought that in the Reiwa era, we’d be able to enjoy Showa coffee gum in an energy drink...?

Since there's no milk, there's no creamy sweetness, and it’s not like North American coffee drinks or regular Japanese canned coffee with their sweet flavors. Nor does it offer the refreshing taste of a lightly sweetened black coffee. STING ESPRESSO is not something I’d want to drink again; it was pretty much as expected.

By the way, it’s carbonated, but it’s a very light carbonation with almost no fizz. It was so low in carbonation that it could have been non-carbonated.

I thought it might taste better with ice, but there wasn’t much of a change.

I was wrong to expect it to taste like regular iced coffee.

It was a rather strange taste, but STING is focusing on coffee energy drinks and plans to expand in this field. Maybe this flavor is well-received in Southeast Asia. Personally, I think I’ve had enough of it after reviewing it (^_^;)

Energy Ingredients of STING Energy Drink ESPRESSO

Contains 95.7mg of caffeine and 66mg of taurine. Unlike other STING series, there doesn't seem to be any ginseng included.

It contains 43g of sugar, which is relatively modest for STING in Vietnam. However, if you calculate it per 500ml, that’s 65g, so it still contains a fair amount of sugar compared to other energy drinks.

Design of STING Energy Drink ESPRESSO

The design features coffee beans dynamically illustrated. Considering that the coffee flavor is more drinkable than overly sweet North American coffee energy drinks, this design is actually quite fitting.

The STING ESPRESSO commercials seem to emphasize the distinctive aroma as well.

The brown part at the bottom of the bottle has a matte finish, giving it a smooth texture. The gold section above is glossy, just like the regular labels.

The STING logo and other elements also have a glossy finish, which differs from the surface treatment used on other STING energy drinks.

In North America, coffee-flavored energy drinks tend to be more expensive than regular energy drinks, but STING ESPRESSO is priced the same as other STING drinks at 11,000 VND, which is about 55 yen.

Since 2018, coffee beverages have been introduced by many beverage companies like Coca-Cola in Vietnam and neighboring countries. With the release of STING ESPRESSO, the brand aims to expand its market share by attracting both existing STING and energy drink fans, as well as those who enjoy coffee drinks. However, I’m unsure if this flavor will be popular, so it will be interesting to see if it survives in the coming years.

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