Best Caffeine Jolt: Cafeina – Caffeinated Spring Water

Why drink caffeinated water?

Some folks like to use caffeinated water as an alternative energy drink before a workout, since it has little or no calories. 

Other folks tell us that caffeinated water helped them kick a soda or coffee habit. And caffeinated water doesn’t stain your teeth like other caffeinated drinks can.

How does the caffeine in caffeinated water stack up against other caffeinated drinks? Here is a chart with some rough estimates:

Of course, the amount of caffeine varies from brand to brand. For the biggest caffeine jolt, we would recommend Cafeina. It came in tops in our blind taste tests. And yes, this one has a large amount of caffeine: 100 mg per 16.9 ounce bottle. That is about the same as a cup of coffee (a Starbucks Frappuccino has a similar amount of caffeine in a 16 ounce cup).

Here’s more:

What We Liked

• No after taste.

• Tastes like water.

• Good replacement for soda or coffee.

• Bottles are 100% recycled plastic.

• Includes electrolytes.

What Needs Work

• A few testers said it had a slight bitter taste. We should note that some folks are more sensitive to caffeine than others. While the majority of tasters said this water was tasteless, a minority noted the potassium bicarbonate gave it a slight bitter flavor.

Best Plain Water Taste: Water Joe Caffeinated Water

If you just want plain caffeine water—no flavoring, no electrolytes—then we’d suggest this choice: Water Joe. 

This one scored at the top of our taste tests . . . it’s simple formula (water plus caffeine) won us over. Of course, you can add your own flavoring if you wish. 

What We Liked

• Tastes like water.

• Decent caffeine kick—about 70 mg of caffeine per 20 ounce bottle.

• Best served cold, in our opinion.

What Needs Work

• Not as much caffeine as some would prefer. This caffeine water has about 3.5 mg of caffeine per ounce. That is much less the Cafeina brand discussed above (at 6 mg per ounce).

Best Sparkling: Sparkling Ice +Caffeine Black Raspberry Sparkling Water

If you prefer sparkling to still water, this brand was the tops in our taste tests of caffeine water: Sparkling Ice. 

There are several flavors, but we thought the Black Raspberry tasted best. 

Yes, it is sweetened with sucralose, which has it fans and critics.

Here’s more:

What We Liked

• Decent caffeine kick at 70 mg per can (about 4.37 mg per ounce). 

• No sugar.

• Vitamins and antioxidants added.

• Includes green tea extract.

• No carbs.

• Kosher.

What Needs Work

• Sweetened by sucralose. Not everyone is a fan of this artificial sweetener, so just a heads up.

Best Flavored Water: Hint Kick with Caffeine Water

We tried several non-carbonated flavored caffeine waters and the winner for best taste is Hint Kick. 

It was hard to pick a specific flavor, as they were all impressive. So we recommend the variety pack.

What We Liked

• Wonderful aroma.

• No aftertaste.

• Loved the subtle flavors.

• No sugar, no carbs.

• Kosher.

• Recycled bottle.

• Variety pack includes several flavors.

What Needs Work

• Not everyone liked the taste, which had a slightly salty flavor note.

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do extensive research, evaluating products with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability. When we purchase a product for hands-on testing, we do so with our own money.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!