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🔌Monster Energy Rehab - Variety Pack Review - Tea + Lemonade, Wild Berry, & Peach Tea

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Monster Energy Rehab Tea Variety Pack - tea+lemonade, wild berry, and peach tea

First released in the early 2010s, the Rehab line of Monster Tea + Energy is a low calorie offering with added electrolytes, packaged without carbonation and complemented by the addition of fruit flavors. If you ask me, these are directly targeted at the hungover consumer needing a quick boost and some hydration to get their day on track. I remember these making a big splash on campus when they first rolled out and I may have walked off with a few cases of free samples back in the day. You can buy the flavors separately or as part of a variety pack featuring Wild Berry, Tea + Lemonade, and Peach Tea flavors. So how are they?

Flavor

All three flavors drink very similarly. Mouthfeel is medium thickness for a sweetened tea, not super syrupy but well blended and somewhat creamy. Flavors are well pronounced and the overall the effect is that the Rehab line is very easy to drink. This is also compounded by the absence of carbonation. If you don't enjoy the prickle of regular monsters/ultras, these may be right up your alley. I am reminded very much of Lipton's Brisk line of flavored teas, a collaboration with Pepsi, for both the drinking experience and flavor. If you enjoy Brisk, Monster Rehab teas have all it has to offer and more. 
  • Tea + Lemonade - A riff on the classic Arnold palmer, I feel like this may be the most refreshing flavor. It is not overly sweet and the lemon is not excessively sour either. There is a sort of orange juice-like acidity to the finish that lingers for a bit. 
  • Peach Tea - If there is one to throw you off, it'll be the Peach Tea. The peach flavor is true to form for other flavored teas and seems more candy-like to me.
  • Wild Berry Tea - A medley of strawberry, raspberry, and a sneaky apple. This is probably the least tea forward of the lineup but delivers well on the very berry premise. Most of the tea flavor you'll get will be in the aftertaste. It compares favorably to Peace Tea's razzleberry flavor. 

Ingredients

In a world of artificial flavors, I was excited to see that all three varieties feature between 3-5% actual juice (including mangosteen concentrate) and you'll find Goji and Acai berry puree nestled deep in the ingredient list. Coconut water contributes to the thickness of the mouthfeel. There is also milk thistle extract, an herb that may support liver health and has some antioxidant properties.  Black tea solids are a common industrial scale tea ingredient made from leaf tea to increase solubility and stability over time. They are high in soluble compounds (caffeine and polyphenols) but may lose some volatiles (e.g., linalool) during drying, reducing aroma complexity.

Peeping the nutrition label, you'll find that all three Teas weigh in at 25 calories and that means low calorie sweetener, in this case sucralose and acesulfame potassium supplementing a little bit of good old glucose. Caffeine content is stable at 160mg which lines up with the rest of the standard Monster lineup (most are 140-180mg with the exception of those marketed as high caffeine). This is around 1.5 cups of standard coffee and well below the 400mg daily value from the FDA. Interestingly the total sodium content differs substantially between the three flavors with Tea + Lemonade having more than double double that of Wild Berry. 

All three flavors pack the standard monster energy blend of Glucose (sugar - fast energy), Taurine (focus - balances neurotransmitter activity), Caffeine (general stimulant), L-Carnitine (antioxidant, aids in transport of fatty acids to mitochondria), and Inositol (less impactful - enhanced insulin sensitivity, anti-inflammatory/antioxidant). Calcium and Potassium content is low but present at 2% of daily value, dwarfed by the vitamin B complex which are in the 200-500% percent of daily value range. Ditto for phosphorus (role in ATP production) and magnesium (blood glucose levels) which are present but in low percentages of daily value. All-in-all, outside of the artificial sweeteners you'll find mostly natural ingredients and compounds that wouldn't be out of place in a multi-vitamin. DYOR, but I find these healthier than expected after digging into everything (my baseline assumption is that most canned beverages are unhealthy). 
 
Nutrition Facts for Monster Energy Rehab Tea+Lemonade, Wild Berry, and Peach Tea flavors

Ranking & Overall Review

The Monster Energy Rehab line of Teas executes well on its premise as an easy drinking and refreshing pick-me-up. Whereas the Ultra and standard Monster flavors feel more like taking a stim, Rehab feels more like a sports drink, fuller bodied and smooth. From a flavor perspective, I definitely have a preference stack, but all are pretty good. To compare them to a benchmark, I feel like they're slightly below Ultra Zero (white monster) but ahead of the original monster flavor, though obviously they are very different. 

My Ranking:
  1. Wild Berry
  2. Tea + Lemonade
  3. Peach
After a night of responsible drinking, I can attest that they are a pretty darn good alternative to a cup of coffee. On my recent trip to Bourbon country, a few gentlemen were smashing Rehabs before some of the earlier tours, so the market fit seems to be resonating. Bottom line, the Monster Rehab Tea variety pack delivers on the energy boost we've come to expect in a smooth and hydrating package. Great for anyone who enjoys flavored teas. 
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