At Highlands High School, students can be seen with energy drinks in hand on a daily basis. The two most popular brands at Highlands are Alani and Celsius. Both drinks have a wide variety of flavors available and are well liked by students for their sweet boost of energy.
To compare the brands and flavors, four students taste-tested two different flavors in both Alani and Celsius. Katherine Heilman (9) and Caroline Eagen (10) tried the orange flavor of both brands, while Emma Gillman (12) and Eli Hills (11) tried the peach flavor.
Before the students tried and compared the brands, they expressed their opinions on which one they thought was better.
“I like Celsius more because I think Alani tastes too artificial,” Heilman said.
Alani’s flavoring is much sweeter than Celsius, which brings it even more popularity while also pushing other consumers away who prefer more natural-tasting drinks. But by using more artificial flavoring, Alani can make an even wider variety of flavors.
“I like Hawaiian shaved ice because I like the coconut in it,” Eagen said.
Celsius does not have a Hawaiian shaved ice flavor; instead, they have a regular coconut. Because Celsius has no artificial flavoring, it has a strange aftertaste, which leads people to stray away from the brand..
Heilman previously said she preferred Celsius, but when asked which brand was better after the taste test, her opinions were contradictory.
“I like number one [Alani] better,” Heilman said.
This happened again with Eagen. When asked, she favored Alani, but her opinions differed in the experiment.
“I like number two [Celsius] more,” Eagen said.
During the second trial of taste-testing, the students’ opinions were the same. For this trial, the flavor used is popular among both Celcius and Alani; the infamous peach flavor.
“I like Alani more,” Gillman said.
Later, Gillman accurately picked the correct brand and identified it due to the flavoring.
“I like the first one [Alani] better because it’s more lemony,” Gillman said.
Throughout the taste testing, it became clear that the girls were more likely to consume energy drinks. The girls in the experiment were more familiar with the brands and flavor.
“I don’t drink energy drinks very often,” Hills said.
The evidence from the taste test shows that the majority of Highlands students prefer Alani energy drinks over Celsius. Despite this difference among preferences, every student was able to accurately guess which brand was which.
