What Does Red Bull Taste Like?

When it comes to energy drinks, it can be hard to try everything. But if you want to start with Red Bull, you’re in the right place.

How does Red Bull taste? Original Red Bull is sour and sweet at the same time. The caffeine adds a subtle bitter note to the drink that almost makes it taste like a medicinal carbonated beverage. You can also get fruit-flavored and diet energy drinks from Red Bull!

Explore Red Bull, its original flavor, how it works, and what other Red Bull flavors there are!

What Is Red Bull?

Since it was launched in 1987, Red Bull has sold over 100 billion cans worldwide, with 9.8 billion sold in 2021 alone.

The drink’s formula was based on another similar energy drink popular in Thailand, especially among truck drivers.

Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya (owner of Thailand’s energy drink brand) took Red Bull international.

In an attempt to capture the still-growing energy drinks market in North America, these two savvy businessmen joined forces.

The Red Bull in Thailand launched with a higher price tag and an association with sports.

Founders wanted to redefine energy drinks and target a wider audience, including young professionals, students, fitness enthusiasts, and anyone looking for a quick boost of energy.

Afterwards, the brand started to associate itself more with extreme sports, and started a new marketing campaign that cemented its status as an iconic energy drink brand.

Red Bull’s campaign slogan “Red Bull Gives You Wings” is still one of the most memorable and popular slogans.

How Does Red Bull Work?

Contains caffeine, a natural stimulant that boosts focus, improves cognition, and increases alertness.

The beverage also contains other organic compounds that help amp up the caffeine’s effects. This is because most people already have a tolerance for caffeine.

Your body gets used to caffeine more and more as you consume it. That’s why a regular energy drink drinker might not get the same effects as someone who just started.

To beat this tolerance, energy drink brands, such as Red Bull, add taurine and B vitamins to increase caffeine’s absorption, thereby increasing its intensity and reducing the time it takes for the effects to kick in.

Red Bull also contains a lot of sugar!

Sugar itself isn’t a sustainable source of energy since the body can quickly process it, giving a short-term boost and then crashing. However, adding caffeine and other additives helps prolong the effects.

Red Bull also offers sugar-free options and other flavored beverages that are based on the same formula.

How Much Caffeine Is In Red Bull?

Depending on how much you drink, Red Bull has different caffeine levels.

Here’s a quick chart showing the caffeine content of various serving sizes:

Caffeine8.4 Fl oz (258g) 77 mg12 Fl oz (369g) 111 mg16 Fl oz (492g) 148 mg

Although caffeine content varies by country, the averages shown in the chart above are what you can expect in each corresponding can of Red Bull.

The caffeine content maxes out at about 150 milligrams, even though other caffeinated drinks can have more than 250 milligrams.

The reason for this is regulation: most health agencies limit the amount of caffeine energy drinks can contain because you’re more likely to drink an energy drink over a cup of coffee.

Before we get into the many flavors the brand offers, let’s talk about the original.

What Does Original Red Bull Taste Like?

People crudely compare Red Bull’s original flavor to cough syrup because it’s slightly sour, yet sweet.

The medicinal flavor is by design since energy drinks were once associated with herbal drinks that worked like elixirs.

People weren’t used to fruity or sweet flavors, which were usually associated with colas or other soft drinks.

In order to make its original beverage both pleasant and refreshing, Red Bull carefully formulated it to taste different from regular colas or carbonated sugar drinks.

In this way, people got psychologically linked to its flavor as something that boosts energy.

Around the time other flavors of energy drinks hit the market, the brand started noticing that some customers didn’t like the original flavor of the drink.

Though the sour and sweet flavor initially drew a lot of people, the brand realized it needed to adapt to different markets if it wanted to expand.

So Red Bull started diversifying its product line by introducing new variants and flavors.

Red Bull Editions

The company started offering new flavors in 2013, starting with cranberry, lime, and blueberry.

With the new editions, the company was able to attract new segments of customers, especially young ones.

With these new flavors, Red Bull increased its market share once again, attracting users who wanted more fruity flavors.

In 2013, the brand released three new flavors and kept bringing new flavors to the market.

There are seven flavor editions of Red Bull today:

Watermelon Red Bull Red Edition
Tropical Flavor Red Bull Yellow Edition
Blueberry Red Bull Blue Edition
Dragon Fruit Red Bull Green Edition
Peach-nectarine Red Bull Peach Edition
Coconut Berry Flavor – Red Bull Coconut Edition
Strawberry Apricot Red Bull Summer Edition

In addition to its original beverage, Red Bull introduced two new ones:

Sugar-free Red Bull
Zero Red Bull

Red Edition – Watermelon Flavor

Watermelon’s natural sweetness and flavor notes are present in the red edition.

This drink is artificially flavored, but offers a high-quality and authentic flavor of watermelon, which was marketed to taste like you’re drinking real watermelon juice.

There’s all the same energy-boosting ingredients and proportions as a regular can of Red Bull, so you get the same effects but with a tasty kick!

Yellow Edition – Tropical Flavor

There’s nothing better than a tropical drink to beat the heat and to revitalize your body than the yellow edition.

Sugar, taurine, caffeine, and B vitamins are in the yellow edition.

Only drawback to Red Bull’s new flavors is that they’re best served chilled. They lack oomph at room temperature.

Blue Edition – Blueberry Flavor

Most brands have blueberry as a classic flavor.

By adding more intensity to this flavor, Red Bull wanted to give it a new twist!

The blue edition is especially tasty.

Get the most out of your workouts or daily activities with this pre- or post-workout beverage.

Green Edition – Dragon Fruit Flavor

Many people describe dragon fruit’s flavor as a cross between kiwi and pear.

The exotic flavor adds sweet and fresh notes to the beverage, making it a great choice for people who want a familiar but new drink.

Red Bull does a great job providing a high-quality flavor instead of an artificial or industrial one!

Peach Edition – Peach-Nectarine Flavor

There’s only one thing that sets peaches and nectarines apart genetically: peaches tend to have fuzzy outsides, while nectarines are smooth.

You can expect the peach edition to be delicious and refreshing with these two fruits.

It’s perfect for people who want energy-boosting, electrolyte-boosting drinks to drink after long runs or strenuous activities.

Coconut Edition – Coconut Berry Flavor

This coconut edition is for people who don’t like flavors that are too strong.

This can’s color profile is awesome, and the coconut and berries combination is a genius idea.

This beverage is specially formulated for people who want a new and bold taste. It has hints of berry and coconut.

Coconut water has important nutrients that help your body recover, so this drink will do the same!

Summer Edition – Strawberry Apricot Flavor

Featuring an attractive orange color, this summer edition combines fresh strawberries and ripe apricots.

You’ll get a balanced and delicious beverage that’s packed with sweet fruity flavors that you’ll love!

We think everyone will like this classic flavor.

Another great thing about Red Bull is that you can mix it with other ingredients to make a whole new drink!

Red Bull Sugar-Free

To appeal to diet-conscious customers and help existing customers cut back on sugar, Red Bull sugar-free was created.

A regular can of Red Bull has anywhere from 117 to 220 calories, so the sugar-free version has sugar alternatives like acesulfame K, aspartame or sucralose.

Artificial sweeteners allowed Red Bull to keep its great original flavor without adding calories.

This variation came out at a time when sugar-free drinks were popular, so it was a big hit.

In today’s world, sugar-free energy drinks are in high demand and are an important purchase decision.

Red Bull Zero

The goal of Red Bull Zero is to provide all the benefits and flavors of the original Red Bull without the calories.

Remember how the sugar-free version has 10 calories? Well, Red Bull Zero has none!

It originally sold the drink as Total Zero, but in 2018, it released the Red Bull Zero variant.

It tasted like the original Red Bull Zero and had 0 calories, so it was a great improvement.

Using artificial sweeteners and alternate flavoring agents, Red Bull was able to achieve this feat.

With this and the sugar-free variant, Red Bull caters to more customers and helps make the brand more competitive!

Red Bull Recipes

In addition to cocktails, Red Bull can also be found in non-alcoholic drinks.

Red Bull’s sour and sweet flavor makes it great for lemonade-based beverages and fruity drinks.

You can also make delicious and seasonal drinks with the Red Bull Editions. With the Strawberry Apricot Summer Edition, you can make a “Sunset Float” with orange juice, condensed milk, and a can of Red Bull Summer Edition.

Make your own Red Bull-based drinks at home with any flavor to introduce people to the brand!