REVIEW: MiO Energy Liquid Water Enhancer (Black Cherry and Green Thunder)

Marvo Reviews

MiO Energy Liquid Water Enhancer (Black Cherry and Green Thunder)

Update: Click here for our regular MiO Liquid Water Enhancer review

The new Black Cherry and Green Thunder MiO Energy Liquid Water Enhancers are kind of like NyQuil. They both have camel case names, both come in a cherry flavor and some weird green flavor, and they both make me grimace when I consume them straight out of their containers.

However, while NyQuil contains antihistamines and alcohol to make one sleepy, MiO Energy contains caffeine and B vitamins to make me hold back Mr. Sandman for a while.

Because of the caffeine they contain, the MiO Energy bottles have a warning that states they’re not for children and should not be added to alcoholic drinks. I also thought they didn’t have any warnings about squirting it straight into your mouth instead of a glass of water, but on the opposite side of the children and alcoholic beverages warning, the bottle says, “Always dilute concentrate.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t read that until after I squirted some Black Cherry and Green Thunder MiO Liquid Water Enhancer down my gullet, so my heart could’ve exploded. Thankfully, it didn’t.

When a 1/2 teaspoon of MiO Energy is squirted into eight ounces of water, the mixture provides 60 milligrams of sweet, sweet caffeine, which is 20 less milligrams than a Red Bull. MiO Energy is also cheaper than a Red Bull. For the price of one bottle of MiO ($4.99 regular price), which can make 18 servings, you can only buy two 10-ounce cans of Red Bull, or if you’re at a bar, half a can of Red Bull.

When mixed with water, both MiO Energy flavors have a slight medicinal flavor, which will probably be off-putting to many drinkers. At first, I didn’t care for the Black Cherry flavor because it kind of reminded me of watered down cough syrup. But it’s grown on me and now I think it tastes more like a cherry Tootsie Pop.

Green Thunder tastes like an energy drink. If you’re someone who likes to try all kinds of energy drinks, it tastes like one of those cheap energy drinks that tries to copy the flavor of Red Bull, except without any carbonation. For those of you who don’t like to try all kinds of energy drinks, it has a pleasant sweet and tart flavor. Although, as I mentioned earlier, it’s also slightly medicinal. I like both flavors, but if I had to pick a favorite, I’d choose Green Thunder, but not by much.

As for its ability as an energy booster, I think it did a pretty good job, providing me with a jolt of energy that lasted a few hours. To be honest, I was surprised by how well it worked since it has less caffeine than I’m used to consuming.

MiO Energy costs the same and comes in the same 1.62-ounce size as regular MiO. However, a bottle of MiO Energy makes only 18 servings, which is 25 percent fewer servings than a bottle of regular MiO.

But who cares about that, besides cost-conscious people? I certainly don’t because MiO Energy has sweet, sweet caffeine, and that’s all that matters to me and my tired ass.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 tsp – 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 10 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, 10% niacin, 10% vitamin B6, and 10% vitamin B12.)

Item: MiO Energy Liquid Water Enhancer (Black Cherry and Green Thunder)
Price: $3.50 (on sale)
Size: 1.62 ounces
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Black Cherry)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Green Thunder)
Pros: Contains sweet, sweet caffeine. Black Cherry tastes like a cherry Tootsie Pop. Green Thunder taste like an non-carbonated energy drink. Good energy booster. Easy to make.
Cons: Makes less serving than regular MiO. Slightly medicinal flavor might be off-putting. Contains a pitiful amount of B vitamins. Squirting MiO straight into my mouth.

76 thoughts to “REVIEW: MiO Energy Liquid Water Enhancer (Black Cherry and Green Thunder)”

    2. Well I just tied out the Mio Green and that shit is nasty as hell 🙁 Tastes medicinal like the review said.

    4. Try putting some mio with water in a bottle and leave it for two days and check out the smell tow days later. Foul! That’s what’s going into your body.

  3. Propylene Glycol is the “non-toxic” antifreeze, which originally was marketed as “pet safe.” It has since almost completely replaced the common and extremely poisonous Ethylene Glycol of yesteryear.

    Propylene Glycol is also used for fog machines (gives the fog that sticky sweet smell/taste) and for electronic cigarettes. In fact it sees many uses directly designed for ingestion or even injection into the body.

    To see any negative immediate effects of Propylene Glycol poisoning (itself not toxic, but one of it’s metabolites is), you’d have to drink some 3000 12 oz beverages sweetened with the stuff per day. Bottoms up!

      1. Nice! Just goes to show there are still people in this world who flunked basic chemistry. They work for the US EPA and don’t know the difference between carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2)! One is part of the carbon cycle and the circle of life (CO2) while the other comes out of combustion sources like cars and furnaces and can put you to sleep and kill you (CO).

  4. Wal-Mart has a Great Value version of the green stuff that is 24 servings and less than $3. I’ve been squirting it into some Sunkist Orange TEN and Canada Dry Ginger Ale TEN making seriously frivolous tasting concoctions.

  6. Great stuff! Works well and is a lot better then the 5 hour crap. I know I have been working midnight shift 30 years and it is a great substitute for coffee.

    1. I tried some black cherry, it gave water some taste atleast, I did however see some energy boost, where as I’ve tried 5hr energy which had no affect but overall if u want some flavored caffeine in ur water it’s good stuff

  7. I have been mixing the Green Thunder with club soda and making a poor man’s Monster energy drink. I think it’s definitely worth it, especially as $1 off coupons are easy to come by.

  8. I bought two of these after trying them at a sample booth at Walmart. Although, the sampler told me it has caffeine It says 0 mg caffeine on bottle and at Kraft foods website with about Mio it states that none of their products have caffeine So therefore, it is caffeine free beverage

      1. Then maybe it is on certain flavors cause I got orange tangerine and it say 0 mg caffeine and is not in the ingredients list

        1. The black MiO bottles are MiO energy and have caffeine, while the grey ones are regular MiO bottles without caffeine.

    3. The 2 Energy flavors have 60mg of Caffeine. There are several other flavors with NO Caffeine.

  9. So what happens if you don’t dilute it??? I’ve squirted it into my mouth a couple of times, before noticing today that it states on the container to always dilute. Will I survive??

    1. While you will survive directly consuming MiO, I fear your chances of surviving normal daily life are slim.

      1. Thank you, Bryan, but I already knew that. That is precisely why I drink the Mio alone, to live life to the fullest. As Tim Mcgraw and Kris Allen would agree, Live Like You’re Dying, right? But thanks anyway, I appreciate that you took time out of your day to reply, despite your failed attempt at humor.

        ~Jane D.

  10. A store was giving out free samples of pre-mixed Mio energy drinks. I tried the black cherry and it was okay, and with the $1 off coupon went to buy one. They were out of the cherry so I bought Green Thunder and the walmart brand cherry limeade.

    The stuff is awful when mixed just with water. Way too medicinal in taste, both varieties. Though I did finally find that mixing it into lemon-lime (green thunder) fruit punch (cherry limeade) gatorade and found it is a great way to mask the awful flavor AND give my gatorade a caffeine boost!

  11. MIO, i have tried lots of energy drinks, I am a Securiy Guard in New York city, MIO is he best, I see all on mio, so I think MIO is the best….mioooooooooooooo!!

  12. I can’t say enough how awful i think the green stuff tastes. The cherry flavor does have a bit of a cough syrup taste, and I didn’t like it at first. But like the poster said, it has grown on me and now I like it. I wish this came in more flavors though!

  13. The cherry is horrible i just tried it today i thin.k the green is a little better only a “ittle

  14. I am curious – are you all measuring it, or just squirting some into a glass? I was struck by the line in the review about the difference, from regular mio, in the number of servings per bottle. Who can tell – how many servings, or how much energy stuff, you are getting?? My concern with regular mio has been “how much is this costing me?” There is no way to tell what a “serving” is. Maybe with the energy version, the bad taste is an advantage – at least you won’t use too much!

  15. I just squirt some in and give it a taste and color sample to see if it looks right and tastes good but it would be nice to have some way to be more concistent, how do we know where not turning 18 servings into 13?

  16. Wow! I have been working at night for 15 years and haven’t called out for being too tired since I’ve tried MioEnergy drink. No more Red-Bull or 5 hour energy drinks for me. I Love this stuff. THANKS!

  17. Hi everyone, like an idiot I tried this stuff … It may taste good or challenge your taste buds but at the end of the day we have the ability to decide to ignor the facts and be stupid when we know better … Whether it’s ‘anti-freeze’, bad caffine or aspertane, all of which in any combination or quanity are harmful or worse … This is not SPAM, I’m just concerned … Be healthy …

  19. Note to Kraft
    I have tried your black cherry and green crap. The black cherry is good, need I say more about the green. What is the deal with the other flovors tast good but no kick.

  20. Sam’s club- three for $9.50. Bought the gray pack then realized the black pack is the energy stuff and the gray pack is the flavor only stuff.

  21. I love the regular Mio, especially the berry/pomegranate but the Mio Energy flavors give me bad heartburn … I mean BAD! Watchout!

  22. As a carpenter I fully enjoy the energy boost i get from mio energy, really I swear by it. Compared to the cost effectiveness of say, drinking coffee, MIO energy puts you way ahead of the game without the laxative effects coffee may have. That being said, I’m curious if any allergic reactions or side effects are possible (outside of the known reactions to caffeine) has anyone experienced any?

    1. I love carpenters, the smell, taste and feel of them

      let the coffee have laxative effect, id love to see u in the bathroom.

      thanks for your hard work stud

      1. I love people who love carpenters, the look of desire on their face as the carpenter goes about doing their business. I sit, watch, and wait with anticipation of the reactions of the carpenter lover. Thanks for the bathroom visual you stud.

        1. I love the people that love the people who love carpenters, look of angst ant pain of unrequited love in their face, as he imagines the imaginings of the man imagining the carpenters loose stools as he pays the price of a venti bold red eye from Starbucks. creating memories of a man he’ll never meet yet inappropriatly touch himself over…. thanks for the innapropriate comments on a product assessment. perv.

  23. Hey I tried mio energy for the first time last week. All I can say is DO NOT DRINK TOO MUCH OF THIS STUFF. I had a very serious reaction to the point where my body went numb and I couldn’t talk and struggled with breathing. I know it’s my own fault for drinking way to much of it, and I’m sure it’s fine in lesser amounts, but you CANNOT drink too much of this

    1. Any idea how long it lasted. I have perhaps… 10 servings of it. In like, a minutes. So. Am I screwed? Or is this gonna wear off hopefully?

  24. Agree with H, I took two servings in 16oz of water and 5 hours later I feel like I’m going to have a panic attack.

  25. Although I vowed never to consume anything purchased at a dollar store, I might go ahead and buy some mio there. Looks like standard packaging. Selling now at $0.99 store. One mio energy = $1.08 in Texas.

  26. I am 1/4 of the way through my first bottle, after reading the reviews I may have put too much but I squirted to taste (5 squirts) otherwise it tastes like water in a water bottle after the water bottle was used for juice. I guess I will see what happens.

  27. I love bith these,mostly the cherry. I dont use water though, they are both much much better with club soda or a sparkling water. the carbonation is much needed to make it perfect.

  28. I’ve always been a redbull guy, Monster, Rockstar and then I found 5 hr energy. I loved it, had everything I wanted… Boosted my energy, made me a bit more focused, but then I saw my wallet grow thinner and thinner. Each of those little bottles is $2.50. Then I saw MIO on sale for 1.50 at Publix (FL) and I said, why not? I tried the black cherry and I loved it and then the citrus-green and it wasn’t that bad. It was very cost effective, gave me the same boost at 5 hr energy and 1/3 of the cost. Completely sold!!! However, I’m with Danielle, it tastes much better with club soda, but actually its the best with Sprite.. Can’t go wrong!!!

  29. I tried the green mio. It worked well. As was stated, the taste is a bit medicinal, though not unpleasant. I needed another dose but was out of liquids to mix it with so direct in the mouth went a squirt. Ouch! It burned! Way stronger flavor than I expected, but I survived. My big beef is the sweetener. Use stevia, not acesulfame potassium to sweeten it. I’d be completely sold then.
    I do really like the price compared to other energy enhancers.

  30. This stuff made my heart poung really fast and made me hiccup after drinking a lot my thought about mio energy is to follow the instructions

  31. I love the moi energy! Unfortunatly, I just realized that it has artifitial sweetners. 🙁 (sucralose and acesuflame potassium) This stuf is so bad for you! It has been known to cause tumors and cancer. So, while I love the effects and the taste of moi, I will no longer be buying them.

  32. I agree with the first post above…it gives me heartburn…and I mean horrible heartburn! It can start within minutes. I wonder what is causing it…no matter which flavor I use…and this is using only two squirts.

    1. It happens to me as well and I’m fairly certain the reason is that most of these Mio flavors contain citric acid, and citric acid causes heartburn for some people.

  33. your design and label people Need to put A Warning of some kind stating to be careful on how much you digest. Without ever seeing your product before and witnessing the other 5 hour energy drink that is sold at the counters of stores and the whole bottle is consumed, I thought that that was the way to drink it ,call me stupid or whatever adjective you desire,fact is I did it,I got severely sick , uncontrollable sweating, vomiting and severe shaking this lasted all day. People need to be educated on how to serve this, So put it on the label in bigger letters.

    1. Hello: We have no affiliation with MiO or Kraft. We’re just a site that reviews stuff. Perhaps you should visit the Kraft site and make you voice heard there.

    2. People like you are the reason shit has so much regulation.. Read the directions it takes 5 seconds. Are you illiterate? LOL I can’t believe someone would drink the whole bottle… Why do you need a bigger label, so you won’t read the label even more?

  34. I just tried it for the first time. I always read directions before putting something in my body! I put Black cherry in lemonade! MMMMMMMM!

  37. I like to add the black cherry Mio energy to any diet no name brand cheap cola / soda and it makes a nice, low calorie, cheap energy drink!>>> Pace yourself now this will have double the caffeine!

    Also: read my great recipe idea and my personal warning because of the caffeine involved you need to watch the serving size for the recipe I am about to give you below.

    When making sugar free Jello giglers add black cherry Mio energy to it and now you have energy jello shots?
    I loved it! Again >>> just don’t let the kids get a hold of it.

  38. My son end up in ER after taking this. His heat rate was 200 and blood sugar of 400.

    1. That is really scary, Jean!

      I have not tried Mio Energy, but I was drinking regular Mio and started having allergic reactions. I have never had an allergic reaction to anything before. I will never buy Mio again.

    2. I can believe the heart rate number… but I’m diabetic, and drink it strong( a nine second count constant stream into 16 ounces of water). I drink 3 off these a day. It does NOT spike my blood sugar. I think your guy had some liqueur in the mix and also may need to get that HemoA1C checked ASAP ! Good luck !

  40. I can honestly say do not drink these often. Your body will build up a tolerance to it. Or maybe that is just me. But lately, I’d be seriously tired and mentally exhausted and I’d reach for this drink to spike a soda with(they are surprisingly good.) and maybe for ten to fifteen minutes it kept my eyes open to study but after that I still am exhausted. I may have a seriously strong heart that tolerates this stuff because I’d pour almost half the bottle into a can of coke and drink it just fine. I am just really tired regardless of what this does. If you need something short term to like maybe help the last leg of a drive home or to finish that report late night then take one of these. But I would not rely on it too much.

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