Every Zoa Energy Drink Flavor, Ranked

Alright, I'll be honest: I'm not typically an energy drink gal. I drink two cups of coffee in the morning, sometimes add on a third depending on how the day's going, and then coast on that until I go to bed. But when I heard that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson had a hand in creating a line of sugar-free energy drinks, my curiosity was piqued. The ZOA brand makes some of the healthiest energy drinks on the market — maybe I should indulge in one before a workout. 

I tried all 10 of the brand's energy drink flavors for this taste test, and I was pretty impressed by them all — I didn't dislike any of the flavors. Thus, the following ranking is based on both personal flavor preference and how impressed I was by each concoction. Surprisingly, I saw some similarities between how I ranked the following flavors and my previous ranking of Prime drink flavors. My full thoughts are below, but I'll start by saying this: If a certain flavor sounds appealing to you or is typically your favorite, you likely won't be disappointed. 

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

I think this may be a personal hot take, but I've never been a huge fan of tropical punch flavors. I usually find them to be a confusing medley of indistinguishable fruit flavors; I didn't even like the juice packs as a kid. All of this is to say that I wasn't surprised to rank ZOA's Tropical Punch flavor at the bottom of the list, but it's not only personal preference that put it there.

While the drink definitely embodies the typical tropical punch flavor profile, I also found it to be one of the more subtle-tasting drinks in this lineup, which took me a bit by surprise. Because a blend of flavors goes into making the tropical punch profile, I figured that would automatically make this drink taste a little stronger. Still, I appreciated that the drink wasn't overly sweet, and I don't think tropical punch fans would be disappointed by it. I may have been able to rank this a place or two higher if its flavor were stronger. 

Despite not outright disliking ZOA's Wild Orange energy drink, it was among my least favorites of the bunch for a couple of reasons: First, I'm just really not big on orange flavors. I'll drink mimosas made with orange juice all day long, but that's where my affinity for the flavor ends. That said, I'd finish a can of Wild Orange if it were handed to me, but it wouldn't be the one I'd grab off a shelf. 

Off the bat, this flavor reminded me of orange Emergen-C. Again, I won't call that a bad thing — orange Emergen-C and white peach Liquid IV combined are my miracle elixir when I'm feeling under the weather. But I'm not sure I want the association there when I'm feeling healthy. I liked that this drink wasn't too sweet, and its orange flavor was quite strong, even if a bit one-note. If you usually gravitate toward orange drinks, give this one a try; otherwise, go with one of the following options.

Lemon lime is another flavor I don't go for on the regular, as I often find it to be too Sprite-adjacent without actually being Sprite, so I don't know where to categorize it. That said, ZOA's Lemon-Lime energy drink was one of the better lemon-lime flavored drinks I've tried (that's not part of Sprite's lineup, that is). The main reason I placed this higher than Wild Orange is that I prefer lemon and lime flavors to orange.

The drink is kind of giving Sprite, but again, it doesn't get all the way there. It's also not as punchy as some of the following flavors, but I didn't dock too many points for that — after all, lemon and lime don't tend to produce the strongest profiles, anyway. I could have done with some more tartness from this selection, but it wasn't at all too sweet. Many of the following are just stronger, more interesting, and more aligned with my palate's preferences.

Grape flavors have grown on me in recent years. I used to eschew anything grape, not necessarily because I disliked it, but because I felt it was often regarded as the "lesser" flavor compared to strawberry, cherry, and lemon (especially in the candy world). But I changed my tune a little upon trying and reviewing a ton of popular grape soda brands. I still won't call grape my favorite profile in the world, but I'm more endeared to it now than I once was.

That all certainly plays a role in the seventh-place ranking of ZOA's Frosted Grape flavor. Sure, it's still a little one-note, but I can at least say that it's not shy about being "grape" — it's quite loud and proud about its identity, in fact. Had this been part of my grape soda ranking, it likely would have come in near the top. It's bright and fruity with a slight tang to it, and if I were more fond of grape in general, it could have found a higher spot here. Grape fans will probably be pleased with this one. 

ZOA's Cherry Limeade flavor was quite the surprise. I'm not a fan of cherry flavors — I generally find them to be pretty medicinal, especially in beverages, but that wasn't at all the case here. Maybe lime counteracted the flavor's typical astringency? I'm not sure, but in any case, I'd drink this can from ZOA again. 

The primary note in this energy drink is definitely cherry, but it doesn't taste solely of cherry. I don't know that I would have identified lime as the other profile at play, though. It works mostly as a background actor, bringing some bright juiciness and a bit of zest to the cherry. The resulting drink is punchy, fruit-forward, and has a bit more depth to it than some of the previous flavors. And again, because it didn't have any of the unpleasant characteristics I usually find in cherry beverages, it was easy to rank it a little higher on this list. Unfortunately, it still couldn't beat out the following. 

I'm a sucker for anything mango-flavored. A mango mimosa made the top three in my ranking of pre-made mimosas, and if mango juice is ever a cocktail option when I'm dining out, you can bet your bottom dollar I'm having it. So, I was naturally predisposed toward ZOA's Mango Splash flavor, and I did indeed quite like it. In fact, I was a little surprised it only made the fifth spot in this ranking.

I'll issue a little disclaimer: As I was tasting these, Mango Splash was the first flavor I tried in which I could tell that an artificial sweetener was used. I'm used to the flavor, so I didn't mind it one bit, but that feels important to mention, since I know some are particularly averse to the taste of artificial sweeteners. The mango doesn't taste at all artificial, but I did wish it came through a little stronger, which is the biggest reason I couldn't give this can a higher spot here. Still, as someone who loves mango and prefers artificial sweetener to real sugar, I'd absolutely have this again. 

If there's any fruit flavor I like more than mango, it would probably be apple. Now, I typically gravitate toward red apples, which evoke the essence of fall, but I'll never deny that there's a time and place for green apple. That time and place, it would seem, is whenever and wherever you run across ZOA's Green Apple energy drink. This is a great, refreshing flavor that deserves some recognition. 

In terms of its exact profile, the can tastes akin to a liquified green apple candy, though I still wouldn't call it cloying in the slightest. It's bright, sweet, fruity, and has that comforting candied quality that you'd find in a green apple Jolly Rancher. It doesn't taste autumnal, which was a bit of a bummer, but definitely not a deal-breaker on my part — I only say that so nobody reading this picks up the flavor and expects to be reminded of fall. If you're okay with that, give green apple a try. 

Strawberry flavors can be very hit or miss for me. The misses are too bland, too artificial, or can't really be identified as strawberry. The hits are always exciting to come across — they're loud, fruity, and unmistakably taste of the berry, which is one of my favorite fruits to snack on. Fortunately, ZOA's Strawberry Watermelon fell in the "hit" category and was a very easy contender for lucky spot number three on my list. 

Now, I will say that I didn't get a ton of watermelon from this can. I wasn't upset about it, but if you go into this expecting to be hit over the head with watermelon notes, you'll likely be disappointed. Rather, I felt that the watermelon just lifted the strawberry a little, helping it veer away from syrupy territory. The drink is sweet without being cloying, and it's perfectly bright and fruity, a worthy encapsulation of summer vibes with a potent strawberry flavor. I loved this can, but at the end of the day, it couldn't beat my top two choices. 

White peach is another flavor I'm pretty endeared to. I make white peach simple syrup for cocktails in the summer, and I even use a white peach-scented body wash. I was nervous to try ZOA's White Peach energy drink; what if it didn't measure up to my lofty expectations for the flavor? Fortunately, that was far from being the case, and I thought this would take the top spot in this ranking until I tried the following. 

I positively adored this flavor. It's quite good even when placed up against other white peach things I've tried, and makes for an impressive offering in its flavor genre. The can is bright, sweet, and you get the peach flavor in droves — I could have easily identified it with my eyes closed. Moreover, peach lingered for a long time after swallowing the drink, the proverbial gift that kept on giving. You can bet I'll be enjoying this again, even if it sets me bouncing off the walls. And as for the following flavor, well, I don't know how I'm going to stay away from that one. 

The creme de la creme of ZOA's energy drink flavors, in my humble (but very correct) opinion, is Pineapple Coconut. It goes without saying that if you don't like pineapple or coconut, this probably isn't up your alley. But if you, like me, can't get enough of the tropical duo, you'll be far from disappointed by this can. 

Honestly, when I sipped it, my first inkling was to turn it into a cocktail (which you should absolutely not do with energy drinks). It just had all those tropical vibes — the pineapple was very slightly sour, while the coconut grounded it and brought some depth to the drink. I've had pineapple-coconut-flavored things before, but I rarely get each flavor in equal measure. That wasn't the case here. Both flavors sat in a striking balance, each complementing the other beautifully without either taking the forefront. In short, in case you couldn't tell, I loved this. Heck, it tastes like a cocktail on its own — if you ever need a pre-gym mocktail, this should be your go-to. 

On the whole, I was pretty impressed with ZOA's lineup, and ranking its 10 flavors wasn't the easiest task in the world. With this piece more than with other taste tests, my ranking was based on personal preference. I found the vast majority of ZOA's flavors to be very true to what they claimed to be, and though some suffered from subtlety (like Tropical Punch), I don't think any will be particularly disappointing to consumers. Thus, my top spots were comprised of choices whose flavors I generally gravitate toward, as ZOA offered excellent examples of each. And because I was impressed with the balance of pineapple and coconut flavors in that can, it couldn't possibly get any lower than first place.