All joking aside, Bawls is actually a refreshing beverage that lets you say goodbye to your SpongeBob sleeping blanket for a while. They have three different soda varieties, and they are releasing a new product in February: Bawls Guaranna Exxtra with 50% more caffeine.
The current lineup of drinks includes the original Bawls Guaranna, Bawls Guarannexx (sugar free), and Cherry Bawls. The classic Bawls soda comes in a cobalt-blue bottle and holds 10 ounces. Sugar-free Bawls is also 10 ounces but has a clear glass bottle. Cherry Bawls comes in a tall 16-ounce can (and regular Bawls is also available in a blue 16-ounce can). Here’s the rundown of the lineup:
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Bawls Guarana Product Comparison
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What is guarana?
Other Names: Paullinia cupana, Brazilian cocoa
Guarana (pronounced gwa-ra-NAH) is a creeping shrub native to Venezuela and northern Brazil in the Amazon rain forest. The fruit are small, bright-red, and contains black seeds.
Guarana seeds are rich in caffeine and contain up to 4-8% caffeine, more than coffee beans, which contain approximately 1–2.5% caffeine. The seeds are also rich in tannins and xanthine alkaloids theophylline and theobromine.Guarana is a South American shrub, whose berries contain guaranine, and is a popular ingredient in energy drinks outside the US, and is commonly used in “health tonics” in Brazil and hispanic countries, and Bawls is the first (and currently only) US company to use it in a commercial beverage.
Bawls claims that the guarana-based caffeine is natural, so it gives you a smooth, crash-free caffeine rush, and is also 3 times stronger than traditional caffeine. It is true that one guarana seed has more caffeine than 1 coffee bean, but the amount in the bottle is the same. The caffeine in guarana is actually called guaranine, and is so chemically similar to caffeine that even chemists say there isn’t a difference. Guarine is motabilized in the body just like caffeine (since it is essentially the same chemical), so it cannot be scientifically verified that it has any benefits above caffeine. There is no such thing as a “more natural” form of caffeine: caffeine is caffeine.
One thing cannot be disputed, however: guarana provides a much better taste than caffeine, which is where the soda’s light citrusy taste comes from.
