The Best Energy Drink at QT on the Corner of Eagle Dr. and N. Carroll Blvd By: Catherine Mendoza, Michael Hanson, Trevor Pizzini
Introduction We will be testing three different criteria that factor into picking the best 16 oz. energy drink sold at QT. We have picked three of the more popular brands of energy drinks that anyone can find in any store or gas station. We chose to use QT on Eagle Dr., and N. Carroll Blvd, because it is the most accessible gas station to students at UNT. Monster Red Bull Rockstar In this study, we will be testing three different aspects of taste, price, and longevity. We will be conducting this study from April 17 th, 2013 to April 24 th, 2013. We are focusing on college students that want more energy throughout the day, need help studying, or that just like to have that extra jolt.
Methods for Evaluating Energy Drinks Determining Options We narrowed the choices of energy drinks down to the 16 oz. one available at QT. From there we chose Red Bull, Rockstar, and Monster. Determining Criteria The following criteria was selected as the most important when choosing a 16 oz. energy drink for the purpose of this study Taste Price Longevity We will rank the criteria on sliding scales that range from 1-3 Gathering Information Taste WE conducted a taste test involving five students in order to determine which energy drink tasted the best. During the taste test we asked the students to judge the drinks off of the initial flavor, sweetness, and aftertaste based on a sliding scale ranging from 1 to 3. Price We tested the price by comparing the cost of each 16 oz. drink. All three drinks were the same size and serving, which would make price an important factor in one s decision making process of which 16 oz. energy drink to buy at QT. Longevity (Length of Effects) For this test our group timed how long each energy drink kept them alert and focused. The three of us each drank a different one and set times on our phones. Whether we started to feel a little drowsy we stopped the timers. And ranked them on a sliding scale based on the number of hours. Results of Energy Drink Evaluations To determine the best option we tested the three energy drinks on price, taste, and longevity.
Taste To test the taste five students participated in the test they were asked to rate each drink off of initial flavor, sweetness, and aftertaste. Using these criteria the student ranked the drinks on a sliding scale of 1 to 3. After gathering all the scores Monster was the most preferred in the initial taste and sweetness. Then Red Bull was most preferred in aftertaste. Below are the sliding scales that were used in the test. 1 2 3 Nasty Fabulous 1 2 3 Bitter Sweet 1 2 3 Strong Weak Price Since each drink was a 16 oz. can, we determined the best option was to rank them from most expensive to least expensive on a sliding scale. The least expensive would be the best, while the most expensive would be the worst. In this study, it was concluded that the Rockstar was the least expensive and the Red Bull was the most expensive. Below is an example of our sliding scale that was used to compare the prices. 3.75-2.76 2.75-2.40 2.39-2.00 Most Expensive Least Expensive Longevity When testing the longevity of the energy drinks each member drank a full can of one of the three different drinks. We immediately felt the effects of the drinks, and started our timers. Michael who drank the Rockstar was the first one to crash; after that was Trevor who drank the Red Bull and
Catherine who drank the Monster was the last to crash. The time durations were then ranked on a sliding scale like the one pictured below. 1 hr. 2 hr. 3 hr. 4 hr. Shortest Longest Overall Results Taste The table below has the final ranking of all the energy drinks based on the taste test. We added up the values from the sliding scales to determine which 16 oz. energy drink from QT was the best. The highest possible score for each category is 15, and the lowest possible score is 5. Energy Drinks Initial Flavor Sweetness Aftertaste Monster 13 15 11 Red Bull 12 6 13 Rockstar 6 12 5 Price These are the actual prices for each energy drink from QT. Based on these prices we determined which one would be the best one to buy if you were to just get the least expensive energy drink. Energy Drinks Actual Price Monster $3.69 Red Bull $2.69 Rockstar $2.39
Longevity The table below shows the time that elapsed between finishing the drink and when we started to crash. Energy Drinks Monster Red Bull Rockstar Amount of Time till Crash (mins.) 115 mins. 90 mins. 70 mins. Recommendations Based on our results from the tests, we determined Monster to be the best overall choice when purchasing a 16 oz. energy drink from QT. It ranked in the middle when it came to pricing, but it dominated in the taste category as well as longevity. Conclusions Each energy drink had its strengths and weaknesses within specific testing criteria. For example, Monster was the overall strongest in the taste testing; it won initial taste and sweetness but lost to Red Bull in after taste. Rockstar was the winner when it came to price since it was the least expensive. When it came to taste it lost all three categories. Also, it was the worst when it came to longevity. Red Bull won the aftertaste test, but came in second with longevity and lost in pricing with it being the most expensive.
Appendix Monster Category Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4 Student 5 Total Initial Flavor 2 2 3 3 3 13 Sweetness 3 3 3 3 3 15 Aftertaste 1 3 3 2 2 11 Rockstar Category Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4 Student 5 Total Initial Flavor 1 1 1 2 1 6 Sweetness 2 2 3 3 2 12 Aftertaste 1 1 1 1 1 5 Red Bull Category Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4 Student 5 Total Initial Flavor 2 2 3 3 2 12 Sweetness 1 2 1 1 1 6 Aftertaste 3 2 3 2 3 13