Caffeinated Water
If you need a little boost, but coffee and soda leave you cold, then caffeinated water may be the answer. You can drink it straight, make ice cubes out of it, make your orange juice with it, or even (shudder) use it to brew coffee. Since the appearance of Water Joe in 1995, several different brands of the stuff have cropped up, with varying levels of both caffeine and drinkability. Voltage ratings are given in milligrams of caffeine per container. All containers are half-liter (16.9 fl. oz.) sized unless otherwise indicated.
V2 Velocity from the Saratoga Beverage Group.
Voltage: ???
This is the best-tasting brand I've tried yet. Unfortunately, they've discontinued it due to lack of demand.
Water Joe from Water Concepts
Voltage: 60
The granddaddy of them all. The voltage factor here is the one they report on their own website, but elsewhere on the Internet, reports range from as low as 55 to as high as 80.
Krank 2 O from the Interstellar Beverage Company
Voltage: 100
No other information yet.
High Water from XTZ Industries
Voltage: ???
XTZ also sells other caffeine-loaded products, including chocolate truffles, tea, and flavored syrups.
Java Water from River City Beverages
Voltage: 125
No other information yet. Their site appears to have gone down.
Java Johnny from Thunderhead Beverages
Voltage: ???
Comes in a 20-oz. bottle. Also available in Orange, Lemon, and Kiwi Strawberry flavors. Pleasant, but not quite as tasty as V2. The fruit flavors are very mild, much subtler than most flavored waters on the market. That's probably to be expected, since the fruit-flavored varieties of Java Johnny are still 0 calories. The Java Johnny website appears to be down.
Lava Java from Paradise Water
Voltage: ???
Water from Hawaii, bottled in Germany. Go figure. The Lava Java website appears to be down.
Nitro Water from Texas Rocket Beverages
Voltage: 56
No other information yet.
Edge 2 0 from Beverage Systems, Inc.
Voltage: ???
Quality varies. Most of the bottles I've had have tasted fine, but a couple have tasted nasty and plasticky. Note that, according to the listed ingredients, this product contains not just water, but "crystal clear" water. Does that mean it came out of a crystal clear tap? This product has been discontinued, and the manufacturer is apparently out of business.