By now, you all know I have an odd fascination with energy drinks. Part of the reason is that my over-stressed, overworked and underslept body body need them -- I think I've had so much coffee in my life already that I've developed a tolerance to the effects of the caffeine in it. Part of the reason is that...nothing. I don't know why else I would want to drink a beverage that almost always tastes like over-sweetened Capri Sun with the bitter chemical aftertaste of say, nail polish remover.

Okay, so that's a little harsh.

It doesn't really taste like Capri Sun.

Now there is a new class of drinks that takes energy to the next level. These drinks claim not to be zero calories, but negative calories, because the chemical formulation actually causes you to, well, burn calories. Granted, energy drinks do the same, since technically, with all that increased "energy," you will run around like a chicken with her head cut off. If you recall, we posted about Enviga last year, which has the same marketing spiel - drink a can of Enviga, you potato del couch, and you will lose weight just sitting there eating Flamin' Hot Cheetos dipped in Blue Cheese Dressing! (I did not try this, but don't think I wouldn't). I tried Enviga. I didn't lose weight.

Celsius is a new energy drink in this category. I tried it. It was...interesting.

It took two years of scientific research and taste trials that led to the development of the drink. Based on "double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical research," they have proven that Celsius raises metabolism on average by 12% and significantly increases calorie-burning and energy for up to for three hours. Those are some pretty powerful, pretty promising statements.

Celsius is unique in that it is designed to be as natural as possible. Presented in a glass bottle, Celsius already sets itself apart from the energy drink category, which comes mostly in cans. There is one "flavor" that comes canned, so if you like the "sssshhh" sound of popping open a can, you won't be left out of luck. Based on the "flaming" label, I was definitely expecting to "burn" some calories!

There is a multitude of flavors, ranging from lemon-lime to cola, to ginger ale. What's nice is that you might actually believe that there is some residual "juice" from lemons, limes, or ginger because the drink is colored to match. One of Celsius' value propositions is that the beverage is as natural as a chemically-induced calorie-burner can get. There are no chemical preservatives, and the ingredients that make up the "burn" are EGCG from green tea, ginger, chromium and vitamin B.

I tried every flavor, and found the ginger ale to be the least offensive. That may have to do with the fact that I don't drink ginger ale often, so I don't have a discriminating palate for it. The cola flavor was dark brown like any other cola, but it had a much sweeter, much fruitier flavor. The one I liked the least was Wild Berry, which was partly due to the gaudy hot pink color of the drink in the glass (I poured all of the drinks in a glass, over ice to taste). As far as taste is concerned, there is no way I could say that I thought Celsius tastes good, but it was definitely better than Enviga, or any other energy drink I've tried (except Tab Energy) thus far.

With respect to energy, and calorie burning effects, I can't expertly comment other than to say that I drank them mid-week and didn't sleep...'til the following Tuesday! (Maybe drinking six different flavors in one sitting was a bad idea). Really though, I was pretty amazed at how energized I felt after drinking them, but without the jitters or the feeling of being too buzzed that you can't focus. Then again, it doesn't claim to give you energy, it claims to make you skinny, or at least keep you from getting fat.

I don't feel any skinnier.