Alright, so first thing’s first, there has already been a recent change to the product. At the time of purchase, today’s review was going to be about “Mamba Energy Focus,” but apparently it’s now known as “Maw.” I’m sure there was some wholly uninteresting reason behind this change, so for this review just forgive the outdated pictures as the product and main idea seem unchanged. It’s a real buyer’s market for energy supplements right now, so I’m trying out a few different companies to see if they can compete with the well-established brands that dominate the store shelves. In the case of Maw, their product is available in powder form, and recommended for use with a shaker. Most of the “game fuel” style energy drinks come in this form, in what I can only assume is a cheaper alternative to actual beverage production. This is uncharted territory for me, but will this work over the tried and true aluminum can? There’s only one way to find out…

Wow, this stuff is really….blue. The dye or whatever that’s used here won’t be kind to fabrics, and it looks like it would stain anything in its path, so scoop and shake with caution. According to the instructions you can select your level of energy based on your boost need, “alive, Intense, or EXTREME” <eye roll>. I already felt alive this morning so I added an extra scoop to make things more intense. Mixing it up was nice and easy, but HOLY shit this stuff is sweet. I’m a big fan of generic blue flavoring sugar substitute number #12 so it wasn’t a deal breaker, but my god this needed some more dilution. Shaking with ice was the winning idea here, and if I’m in the mood for a sweet morning boost instead of coffee, there’s far worse options out there. The energy was decent without the caffeine jitter shakes, so I figured this was case closed. As it turns out, my review needed to continue to the…uhh, bathroom as well. I’m not one for scatological observations or humor, but I can’t let this go. When you use the restroom, things are going to be….BLUE (da ba dee da ba daa). I’ve heard from the company that they’ve eased off on the dye in more recent batches, and it’s little wonder as to why. I wasn’t expecting this the first go ’round but damn, that was quite the eye opener.

Verdict: Maw Energy is a perfectly reasonable energy supplement with low environmental impact and the ability to adjust flavor levels to your liking. With a pleasing taste and fairly “clean” energy, the powder will work for gaming fuel, pre-workout, or just as a coffee replacement. For this particular powder, the blue dye was way way way too intense, as from start to finish (I do fucking mean FINISH) there’s going to be the possibility of staining. This wasn’t the walk on the wild side I was promised by this product, but in these uncertain times it’s always nice to feel alive.

UPDATE July 2020: I bought some of the new flavor known only as RIP Harambe. For perhaps having the least informative flavor name in history, there was still plenty of reason to pick this one up. They’ve fixed the dye issue, so nothing in my life is subject to horrid staining. As for the taste, Maw is hitting it out of the park this time. The Orangish-Tangerineish mixture makes for a great drink, and I found myself sipping this stuff down much faster than I did with the other flavors or drinks in this part of the energy market. There’s never been a better way to remember the memory of the world’s greatest living creature. RIP Harambe, indeed.

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