To Caffeinate or Not to Caffeinate? Comparing Wake Up Water® & MTE® Energy Powders

In today’s world, there are almost too many choices. 100 dating options at the swipe of a screen. A thousand Amazon results for the best skincare serum. 5 cafes within 2 blocks of each other in your hometown. And the energy drink market is not different, which is probably why you’re doing research on different products.

It can be cumbersome (and a little tedious) to stab around the internet in the dark, hoping to stumble upon the best healthy energy drink powder, especially if you’re really into the ingredients and their safety and efficacy (which we definitely are!). So here’s to making it easy. Let’s look at Wake Up Water® vs MTE® - from the specs to the science.

How it Works

Stressful vs Stress-Free: MTE® vs Wake Up Water® Energy-Boosting Mechanisms

We like to think of Wake Up Water® as a 2.0 version of traditional energy drinks. Does it still rely on a high dose of caffeine to wake you up? Yes. Does it still use sketchy stuff in its formula? No. The quickest review ever of caffeine’s energy-boosting bioactivity:

Caffeine is a nervous system agonist that triggers a stress response, which promotes wake-up neurochemical signaling while blocking calm-down and I’m-tired signaling. Caffeine basically tells your body something important is happening and it needs to (1) mobilize all the energy it can find RIGHT NOW and (2) for all the calm-down and I'm-tired chemicals to shut up.

If Wake Up Water® is generation 2.0, no offense, but MTE®’s into 3.0 territory. Instead of stimulating a stress response, MTE® supports feel-good neurochemical signaling while modulating wake-up vs calm-down neurotransmitters and hormones. How? Adaptogens and nootropics.

Adaptogens are naturally-occurring, plant-sourced compounds whose bioactivity helps the brain and body better adapt to stress. Nootropics, another class of bioactive compounds, promote cognitive health, mood and immunity, among other things. When the body operates in balance, your natural energy production, mobilization and storage processes do the work of helping you feel more awake, which eliminates the need to rely on caffeine.

Benefits

Here for a Good Time or a Long Time? Benefits of Wake Up Water® vs MTE®

So, agonists vs modulators: what are the advantages of each? Is one better than the other? We’d argue so. MTE®’s adaptogenic energy drink powder offers numerous benefits via modulation, including:

More energy
Better stress resilience
Increased focus and concentration
Calm, even mood
Quality rest at night
Immune function
Inflammatory response
Gut support

Wake Up Water®’s clean energy drink mix offers a different set of benefits in its caffeine + electrolyte mix since caffeine is an agonist:

Energy boost
Better focus
Better hydration

This is another place you can really see the difference in where Wake Up Water® sits and how MTE® has blown past it. The 175mg dose of caffeine in one packet of Wake Up Water® is enough that some people may get the jitters, and if you drink it in the afternoon, it’ll likely mess up your sleep. Regardless of the fact that the noticeable effects of caffeine wear off in a couple hours, its biological effects can last 8-10 hours, depending on the person.

On the other hand, the adaptogens and nootropics in MTE® promote balanced wakefulness without the harmful effects caffeinated energy drinks have on your circadian rhythm. This results in two things you can’t say of caffeine: (1) short-term energy that doesn’t feel tense or result in a crash, and (2) long-term, systemic support for the body’s natural energy production, storage and use mechanisms.

Ingredients

How It’s Made: MTE® & Wake Up Water® Nutritional Profiles

What’s inside these mysterious energy drink powders? It’s no mystery. Both MTE® and Wake Up Water® have an ingredients list small enough for a goldfish’s attention span:

Wake Up Water® Ingredients:

Citric Acid: natural flavor and stabilizer
Natural Flavors
Taurine: an amino acid that protects brain health and cell function
Sodium Citrate: natural stabilizer
Caffeine: 175mg blend – yerba mate, green tea, guarana
Stevia: natural sugar alternative
Monk Fruit Extract: natural sweetener
Dipotassium Phosphate: source of potassium and phosphorus, stabilizer
Niacin: vitamin B3, supports energy production, cognitive health, nervous system function, gut health, and promotes activity of feel-good neurotransmitters
Pantothenic Acid: vitamin B5, supports energy production, regulates hormones, supports fat and cholesterol metabolism, red blood cell formation
Vitamin B6: supports immune function, energy production, amino acid metabolism, and modulates neurochemical activity related to energy, mood and motivation
Vitamin B12: supports nerve function, DNA integrity, cognitive function, mood, energy production

MTE® Ingredients:

Ashwagandha: adaptogenic herb that promotes motivation, energy, focus, mood, stress resilience
Spirulina: superfood that provides focused nutrition for immunity, inflammation, endurance
Saffron: nootropic support for mood, memory, brain health, sleep quality
Eleuthero: adaptogenic herb that promotes immunity, energy, nerve health, stamina
Holy Basil: adaptogen and superfood that promotes immune function, stress response, energy, and promotes mental health
Amaranth: superfood known for improving endurance, stamina, longevity, nutrition
Maca: adaptogenic vegetable that supports mood, energy, stamina, endurance
L-Theanine: amino acid and nootropic that supports tranquil mood, calm concentration, sleep health
GABA: amino acid that promotes relaxation, calm mood, rest and recovery, stress response, immunity
Chicory Root: superfood that supports gut health, blood sugar, stress response, and fights inflammation
Theacrine: tea-sourced alkaloid and nootropic that supports anti-inflammatory action, mood health and sustained energy
Green Tea: nootropic that promotes motivation, focus, energy, immunity, athletic performance
Methylliberine: sounds synthetic, but it isn’t. tea-sourced alkaloid with nootropic and adaptogenic properties that support energy, focus, mood
Malic & Citric Acids: natural flavor and stabilizer
Stevia: naturally-derived sugar alternative
Natural Colors: beet root and turmeric
Natural Flavors & Sea Salt

Pricing & Packaging

Healthy Energy Drinks Are Less Costly than Traditional Energy Powders

A quick look at the logistics of Wake Up Water® and MTE® as they compare to mainstream energy drinks like Monster®, which costs $2.50-$3.50 on average:

MTE®’s natural energy drink mix comes in 30-serving bags. If you choose to go a la carte, it evens out to $2.33/serving. If you choose a subscription (which we recommend, since adaptogens and nootropics work systemically), this drops to $1.98/serving.

Wake Up Water®’s clean energy powder comes in bags of single-serving sticks. The company offers different quantity options, including bags of 15, 30, 45 and 60. A 15-pack bag comes out to $1.66/serving, and a 60-pack bag evens out to $1.41/serving.

Other Highlights

Other Things You Should Know About MTE® & Wake Up Water®

Listen; Wake Up Water® isn’t all bad. People who can handle high doses of caffeine will find it useful for an effective energy boost, especially in situations where you might feel extra-fatigued. And it’s not like they’re not straightforward about what they do – its name says it all.

However, we can’t deny that caffeine isn’t without its pitfalls, which include tolerance and dependence. And our theory of healthy energy just doesn’t vibe with that, which is why our daily energy greens mix doesn’t rely on it to give you the feel-good energy you’re looking for. But, to each their own.

Other positive aspects of Wake Up Water® include: