TIOVITA GOLD 2000(チオビタゴールド2000) is a pharmaceutical energy drink sold by the Taiho Pharmaceutical Company in Japan, which sells the "Tiovita" lineup of energy drinks. The drink comes in a small, 50ml glass bottle, a package which usually signifies that the drink is a pharmaceutical energy drink and not a quasi-drug or carbonated energy drink.(More info on classification of energy drinks). The "2000" signifies that the drink contains 2000mg of taurine. This naming trend is followed by other companies as well.
Taste
Like most pharmaceutical energy drinks, the taste is a little bitter and unsurprisingly, like that of medicine. However, it does have a vanilla-like flavor to it, quite strong actually, but not tasty.
Ingredients
The drink contains 2000mg of taurine, 0.15ml of royal jelly extract, 0.1ml of Epimedium grandiflorum(Inyoukaku) extract, 5mg of vitamin B1, 5mg of vitamin B2, 5mg of vitamin B6, 30mg of nicotinamide, and 50mg of caffeine.
Epimedium grandiflorum is an ingredient used in Kampo(traditional Chinese medicine in Japan) as well as in traditional Chinese medicine. The other ingredients are also commonly used in other energy drinks.
Effect
Medium. I did get a boost by the drink, but it was a kind of boost I could have gotten from a normal(quasi-drug) energy drink.
Consumption & Purchase
Since it is a pharmaceutical energy drink, the drink is not sold in regular convenience stores or a supermarkets. Your best bet is to go to a drug store. The price is also more expensive than that of a usual quasi-drug energy drink.
