Marley's Mellow Mood

Product Type:Tea: Sweetened; Container: 16 oz Glass
BevNET Review: Like the Green Tea with Honey variety, the Black Tea with Raspberry and Passionfruit variety of Marley’s Mellow Mood has a flavor that can definitely hold its own. It’s sugar sweetened and has a fairly pleasant, although not overly accurate, fruit flavor to it. Basically, it tastes like classic, mainstream raspberry flavored black tea, but with a slight tropical finish. However, this product is much more than just an iced tea, which is both an opportunity (since it’s a unique format) and a slight cause for concern (since consumers might not read what’s in the bottle or heed the disclaimers). Functionally, the product’s relaxation cocktail includes melatonin, kava kava, valerian root, lemon balm, chamomile, hops extract, and passion flower extract. While performance will likely vary from consumer to consumer, they have included a warning that the product may cause drowsiness. Packaging is a colorful 16 ounce bottle, the same one that has been a fixture of the iced tea category. The use of the Marley name and Bob Marley image catch the eye quickly, which, as we stated earlier in the review, makes it easy to miss the dietary supplement note on the bottom. Overall, we like what they’ve done visually and with the flavor, but we wonder if a 16 ounce bottle is the right format for a relaxation product of this type.

Product Type:Functional: Relaxation Drink; Container: 12 oz Can
BevNET Review: Marley’s Mellow Mood features two carbonated entries that are packaged in slim 12 oz cans. The Citrus variety is our favorite of the two, thanks to its sweet CSD like flavor. The lemon lime flavor is enjoyable, with a sharp note of citrus and a slightly tart finish. The addition of carbonation gives it some pop and there’s no functional flavor to be found anywhere. Functionally, the product’s relaxation cocktail (which includes identical ingredients to the noncarbonated flavors, but in a slightly lower dose) includes melatonin, kava kava, valerian root, lemon balm, chamomile, hops extract, and passion flower extract. Packaging is a slim 12 oz can which has been given a backdrop that features the colors of the Jamaican flag. The front panel features large lettering and an image of Bob Marley, making it something that will definitely stand out on the shelf. In our opinion, the 12 oz format also gets the benefit of a package format that’s widely known as a container for functional beverages. This should help reduce the chances of a consumer not realizing that the product will have other effects beyond refreshment. Overall, this was our favorite flavor of the lineup – and we definitely prefer the carbonated format.

Product Type:Tea: Sweetened; Container: 16 oz Glass
BevNET Review: From a flavor perspective, the Green Tea with Honey Variety of Marley’s Mellow Mood is quite drinkable. That’s because the product’s base can hold its own, thanks to the use of green tea, sugar, and honey, along with a slight citrus note to the finish. It’s clean and smooth, with no functional flavor or aftertaste whatsoever. On the functional front, the product features a bevy of relaxation oriented ingredients, including melatonin, kava kava, valerian root, lemon balm, chamomile, hops extract, and passion flower extract. Obviously, each person will react differently to these ingredients, but the drink does have, in the fine print, a note that it may cause drowsiness. In our opinion, that’s the type of thing that belongs on the front of the package. Otherwise, we think that consumers might be drawn in by the Bob Marley imagery for other reasons (after all, it looks like iced tea) and, therefore, not realize that this is a relaxation product that can potentially cause drowsiness. That being said, we think that this product will likely need to move some of its warnings to the front panel. Overall, it’s a nice tasting product, but we wonder if this is the right format for a relaxation drink of this type.