Review: Untapped Lemon Tea Mapleaid Liquid Drink Mix

(2022) During a recent hot spell we felt the conditions were right to send one of our testers out with full bottles of the newly formulated Untapped Lemon Tea Mapleaid liquid drink mix. Here were the observations:

Nowhere else on the calendar is hydration more important than scorching summer days. The old adage of one bottle per hour is condensed to possibly two bottles hourly, and that’s just for maintenance. Skipping hydration can have serious performance consequences and in some cases, serious health concerns. Having a hydration system that encourages frequent returns to the bottle is a basic ride necessity. Untapped, the Vermont maple syrup company, has reissued their drink sticks in liquid form, and it was time to put the new system to the test.

Untapped has carved out a corner of the sports nutrition market by offering maple syrup energy gels and then expanding outward. Focusing on their drink mix, Untapped offers Ginger Mapleaid as well as Lemon Tea Mapleaid. Today the Lemon Tea Mapleaid was added to full water bottles in anticipation for a scorcher. Not only was Untapped being tested, but an event route was being tested. The goal was to return to the route’s start/ finish with perfectly empty bottles.

Lemon Tea Mapleaid deviates from Untapped’s Ginger Mapleaid. Lemon Tea Mapleaid is free of the peppery zing because there is no ginger present. Instead there is a citrusy punch up front ushered by a complementary taste of black tea. Here Lemon Tea differs from Ginger on account of packing 25 mg of caffeine per packet. This provides the boost necessary when rides are feeling down. 

Lemon Tea Mapleaid creates a delicious experience that had me reaching again and again for the bottle. Knowing sweat loss was happening, there was confidence in the 110 mg of sodium limiting the loss over time. When it was supremely important to drink, the task had already been completed out of a desire to seek it out. Hot days call for heavy hydration and Untapped’s Lemon Tea Mapleaid drink mix was a delicious concoction that kept the ride moving. 

In the final moments of the ride the goals were achieved. The route had been explored and the bottles had been emptied fully. I have barely completed rides with full bottles simply because plain water was too much to convince myself. Or drink mixes were too terrible to consume despite the need to drink. Untapped Lemon Tea Mapleaid does the exact opposite. Adding these .8-ounce sticks to any bottle for any ride can save the day, so don’t be too surprised to find empty bottles when cleaning the bike after a hot day out.