A New Way to Cope With Expos

The 3-a.m.-and-I-haven't-started-my-paper crowd has a new ally in the battle against drooping eyelids.

Jolt Cola, the new soft drink which advertises itself as the choice with "all the sugar and twice the caffeine," is now available for purchase at several Boston-area stores.

The bubbly stimulant--introduced to the nation's supermarkets last April--is intended to combat a beverage industry trend to remove the goodies from sugary soda, officials of the Rochester-based Jolt Company say.

"We're not taking things out of our soda like caffeine or sodium, nor are we adding things like fruit juices; Jolt soda is like the way it was when soda was just simply soda," says marketing supervisor Jane M. Nickson. "Response [to the product] has been overwhelming."

Love That Zippy Taste

During off-the-cuff taste tests conducted around Harvard Yard yesterday, the taste of the caramel-colored beverage was described as something close to "boiled Pepsi", "soy sauce" and "generic supermarket soda." Jolt is advertised as being "inspired by the need for a better tasting soft drink."

Quincy House resident Andrea Lorenzo '89, a Rochester native, says that Jolt was gaining popularity in her home town during the summer, although the high caffeine content prompted several supermarkets to take the product off their shelves.

How much of the drug does each 12-ounce can contain? Despite the marketing rhetoric, company spokesmen say Jolt offers only one-fifth the caffeine of an ordinary cup of coffee. The soda can label offers no information about caloric or sodium content.

Several Harvard doctors say negative effects resulting from consumption of the highly-caffeinated soda are no more serious than in-digestion.

"The caffeine might cause some adverse effects such as stomach upset, if it is consumed in large quantities," says Dr. Peter Zuromskis '66, associate physician to University Health Services (UHS). The Medical School instructor adds that people have individual tolerance levels to caffeine.

"Drinking the soda is probably no worse than drinking a cup of coffee," says UHS Director Warren E.C. Wacker. "It sounds more like hype than reality."

Bucking the Trend

At Harvard, reaction to the caffeine-heavy soft drink ranges from disbelief to disgust.

"People now are becoming more health conscious, and to come out with a product like this is ridiculous," says Sheree L. Carter '89, another Quincy resident.

But it's not the stimulant factor which deters Lorenzo. Unless they come out with sugar-free Jolt, I won't drink it," she says.

Sophomore Ted H. Park says he would be willing to try the new soft drink, "I'd use it--a drug's a drug," although Madison Sample '87 recommends another method for staying awake late at night. "I just use a cold towel," Sample says.

Alas! Late night procrastinators still cannot purchase the new soda in Harvard Square. Local vendors--like Sage's, Store 24 and Christie's Market--do not yet carry the product and give no date when they might stock the lightning-clad cans. The closest vendor which offers the all-nighter helper is Bloomingdale's at the Chestnut Hill Mall.