This TikTok user wants to know why her Celsius drink is changing colors. Viewers say it’s happened to them too.
Celsius is an energy drink that has gained popularity as a pre-workout beverage and claims to accelerate metabolism and burn body fat during exercise. It contains several ingredients, including green tea extract, guarana seed extract, ginger root extract, taurine, and chromium.
In the video, TikTok user Taylor Limas (@ladyaguilera2.0) showed that when she first pours her Celsius out, it’s a reddish pink color. After about an hour, it’s a dramatically different color, instead turning to a goldish yellow shade.
“Can someone explain to me how when I drink Celsius, it starts off looking like this but the minute I leave it out for longer than an hour it turns this color? Like, is there a reason for that? Where’s Hank Green?” she said.
@ladyaguilera2.0 Im just curious #fyp #fypシ #celcius ♬ original sound – Ladyaguilera2.0
It turns out we don’t need beloved science creator Hank Green to get down to the bottom of this color-changing mystery.
Here are a few possible reasons the internet provided around why this color change in happening:
- Food coloring. Celsius uses natural and artificial food colorings in its drinks. Some artificial food colorings are more sensitive to heat and light than others, and may fade or change color over time.
- Oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that occurs when a substance is exposed to oxygen. Oxidation can cause some beverages to change color over time.
A person on Reddit shared that they’ve noticed a similar color change when they left their drink in a hot car. In a blog post, registered dietitian Jamie N. explained that Celsius’ claims to improve performance at the gym aren’t unique to their product. In fact, it’s really the caffeine that slightly improves gym performance. A cup of coffee could have similar effects with simpler ingredients and at a cheaper price point.
One 12 oz Celsius drink costs about $2.40 at a New York Target, while a twelve-pack runs about $23. In comparison, it costs about $0.27 to brew a cup of coffee at home.
The video has nearly 20,000 views and dozens of comments. Commenters chimed in with their thoughts.
“I HAD THE SAME QUESTION, I threw mine out,” a person said.
“I’ve never taken it out of the can my jaw is ON THE FLOOOR,” another wrote.
“Can’t be very healthy lol,” a commenter said.
“Celsius is an enigma. Nothing about it feels quite normal it works so well though,” another added.
The Daily Dot previously covered a video in which Limas claimed that her sorority attempted to wrongfully charge her $3,000 while studying abroad. She said she had to hire a lawyer to get the fine dropped.
The Daily Dot reached out to the TikToker for comment via email.
