Sitting in Economics, I was searching for the right place to write this review on. As I was scrolling endlessly through new restaurants, my best friend told me about Rebel Nutrition. My mom had mentioned once that she wanted to go there, and so I decided to do it.

Rebel Nutrition is a cafe in a small strip mall on 28th Street. They have healthy shakes, coffees, and teas.

Walking in, I was surprised by the furnishings. There was a corner that had a couch, table, and two chairs. That was the only furniture there besides a bar top counter, but there were employees sitting there. It wasn’t a big issue since there were no other customers in the place, and nobody else came in.

Despite the lack of furniture, the inside of Rebel Nutrition was pretty nice looking, although empty, including cute decorations and a beautiful accent wall.

The employees were super kind and explained everything on the menu and what was in each of the drink categories

While there, I tried four drinks. All of them were so gorgeous and made me really excited to try them. I appreciated the way that the drinks looked. The teas were ombre and had many colors, while the shake was decorated with holiday sprinkles and a cute sticker. 

Sour Patch Peach Tea

I wanted to try this drink right when I saw it because everything in the name spoke to me. I am addicted to anything sour, and peaches are a favorite of mine during the summer months. I expected this to have that “tea flavor,” maybe one similar to your average brewed green tea, however when I tasted it, there was nothing in the flavor hinting that I was drinking tea. It seemed almost like a non-carbonated soda or a juice.

The biggest flavor that was immediately apparent was peach, as the name suggests. I could taste the peach, but it wasn’t an overwhelming flavor. The most overwhelming was the sour flavor. When I chose the drink, it didn’t really register in my mind that it was going to be sour, but when I took a sip, I was shocked at the sourness. It didn’t really affect me since I have grown used to eating sour foods over the years; however, it did come as a bit of a surprise.

All in all, I was really happy with this drink. It reminded me of sitting on a beach on a hot summer day. The flavors mixed together beautifully to create a tasty drink that took me out of the dreary and cold Michigan weather.

Superman Tea

My brother and my dad love to watch superhero movies, including Superman. I on the other hand only like a select few superhero movies, Superman not being one of them. I chose this drink, maybe in a futile attempt, to alter my view on the character. Unfortunately, these efforts were unsuccessful.

On the menu, the drink is described as lemon-lime and raspberry tea with blueberry and strawberry syrup. However, the only flavor out of all of these that I could taste was the blueberry. If I hadn’t read the menu, I wouldn’t have known that there was any other flavor in it. The blueberry was overwhelming and made the drink less enjoyable. The tea was also quite sweet, which was another factor that I didn’t appreciate.

All in all however, I did like this drink despite not liking most of the factors in it. It made me think that I was eating a blueberry pie, despite the other flavors I was supposed to taste. Unfortunately, my Superman view is definitely still tainted. 

Frozen Hot Chocolate Shake

When we walked into Rebel Nutrition, the lady working there told us all about how the shakes are healthy and have protein but they don’t taste like it. Going into this, I had a preconception that this was going to taste exactly like the frozen hot chocolate that I made at my house throughout the summer. However, I was disappointed to find out that I was wrong, and that my go to summer drink tasted nothing like this shake.

The shake was very creamy and had a rich chocolatey flavor. It was very unlike my expectations despite my preconceived notions. The chocolate flavor was overpowering and very rich. Unfortunately, instead of these flavors making the shake delicious, it was just disappointing.

In addition to the richness, the shake seemed to leave a residue in the back of my throat, making it very difficult to continue drinking. I also was aware of this strange flavor that tasted healthy. There isn’t really a name that I can put to it, but it just tasted healthy, which threw me off. After all, I was told that they didn’t taste like that.

Despite all of this, I would definitely go back and try a different shake with a different base or flavor to see how they compare.

Cinnamon Roll Coffee

When I saw that there was coffee on the menu, I was excited—especially since they all had fun, flavorful names. I decided to try this particular coffee because I had never had anything like it, and I was intrigued.

Going back to preconceived ideas, I expected this coffee to be bursting with cinnamon flavor and sweetness, but that was not so.

When I took a sip, I was surprised by the flavor. It was strange, and not at all what I expected. Despite the name being cinnamon roll, there was not a lot of cinnamon. I expected there to be too much cinnamon, but really, there wasn’t enough. The coffee also didn’t have much sweetness to it, unlike a cinnamon roll. I wanted there to be more to the coffee. I wanted more cinnamon or sweetness so that there was something to focus on.

Similar to the shake above, I felt like I could taste the healthiness in the coffee. It was almost like I was drinking a protein shake but on ice. I would not buy this coffee again, despite my previous excitement for it.

I am definitely going to Rebel Nutrition again to try the other types of drinks they offer. I think that it would be especially refreshing to get one of their teas after working out. The overall feel of the building and their drinks are luring me back in, and I can’t wait to get more drinks.