Slow Cow
Encyclopedia
Slow Cow is a relaxation beverage
Drink
A drink, or beverage, is a liquid which is specifically prepared for human consumption. In addition to fulfilling a basic human need, beverages form part of the culture of human society.-Water:...

 produced in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 by the company Slow Cow Drink Inc. Dubbed an "anti-energy" drink, it was created to "help people slow down" and parodied
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...

 by using packaging similar to that of the popular energy drink
Energy drink
Energy drinks are beverages whose producers advertise that they "boost energy." These advertisements usually do not emphasize energy derived from the sugar and caffeine they contain but rather increased energy release due to a variety of stimulants and vitamins....

. Slow Cow was launched in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 in December 2008, with plans to sell the product in the rest of Canada, and in France, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, the United States, Russia, Italy, and China.

Slow Cow's main ingredient is L-Theanine
Theanine
Theanine , also gamma-glutamylethylamide or 5-N-ethyl-glutamine, is an amino acid and a glutamic acid analog commonly found in tea , primarily in green tea, and also in the basidiomycete mushroom Boletus badius and in guayusa. More specifically, this compound is called L-theanine, being the...

 which, according to the manufacturer, "produces a feeling of relaxation and creates a feeling of well-being."

History

Slow Cow was developed by Lino Fleury in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. He noted that while there were plenty of energy drink
Energy drink
Energy drinks are beverages whose producers advertise that they "boost energy." These advertisements usually do not emphasize energy derived from the sugar and caffeine they contain but rather increased energy release due to a variety of stimulants and vitamins....

s available, there were no beverages to "help people slow down when they are stressed." Because of the caffeine
Caffeine
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...

 present in energy drinks, he said that they were inclined to "increase anxiety, not reduce it." Fleury and his team began developing the relaxation drink in 2006 using mostly natural ingredients that would calm the drinker without inducing drowsiness.
When the finished product was launched in December 2008, it was packaged to parody Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...

. The can
Beverage can
A beverage can is a tin can designed to hold a specific portion of a beverage. Beverage cans are made of tin-plated steel or aluminium.- History :...

 was of a similar shape and size of the popular energy drink, and the logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...

 featured two cows relaxing to contrast the two bulls fighting in the Red Bull logo. After the launch, Red Bull GmbH
Red Bull GmbH
Red Bull GmbH is an Austrian company which sells the Red Bull energy drink. In 2010, more than 4.204 billion cans were sold in over 161 countries. 7,758 employees generated 3.78 billion euros in revenue...

 sent Slow Cow Drink Inc. a formal notice to close, claiming that Slow Cow's packaging copied Red Bull's. While Fleury admitted to the similar packaging, he said that his lawyers "are confident they will win this case."

Ingredients

Slow Cow's principal ingredient is L-Theanine
Theanine
Theanine , also gamma-glutamylethylamide or 5-N-ethyl-glutamine, is an amino acid and a glutamic acid analog commonly found in tea , primarily in green tea, and also in the basidiomycete mushroom Boletus badius and in guayusa. More specifically, this compound is called L-theanine, being the...

, an amino acid
Amino acid
Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group and a side-chain that varies between different amino acids. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen...

 found in tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 plants that increases levels of GABA
Gamma-aminobutyric acid
γ-Aminobutyric acid is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. It plays a role in regulating neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system...

 in the brain, which is said to produce a "feeling of relaxation and [...] well-being" "without causing sleepiness". L-Theanine is also said to increase mental awareness, cognition, and concentration. Michael Lyon, head of the Canadian Centre for Functional Medicine in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, believes that L-Theanine "is the best-kept secret in natural medicine".

Other ingredients include extracts of chamomile
Chamomile
Chamomile or camomile is a common name for several daisy-like plants of the family Asteraceae. These plants are best known for their ability to be made into an infusion which is commonly used to help with sleep and is often served with either honey or lemon. Because chamomile can cause uterine...

, a daisy-like plant with "a calming agent to fend off stress [...] and ease digestion", passiflora, a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of about 500 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s with "anti-depressant and relaxing" properties, valerian
Valerian (herb)
Valerian is a hardy perennial flowering plant, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers which bloom in the summer months. Valerian flower extracts were used as a perfume in the sixteenth century....

, a herb that "relieves symptoms of nervousness", tilia cordata
Tilia cordata
Tilia cordata is a species of Tilia native to much of Europe and western Asia, north to southern Great Britain , central Scandinavia, east to central Russia, and south to central Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Turkey, and the Caucasus; in the south of its range it is restricted to...

, a linden tree known for "facilitating sleep", and hops, a "nerve calming" flowering plant.

The ingredient quantities per 250 ml can are:
  • L-Theanine
    Theanine
    Theanine , also gamma-glutamylethylamide or 5-N-ethyl-glutamine, is an amino acid and a glutamic acid analog commonly found in tea , primarily in green tea, and also in the basidiomycete mushroom Boletus badius and in guayusa. More specifically, this compound is called L-theanine, being the...

     – 100 mg
  • Chamomile
    Chamomile
    Chamomile or camomile is a common name for several daisy-like plants of the family Asteraceae. These plants are best known for their ability to be made into an infusion which is commonly used to help with sleep and is often served with either honey or lemon. Because chamomile can cause uterine...

     – 75 mg
  • Passiflora – 75 mg
  • Valerian
    Valerian (herb)
    Valerian is a hardy perennial flowering plant, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers which bloom in the summer months. Valerian flower extracts were used as a perfume in the sixteenth century....

     – 75 mg
  • Linden
    Tilia cordata
    Tilia cordata is a species of Tilia native to much of Europe and western Asia, north to southern Great Britain , central Scandinavia, east to central Russia, and south to central Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Turkey, and the Caucasus; in the south of its range it is restricted to...

     – 50 mg
  • Hops – 50 mg
  • Sodium
    Sodium
    Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...

     - 82 mg
  • Potassium
    Potassium
    Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...

    - 22 mg

External links

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