Organic Plant Based Protein Powder - Delicious Chocolate - Gluten, Dairy & Soy Free Vegan Protein Powder - Ideal For Meal Replacement Shakes For Weight Loss -1.3 Pounds, 15 Servings 1.3 Pound

It is expensive and fairly small amount

I am fairly new to the protein shake scene although I have tried a few other brands. Needless to say I thought they were disgusting - I'm not a picky eater at all - but the search to find one that worked for me led me here. First, let me say that most protein shakes or meal replacements I've used are WAY too sweet - we don't need that in our protein shakes or meal replacements. I found this particular brand to have just the right amount of sugar - and I always have a sweet tooth - so it wasn't too sweet and not under sweetened for me. Since it's plant based protein, and is fibrous (I wouldn't describe it as grainy like some meal replacements) this naturally makes it difficult to mix unless you use a BLENDER. So yes, use a blender and this will work much better than trying to shake the ingredients together. If you're ok drinking tiny chunks or the feeling of a wad of plant fibre on your tongue, then do you. It's just a consistency preference. Even blended you're going to feel the "pulpiness" in your mouth. The problem, too, is that even if you use a blender and don't drink it right away, and instead allow it to sit for several minutes (if you're a slow drinker) the ingredients WILL separate. But, this is a decent thickness shake. The fact that the flavour is chocolate and that it's not too sweet helps with the palpability of the drink. I'm satisfied with the ingredients and the fact that they seem pretty clean. I didn't like the idea that there were added probiotics - but I guess a little extra in my diet won't hurt. What I love about this product is that there is no erythritol, gluten or soy, and no artificial flavours or colours (according the the label) and the fact that it is GMP certified AND deemed USDA organic. That being said, "organic" is over-rated because that just means that none of the ingredients have been treated prior with synthetic pesticides - however, the growers of the plants used in the product can still use pesticides that aren't synthetic - like neem oil, pyrethrin from flowers, or certain mineral-based sprays. Everyone thinks "organic" means no pesticides - not true. Certainly the latter isn't nearly as bad for us, but these food items still are not 100% organic in the way most people think - completely free of sprays, etc. So, that fact along with the blendability not being great, makes me feel like this is pretty pricey - it's over $30 for only 20.6 ounces. Even on the subscription it still remains pricey because it doesn't save you a significant amount. One (1) serving - per the directions - requires TWO scoops of the protein powder. If we do the math, that only gives us roughly 9 shakes, with about 3/4 of a cup of powder left over. Essentially, that's $3.33 per shake and I would not consider this KOS "high end" because of the factors mentioned above. Therefore, my opinion is that this product is overpriced by no less than $10. That may not sound like much but to stay "in stock" and ahead to have your protein shakes all month, this would require buying 4 containers a month, which comes out to $120 a month for a dang plant drink. Considering the cost of life, when you break it down like that, who can afford to consistently use this product at that price? If you buy 4 containers per month to stay "in stock" and have your drinks each day of the month for 12 months (an entire year) then you would be paying $1,440 for a simple protein drink. Wow. That's a lot. I can't justify that so I'll have to keep searching to find something more comparable. In case you're wondering, the seal was fine when mine arrived - it's just a piece of paper that's glued around the ring of the container much like when you open a jar of spices. If you can afford KOS, more power to you - you will probably like it, but for my workouts it's a "luxury" I can't sustainably afford.

The Good: Chocolate flavor nice. Just the right amount of sweetness. Non gas producing pea protein. A big plus. Other brands produce big gas problem. Shipping: Fast and well cushioned. Attractive label. Needs Improving: Powder does NOT dissolve in a shaker jar even with multiple vigorous shakes or leaving overnight. Must be blended. Because of this I only use 1 scoop when doing a non blend mix. Would welcome a reduction in container size. Lots of unnecessary empty interior space. Taking up less space on my shelf is a better option and a big plus. .

[Edit: having written the following, I woke up the next day feeling super refreshed, strong, hardy. I’m going to keep using this, not thinking of it as chocolate (thinking instead of coconut and cacao), and seeing how it goes. Candidly, if I feel this good on a morning after a workout + powder shake, I’ll probably become a repeat customer. Boggles the mind. Still want to give the person who decided this is “chocolate” a hug.] Just popped this sucker open to see the expected mound of brown powder I knew I was getting when I ordered a chocolate flavored protein powder. It’s vaguely shiny, I thought to myself, removing the scoop full of protein from the jar and plopping it into my shaker bottle. It smelled chemically sweet, like a diet soda or a pixie stick as I shook it - turning the once-clear water into a muddy slurry. Walking out on to the balcony, I was rather pleased with myself, rewarding a night’s workout with chocolate protein shake, healthy but decadent, a calculus of sin. How clever was I? Popping the cap from my shaker, the chemically sweet scent hit my nose again, giving me pause. It’s processed protein with a mess of vitamins in it, there’s going to be a bit of a wonky smell. That happens. It can’t be any worse than Ovaltine, and that’s still tasty. I put the muzzle of the shaker to my lips and let fly the shaken mess upon my tongue. The granules of powder collided with the inside of my mouth, at once grainy and chalky, and the chemical sweetness washed entirely over my palate. “Oh no,” I thought, “it must be half stevia, what have I done?” Not a quitter, I continued to battle the thin but silty solution, willing it to move faster, hiding my tongue from the taste. And then, it stopped. I stood there, darkness in the city outside my balcony, shocked by this flavor. There’s cacao and coconut in this mix, and they reveal themselves in aftertaste. Perhaps if the flavor was called cacao and coconut with a mountain of stevia, I would have been prepared. That, friends and readers, is not what chocolate tastes like. Chocolate, even the truly bitter 100% beast-bars, has a richness and a depth that cannot be masked by chemical sweeteners. It can be enhanced with fat and sugar, blended with fruits and nuts to reveal undertones and complexities that emerge from roasting. Even the inexpensive, mostly low quality waxy chocolates we hand out to children every Halloween have some aspect of this character. Listen, I’ve tasted things that remind me less of the way a wet dog smells, and I’m sure there’s a real flavor underneath the mountain of sweeteners. This is not chocolate flavored. Chocolate does not taste like that. I want to find the chemical engineer who tasted this and said, “this is clearly chocolate” because someone clearly did them an unkindness. Friend, wherever you are, let us know and we will help you experience the full wonder of chocolate. You deserve to live better. Weirdly, I don’t think it tastes bad. Protein powder, at least for me, is always a bit chalky and always has some kind of sweetener to mask the taste of the additives in it. Fine, coool, it tastes like a flintsones chewable vitamin? Let’s go. Just, maybe don’t call that chocolate. Cacao and coconut, sure. But no one should be given to believe chocolate tastes like this.

I've tried some other vegan non dairy protein drinks, and they either tasted horrible or were overpoweringly sweet in a way when a terrible taste is being masked with loads of sugar and neither flavor is pleasing. But this chocolate flavor drink tastes like a tasty chocolate drink. So far I've only mixed the drinks using one scoop of the product, for me this is enough to enjoy a satisfying glass. It isn't chocolate milk, and thus there's no "creamy" mouthfeel, and at times it is obvious in the consistency that the drink is made of shredded up really fine vegetable matter, but I find it very easy to swallow, there's no need to force "choking down" the last few gulps. I've had drinks like that, ugh. KOS tastes especially great for a vegan drink that has no cane sugar in it and I find that the flavor has really grown on my tastebuds and I look forward to a glass as an easy way to get some extra dairy-free protein with some extra vegetable also. A big plus is that it bears the USDA Organic seal, but that means nothing if it isn't something you actually want to consume. This drink is tasty.

I used a blender to mix it with some milk. It is really grainy. I blended it for a 15 seconds and still grainy. It has a weird after taste. I’m going to try to consume the whole thing but I hate that I can’t return this. I got the chocolate one but it is really sweet. This is coming from someone who has a sweet tooth.