Why does this protein powder taste like poison to me?

tomatoey

Is it the protein part (pea protein, I think) or is it the Stevia sweetener? Or something else?

It mostly tastes ok except for a strange, acrid-sweet, medical but slightly putrid taste. I suspect the Stevia is the poison-like flavour and the protein bit is the putrid flavour.

Ingredients:

Pea Protein, Whole Flaxseed (Micro-Milled), Cocoa Powder, Organic Acacia Gum (Naturally Occurring FIber), Saviseed™ (Sacha Inchi) Protein, Organic Gelatinized Maca Root, Organic Broccoli, Organic Spirulina, Organic Kale, Organic Marine Algae Calcium, Fruit & Vegetable Blend (Spinach, Broccoli, Carrot, Beet, Tomato, Apple, Cranberry, Orange, Blueberry, and/or Bilberry, Strawberry, Shiitake Mushroom, Chlorella Vulgaris (Cracked Whole Cell), Papaya Extract, Probiotics (Bacillus Coagulans [Provides 1 Billioin CFU/Serving]), Antioxidant Fruit Blend (Grape Seed Extract, Organic Pomegranate, Acai, Mangosteen, Organic Goji, Organic Maqui), Contains 2 Percent or Less of: Beet Root Powder (for Color), Natural Chocolate Flavor, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Natural Caramel Flavor, Natural Hazelnut Flavor, Stevia Extract, Citric Acid.



I mixed it with unsweetened almond milk, and it's not that, that tastes fine on its own.

cindytw

Is it Vega One? I have that and I find I have to dilute it a lot more, or buy the unflavored and flavor it myself. Stevia will do that if too much is added, plus the other flavorings like vanilla, carmael etc. I know I have seen these ingredients before...

dutchandkiwi

Shorter length proteins often have very bitter taste and may even be astringent.
I used to work for a company that made protein hydrolysates (basically you put an enzyme with the protein and that cuts them up) and we had to taste them for QC. Was the most horrible job you can think of for those of us, and I am one of them, that can taste bitter well.
Possibly that is the case for you too.

jennifer_417

Ew. I don't know why it taste like that to you, truth is we all have different tastes, it might be your taste buds, it could be rancid, could be some impurity in the product, could be just that it's nasty stuff. Whatever it is, my professional recommendation is that you switch to something you find nmore more palatable.

Yi5hedr3

Get a good Whey Isolate like the "NOW" brand Natural, Unflavored, and use liquid Stevia instead of powder form (which causes bitter taste). Whala - you be good!

Phrick

i absolutely can not tolerate Stevia. I have tried and tried to like it but it always leaves me with a bitter, horrifying taste in my mouth. I looked into it once and there is a % of the population that get that lovely taste from stevia, something genetic if i recall... I didn't memorize the information I just started avoiding Stevia.

kshama2001

Too many ingredients to tell. If you're south of Boston, I would share some of my pea protein only with you so you could eliminate (or not) that. Maybe Source Naturals would send you a sample size? http://www.sourcenaturals.com/products/GP2258

I have not had success adding stevia to products myself, but when a manufacturer such as Celestial Seasonings has added them in, I've been ok with that.

BenjaminMFP88

...have you tasted poison before?

tomatoey

cindytw wrote: »

Is it Vega One? I have that and I find I have to dilute it a lot more, or buy the unflavored and flavor it myself. Stevia will do that if too much is added, plus the other flavorings like vanilla, carmael etc. I know I have seen these ingredients before...

Yes! Haha

Phrick wrote: »

i absolutely can not tolerate Stevia. I have tried and tried to like it but it always leaves me with a bitter, horrifying taste in my mouth. I looked into it once and there is a % of the population that get that lovely taste from stevia, something genetic if i recall... I didn't memorize the information I just started avoiding Stevia.

Bitter and horrifying is bang on. Yup, so far looks like it's the Stevia. I'd never tried it before (and won't again).

dutchandkiwi wrote: »

Shorter length proteins often have very bitter taste and may even be astringent.
I used to work for a company that made protein hydrolysates (basically you put an enzyme with the protein and that cuts them up) and we had to taste them for QC. Was the most horrible job you can think of for those of us, and I am one of them, that can taste bitter well.
Possibly that is the case for you too.

Oh wow Yeah I'm sorry, I hope you got good vacations, at least It does seem possible I'm quick to pick up on bitter tastes, yes - I do seem to notice flavours in general more than some people I know.

And I didn't know that about shorter length proteins! So what might be some proteins to look for in a powder? (I do have IBS, so it'd be great if they were kind to my guts )

kshama2001 wrote: »

Too many ingredients to tell. If you're south of Boston, I would share some of my pea protein only with you so you could eliminate (or not) that. Maybe Source Naturals would send you a sample size? http://www.sourcenaturals.com/products/GP2258

I have not had success adding stevia to products myself, but when a manufacturer such as Celestial Seasonings has added them in, I've been ok with that.

I'm not even in the US, unfortunately, but thanks for the offer, that's sweet Samples are a great idea, I'll see if I can get them to send me some up here

jennifer_417 wrote: »

Ew. I don't know why it taste like that to you, truth is we all have different tastes, it might be your taste buds, it could be rancid, could be some impurity in the product, could be just that it's nasty stuff. Whatever it is, my professional recommendation is that you switch to something you find nmore more palatable.

I think it's mostly the Stevia but otherwise agree. Any recs?

BenjaminMFP88 wrote: »

...have you tasted poison before?

Imagine eating something that tastes like it's going to kill you. That's what Vega One tastes like.

If any Vega employees are reading: I saw your company blog defending this nastiness:
https://myvega.com/blog/faq-hate-taste-stevia-can-make-products-without/

I'll even copy and paste the Q & A

Q: “I hate the taste of stevia; can you make more products (especially Vega One) without it?”

A: I hear you loud and clear, I can definitely say that taste is 100% subjective. I’m obsessed with the herb cilantro, and could put that stuff on anything, while my sister hates it—even the smell is repulsive to her. I know many people have that kind of aversion to stevia, too. That said, we choose to use stevia in Vega One because it allows us to pleasantly flavor and sweeten Vega products without the use of added sugars, or artificial sweeteners. We choose stevia because we think it’s the best available natural sweetener. Stevia contains no calories and has a glycemic index of zero. That’s right, ZERO! Low-glycemic foods help with managing healthy blood sugar, and stabilizing energy levels. Long story short, you most likely won’t experience that spike and crash in energy when eating more low-glycemic foods…goodbye two o’clock slump! If you love Vega products and want some help in muting some of that stevia taste, try blending it with dark leafy greens or avocado, or add a teaspoon of lemon juice when you shake or blend Vega One! If you are particularly sensitive to the taste of stevia, some flavors of our smoothie products have less stevia than others. Try these: [I tried one of those, it tasted as described above]"


Contradictions bolded

Please eliminate stevia from this product (and from the earth if you have the power to do that)

If enough people are begging for this change that you feel the need to defend this decision, you're doing the wrong thing by not listening to them.

yarwell

tomatoey wrote: »

Is it the protein part (pea protein, I think) or is it the Stevia sweetener?

most veg protein powders seem to taste bad and only acceptable to veg*ans. I think it's the pea protein but some people find stevia somewhat bitter.

tomatoey

yarwell wrote: »

tomatoey wrote: »

Is it the protein part (pea protein, I think) or is it the Stevia sweetener?

most veg protein powders seem to taste bad and only acceptable to veg*ans. I think it's the pea protein but some people find stevia somewhat bitter.

Ah, interesting, thank you for your thoughts. ("somewhat bitter" isn't quite it for me, though This was, I think, the worst thing I've ever had in my life)

tomatoey

Phrick wrote: »

i absolutely can not tolerate Stevia. I have tried and tried to like it but it always leaves me with a bitter, horrifying taste in my mouth. I looked into it once and there is a % of the population that get that lovely taste from stevia, something genetic if i recall... I didn't memorize the information I just started avoiding Stevia.

I wonder if we have anything else in common! Ha!

cindytw

If you like the nutrients in it try the Natural one and add your own flavors to it. I add vanilla, and my own sweeteners, and a pinch of salt because to me sweet and salt need to balance

nutmegoreo

cindytw wrote: »

If you like the nutrients in it try the Natural one and add your own flavors to it. I add vanilla, and my own sweeteners, and a pinch of salt because to me sweet and salt need to balance

Interesting thought, I'll try this. I also have VegaOne. I like the nutrient composition of it. The first time I tried it, the aftertaste stayed with me for two hours (not kidding). It has improved, but I have never been particularly tolerant to the aftertaste of non-sugar sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, and now stevia).

cindytw

nutmegoreo wrote: »

cindytw wrote: »

If you like the nutrients in it try the Natural one and add your own flavors to it. I add vanilla, and my own sweeteners, and a pinch of salt because to me sweet and salt need to balance

Interesting thought, I'll try this. I also have VegaOne. I like the nutrient composition of it. The first time I tried it, the aftertaste stayed with me for two hours (not kidding). It has improved, but I have never been particularly tolerant to the aftertaste of non-sugar sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, and now stevia).

I like Sweet Leaf Stevia powder, or my own things like coconut sugar. I can do stevia in my own doses...I find these powders have WAY too much!!

Oflamez

I'm tipping it's the stevia

tomatoey

Yeah, I think it was the Stevia. So glad I only got a few sample packs.

So following on from the excellent advice in this post (with special props to @RodaRose ), and after some more research, I went with UNFLAVOURED Heartland Gold Brown Rice Protein, which was the unflavoured rice protein available in my local brick & mortar health food store. (I am too impatient to do online & resent shipping fees). I am SO MUCH happier with the taste. It's a wee bit grainy but I'll go for "grainy & earthy" 1 million times over "poisony". It's fine, it's adaptable. I put it in some almond milk with frozen blueberries, very nice.

Why I went with rice protein:
- whey isolate etc is murder on my digestive system (although I can have dairy, who knows why)
- this is easy to digest (IBS)
- compared to other vegan proteins, it is more bioavailable (i.e. more so than hemp, but less bioavailable than pea i think), has a better calorie:protein ratio than hemp, at least in the formulations I saw (although equal I think to pea), and is more versatile in terms of taste (pea protein apparently tastes quite pea-like; a few suggested using it in savoury things like tomato juice, but this rice stuff will go ok in this almond drink, hot breakfast cereals, etc). I like the nutty flavour and don't mind the graininess (a complaint I've seen). I think it's not that bad, actually.

Downsides with pea and rice were the possibility of metals (& arsenic) if harvested in more polluted places… but there's just no winning, some kind of compromise has to be made. Wow ok so I am really going with the chance of *actual* poison over something that *tastes like* poison. Take note, Vega!!!!

I'll update with info on how it's going down in my guts.

I don't know why this is randomly italicizing - figured it out, square brackets.

NB: there is a vanilla flavour of this Heartland Gold Brown Rice but it uses Stevia.

dragthewaters1991

If you want one without stevia, try the Swanson Organics Pea Protein Powder. It doesn't have any flavorings or weird additives in it, it's just pea protein. It tastes kind of oatmeal-like on its own. Another option is Navitas Naturals Hemp Protein Powder, also no flavorings or additives. That has more of a "plant" taste to it on its own.

My usual protein shake recipe is 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, 1 cup greens, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1 serving protein powder, and 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder. The sugar from the fruit makes it sweet enough for me, but you could add more fruit and less greens if that's your thing.

tomatoey

Thanks guys! Lots of options to consider when I finish this off!

arditarose

pea protein=gross