Soylent Complete Nutrition Meal Replacement Protein Powder, Cacao - Plant Based Vegan Protein, 39 Essential Nutrients - 36.8oz

UPDATE: I'm upgrading my review to 5 stars because either I just got a bad batch the first time around or I've just gotten accustomed to the taste, but in any case, my shipment from Soylent arrived and as per my recommendation below I continued using almond milk to make my shakes -- initially will all almond milk, then with half almond milk and half water. Well, today I decided to use all water again for the first time since I ordered my first tub from Amazon -- and it tastes fine! Pretty good, actually, and barely any difference from using almond milk! Again, I don't know if it's just because the first batch was bad or I've just gotten used to it, but either way I'm only going to be using water from now on unless it starts tasting bad again. Below is my original review: When made as directed (with water), I personally found the flavor of the cacao variety revolting. It had a chalky, medicine-like flavor and a shiver-inducing after-taste. Finishing even just a 200 calorie portion was an unpleasant chore, and had I left it at that then I probably would have never ordered this again. However, on the recommendation of some of the other reviewers here I substituted water with almond milk (sweetened vanilla or original in my case, haven't tried unsweetened yet) and that made a huge difference. It now tastes like thick chocolate milk, akin to the premixed ones you'd buy at a grocery (to clarify, I mean premixed chocolate milk, not premixed Soylent 2.0, which I haven't tried). I also like adding blueberries, spinach and nuts when I can and mixing it the blender for added flavor, texture and health benefits, but in a pinch just the power and almond milk in a blender bottle is perfectly fine. I'm knocking off a star from my review because when made as directed on the can, the product is, in my opinion, practically unusable. However in every other regard I am satisfied with it. Within the past week or so I have used it to replace most of my meals, and to my surprise it actually is pretty filling. It saves me from the bad (and expensive) habit of ordering takeout, heating up a TV dinner or eating some other junk when I don't feel like cooking. So for someone like me it has the added benefit of improving my overall nutrition -- not only because the shakes themselves are nutritious, but because it has a positive effect on my other eating habits. Now when I do cook or eat out, I'm more conscious of making healthier choices. In the future I'd like to try the Original Soylent flavor to see if I can stomach it with just water, so that I can (1) reduce the cost per meal, and (2) reduce the amount of sugar intake. Final note: as others have noted, buying Soylent directly from the company's website is much cheaper per pound. They offer free shipping with a fairly low minimum purchase threshold (twenty-something dollars I think), as well as discounts for enrolling in automatic subscription ordering. Shipping speed is fairly slow, however; from California to New York took a week in my case, so plan accordingly. I bought this tub of cacao from Amazon to hold me over in the interim while waiting for the 7 pouch shipment from Soylent.

So far so good, I really don't like the chocolate flavored meal replacements, and this one although not exactly cereal milk flavored like I've heard so many rave about is pretty good. It has a neutral flavor profile, You can definitely taste the rice. I did try it by itself, and it went down pretty smooth, as usual with meal replacements, the colder the better. Getting the consistency down isn't easy for me because i'm an idiot and i don't measure things. There, I said it...I think If I were to do that, I would know what the consistency actually should be since Ive never tried the bottled stuff, but in my 24 oz shaker bottle this morning, I put in three scoops and filled it to the brim with my cold brew coffee. Like I said it has a neutral flavor profile, so you throw this in a mixer with bananas, its just gonna taste like bananas, strawberries, its gonna taste like strawberries, so no surprise, with the coffee, it tasted like, well...coffee. A bit more latte-ish - you get the mouthfeel of the fat in the Soylent, which kind of reminds me of the bulletproof coffee I used to drink... if you haven't heard of the concept, you make your coffee, pour it HOT into a blender, mix in some grass-fed butter and coconut oil (this is the homespun recipe - you don't have to go buy the bulletproof brand MCT oil, coffee and such) - blend it up and you supposedly have a drink that will make you razor sharp, and satiate your hunger - all this is true, it is delicious, and goes down smooth as all get out, but you're a mess, greasy lips, shiny face, your coffee cup is a mess, spills leave fat stains on your shirt, no bueno...and jeez, who has time to do all that mess first thing in the morning. So I gave that up, and I gotta say, trying Soylent with cold brew coffee brought back some of those same sensations, it will satiate your hunger (without clogging your arteries), and has close to the same mouthfeel, although nothing tops pure grass-fed butter and coconut oil... All in all, I'm a fan, been drinking it for a while now, and almost time to reorder - I have heard it was cheaper to order from the website, but I know for a fact it's easier for me to order from Amazon... For reference, this is the shaker bottle I used, Contigo Shaker Bottles Black Mixer 28 Ounce (2 pack)

It’s actually not bad!!! When mixing with just water it does become more grainy for some reason. I put in a splash or two of a creamy dairy free milk and shake it in a blender bottle with some ice cubes for a minute or so. The texture is still a bit grainy and chalky but it is doable and not as bad as just with water alone. The taste is good I don’t mind it.

Depending on your health and fitness goals, this is a great product. I have some in my cabinet right now. I don't know that I would recommend this for weight loss, it might be more of a maintenance product. It can be filling if you mix and use it right. I'm a big guy so I need a lot of food. Depending on what you mix it with and how much you dilute it it can be thicker like chocolate milk or thinner like water. I did experience some mild gastrointestinal discomfort while using this as did my wife. It mixes pretty well, and It tastes great it doesn't have that terrible protein health nasty taste. I'm pretty sensitive to fake and crappy tasting healthy products, as I have a pretty big sweet tooth, but I actually enjoyed the taste of this. The big container is easy to get your hand in and scoop out of, but but the scoop that it comes with is usually buried deep inside the powder. I've mixed it with water, yogurt, and skim milk before, and it generally tastes pretty good anyway. 20 G of plant-based protein is pretty good, but I would not use this product to build muscle. I would say this product works great as intended, to replace a meal on the go. Better than take out for sure.

To give you some background I use this as a brunch meal filler to get me through my workday which begins at 5:30AM and lasts until I get home at 6:30PM. I also always pack meal replacement shakes while traveling in the event of that accidental delay and not wanting to pay $15 for an airport sammie. When selecting a protein/meal replacement shake I don't really care what my protein makeup is as I don't have issues with whey, pea, or different forms. What I look for most for me is a decent amount of protein, fiber, low saturated fat, and low in sugar or something that utilizes stevia or sugar alcohols. I tend to prefer vanilla shakes more but will always poke around and try different flavors. I do take daily vitamins every single day but I always skew towards having something that does have magnesium/potassium or other minerals added because it is always helpful. Personally when reading reviews I like to know how and why someone likes something and how they use it so I hope this will help! To give you some background, I have run the full gamut of protein/meal replacement shakes: Phood (recommend if you uber thick shakes), Vega One (meh.), Garden of Life Raw Organic Meal (I tried on this one but could not finish the tub. AWFUL liquid cardboard), Field Work Nutrition, Yuve, Ascent protein, and more. I have never tried Soylent prior but took a leap and bought the cacao. This morning I tossed it in a blender bottle with water and whipped it up. Totally drinkable and rather perfect. This is one of the tops I have truly ever had as it scores high across the board: consistency is smooth, creamy, taste is great, zero clumping, no grit, and it's balanced. You aren't overpowered by this strong cloying heavily flavored monstrosity. You also don't need to add more water or cut it. I would describe this as a medium-thick thickness shake which I love since I go for thicker shakes. Specifically addressing flavor, if you've hopped into the plant based protein world already, you know what to expect as far as that back tone of earthiness in flavor vs whey which has that milky almost baby formula type of flavor. Not horrible tasting in my option, just for someone entering into the plant protein world, it's there and that's what you are tasting across the board with all plant protein shakes, not just this one. I absolutely will repurchase this and even set up to be autodelivered the bottles as well. Suggested improvements: My one main caveat with Soylent products is the sugar content across the board, premix and powdered alike. The powdered is a whopping 15g in Cacao and the premix bottles hover around 9g. While I get it HAS to be palatable, I would LOVE if stevia, xylitol, or erythritol were used. I would be singing Soylents praises from mountaintops if they chose stevia or sugar alcohols.

Overall I'm happy with the stuff. It has very little flavor and tastes more like chalk than cocoa. It's also extremely finely ground and SUPER hydrophobic, so mixing it requires a blender. I was able put milk AND chocolate syrup on top of it without it sinking it's so hydrophobic. I also use whole milk because I need the calories, and it tastes better. The milk blends better overall since 2 scoops in 24oz comes out with similar viscosity as a protein supplement. Anyway it does what I need it to and it works well enough.

I decided to try powdered Soylent because the ready-to-drink (RTD) versions have become quite expensive, except for one flavor at a time. I wanted to mix up my options to avoid getting bored, so I gave the Cacao powder a shot as an alternative to the Chocolate and Mint Chocolate RTD Soylent. It’s not as sweet, but it still tastes great. I’m glad I did my research beforehand because my first experience was excellent. There were no lumps, and it didn’t taste chalky. I used a portable blender to mix it, poured it into a glass bottle with a metal lid, and stored it in the fridge for the next day. While it’s not as convenient as twisting off a cap, it wasn’t much more effort than making a bowl of cereal. In my limited experience, it's been as filling as the RTD when using two scoops.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I decided to purchase and give it a try. However once received and started using I was presently surprised. I didn't like it mixed with water so I mixed with 2% instead. To me it just tasted like a glass of chocolate milk. I started adding a few pieces of ice to it and mixing in a small Ninja Blender. It tasted even better the colder it was. I will definitely be purchasing again. I didn't use as a meal replacement but more as a way of getting the vitamins and nutrients it provides instead. I struggle to eat a well balanced diet everyday due to health issues so this gets the job done. It's definitely way better then trying to swallow a vitamin pill regiment everyday or eating gummy vitamins that I'm not a fan of. It's also a good value for the price versus how many drinks it males overall. Recommend!