What's the best Myprotein flavour? I tried 23 of them to find out.
A few years ago I couldn't decide which protein powder to buy, so I bought lots of them to try. I wrote up my thoughts for a few friends at the time; now I have a blog, I'm sharing them more widely.
This isn't sponsored: I paid for all of these myself.
If you just want 'what to buy', skip to the recommendations.
Summary table
Ratings are a fairly arbitrary 'how much did I like it out of 10'.
These are all from Myprotein, and likely the same manufacturer - other brands might be quite different. I've tried Optimum Nutrition and PhD, which tasted roughly similar, but didn't make notes on them.
These notes are a couple of years old, so flavours may have changed since.
Some high-level takeaways
- Premium ranges generally taste better, but the best was one of the cheapest!
- No protein powder tastes 'great', they all taste a bit weird to me.
- A shaker ball helps a lot, making sure the powder mixes properly.
- Less water helps, at least for my taste.
Individual ratings
Impact Whey Protein: Vanilla (attempt #1)
Starting with a classic, I thought this would be better than it was. Compared to vanilla powdered Huel, it tastes more like a milkshake. But an unpleasant aftertaste brings it down a lot.
Rating: 4/10
Impact Whey Protein: White chocolate
Doesn't taste much like white chocolate - surprisingly similar to the vanilla. But the aftertaste was even worse.
Rating: 3/10
Impact Whey Protein: Vanilla raspberry
A pleasant surprise! I enjoyed the raspberry, and for some reason this one didn't have the plain vanilla's aftertaste problem. Again, fairly milkshake-like.
Rating: 7/10
Impact Whey Protein: Chocolate brownie (attempt #1)
Tastes a lot like chocolate milk, reminding me of Yazoo chocolate. But it has a slightly bitter aftertaste I disliked. You could read this as dark chocolate bitterness, though I doubt it's intended.
Rating: 5/10
Impact Whey Protein: Pineapple
Smells really good, which got my hopes up - and I like pineapple things in general. But the flavour is awful: like the weird chemical mouthwash I've only experienced at dentists.
Rating: 1/10
Impact Whey Protein: Strawberry stevia
An okay attempt at strawberry, but it falls flat. The taste is weak, like overly watered down squash.
Rating: 4/10
Impact Whey Protein: Chocolate mint (attempt #1)
Easily one of the standout flavours! It tastes similar to mint chocolate ice cream, though the mint is on the weak side. It's also quite sweet (which I like), despite having no more sugar than the others.
It tastes a lot better than mint chocolate powdered Huel.
I do like mint chocolate in general (e.g. after eights, or the mint neapolitans given with the bill at some restaurants). If you don't, I'm not sure you'd like this.
Rating: 8/10
Impact Whey Protein: Rocky road
Pretty bad: watery texture, unpleasant taste. I'm not sure what I was expecting.
Rating: 2/10
Impact Whey Protein: Strawberry cream
More cream than strawberry, which I wasn't a fan of. What strawberry there was tasted artificial, but wasn't terrible.
Rating: 3/10
Impact Whey Protein: Golden syrup
The initial taste is great - very sweet, in a way that does reflect golden syrup. There's a unique waffly, coffee-like undertone that adds depth. The aftertaste is a bit weird, but not unpleasant.
Rating: 7/10
Impact Whey Protein: Summer fruits
A decent attempt at a fruity powder, but an odd milky taste overpowers the fruit.
Rating: 4/10
Impact Whey Protein: Raspberry
A decent raspberry flavour, though it didn't seem to fully dissolve (maybe my fault, but I think I followed the instructions).
Rating: 6/10
Impact Whey Protein: Stracciatella
I'm not sure what this flavour was trying to do. Not bad, just watery and milky.
Rating: 3/10
Impact Whey Protein: Banana (attempt #1)
A nice, smooth banana flavour that isn't overpowering. Fairly plain, but sometimes that's what you want.
Rating: 7/10
Impact Whey Protein: Strawberry roly poly (attempt #1)
The initial strawberry flavour is enjoyable and the aftertaste is fine, but it falls flat in the middle. Not bad, not a standout. I'm not sure what the 'roly poly' part is supposed to be.
Rating: 6/10
Impact Whey Protein: Chocolate brownie (attempt #2)
Quite nice, but with a slightly weird aftertaste.
Rating: 6/10
Impact Whey Protein: Tiramasu
An interesting attempt at tiramisu. A fairly weak iced coffee taste that captures some of the dessert.
Rating: 6/10
THE Whey+: Vanilla ice cream
A nice vanilla, without the other vanillas' aftertaste problems. But it has random pieces that don't dissolve, giving the drink an odd texture. I think the bits are meant as a feature; they just make it worse.
Rating: 7/10
Impact Whey Protein: Banana (attempt #2)
A solid banana flavour: smooth, fairly plain, no unpleasant aftertaste.
Rating: 7/10
Impact Whey Protein: Vanilla (attempt #2)
A really unpleasant aftertaste, and overall a bit watery.
Rating: 3/10
Impact Whey Protein: Vanilla Raspberry (attempt #2)
Much nicer than standard vanilla again. This time there was a very minor unpleasant aftertaste, but it didn't linger.
Rating: 6/10
Impact Whey Protein: Strawberry roly poly (attempt #2)
A nice strawberry flavour, with a faint but very minor metallic undertone.
Rating: 6/10
Impact Whey Protein: Blueberry cheesecake (attempt #1)
One of the best flavours in the lineup! It smelt really good, which gave me flashbacks to the pineapple - but this one also tasted good. Consistent throughout, primarily blueberry (rather than cheesecake).
Rating: 8/10
Impact Whey Protein: Chocolate
A standard chocolate flavour that captures chocolate milk well - again, like Yazoo chocolate.
Rating: 7/10
Impact Whey Protein: Cookies and cream
A definite miss. Tasted awful - like shampoo, with maybe a hint of vanilla.
Rating: 1/10
Impact Whey Protein: Strawberry (attempt #1)
Artificial and not particularly enjoyable - like very cheap strawberry ice cream. Surprisingly, it leaves a pleasant aftertaste.
Rating: 5/10
Impact Whey Protein: Strawberry (attempt #2)
A plain but okay strawberry flavour. This time it didn't seem to fully dissolve.
Rating: 5/10
THE Whey+: Strawberry
The premium strawberry is enjoyable: smooth and rich. But again the odd bits in the powder are a significant drawback.
Rating: 7/10
Skinny Hot Chocolate: Chocolate Brownie
I'm not sure this counts as a protein powder; I added it to my order out of curiosity.
It's quite good. Smells a little odd, but tastes fine - slightly more bitter than normal hot chocolate (like cocoa powder), and fairly sweet.
Rating: 7/10
Impact Whey Protein: Blueberry cheesecake (attempt #2)
I bought a large bag (1kg) of this and chocolate mint.
Having it more often, the flavour tasted more artificial, and the milky taste of the whey came through - not ideal for someone who isn't a fan of milk. Still a decent option.
Rating: 7/10
Impact Whey Protein: Chocolate mint (attempt #2)
I bought a large bag (1kg) of this and blueberry cheesecake.
This one stayed enjoyable even after having it regularly. The chocolate and mint did an excellent job of masking the whey's milky taste.
Rating: 8/10
Recommendations
All of my top picks are from the standard Impact Whey Protein range.
My favourite is Impact Whey Protein: Chocolate Mint. The chocolate-mint balance is right for me, and I didn't get bored or sick of it after a large bag.
If you dislike mint, consider Impact Whey Protein: Blueberry cheesecake. This has a strong fruity taste, though it tastes more artificial once you've had it regularly.
If these two are too much, try Impact Whey Protein: Banana - a weaker, simpler flavour that (unlike vanilla) doesn't leave an unpleasant aftertaste. Or Impact Whey Protein: Chocolate, which tastes a lot like chocolate milk, if you like that.