Vegan protein shake with mild cacao taste: Cleanit Cacao

I work out consistently, but getting enough protein from food alone every day is harder than you might think. I bet quite a few of you have had this concern too, right?

So this time, I tried Cleanit Cacao to make up for the protein I was missing.

Cleanit Plant-Based Protein Cacao: the basics

I work out, so why is protein so hard to keep up with?

I usually work out quite a lot, so I pay close attention to my protein intake. But it was not easy to calculate and prepare protein foods such as chicken breast or eggs for every meal. While looking for a convenient plant-based protein shake to drink, I chose Cleanit Cacao.

I had even failed to finish a whole tub of previous chocolate protein powders because of that rich after-smell that lingered at the end, so I was especially curious about how this one would taste.

Pea and rice protein: why they caught my eye

According to the product information, this is a high-protein shake made with pea protein and rice protein.

It is also a plant-based protein shake with no milk ingredients at all, so its formulation is a little different from protein products containing dairy.

The fact that it is ZERO sugar and artificial sweeteners also stood out when I was choosing a product. Since you can simply mix it with water or soy milk, it seemed easy enough to keep on hand on workout days.

Chocolate, but not rich? A different taste from the first sip

Honestly, what I liked most was the taste even more than the ingredients, haha. It is a chocolate-flavored plant-based protein shake, but it was less sweet than I expected, and cacao's subtly bitter character lingered at the end. (I cannot keep drinking sweet shakes for long...)

With typical chocolate protein powders, after a few sips they can feel rich or leave an artificial sweet scent in my mouth for ages, making them hard to finish. But Cleanit Cacao felt closer to a clean cacao drink than a deep, sweet chocolate milk, and I was surprised that I kept reaching for it. (That slightly bitter note is good too~!)

The difference I noticed versus other chocolate protein powders

Some products I had tried tasted nice at first because they were sweet, but became cloying as I went on. I thought a plant-based protein shake might be similar, but I liked that this product does not rely on sweetness.

After a workout, I especially prefer something that goes down cleanly instead of leaving my mouth coated, and this suited my taste better. That said, if you are expecting a rich, sweet chocolate-milk flavor, it may feel a little mild at first.

Mix it with water or soy milk?

The product information says to mix it with water or soy milk, and it also introduces a way to mix it with espresso and drink it like a latte. If, like me, you find strongly sweet protein powders overwhelming, I think it would be good to start by mixing it simply with water and adjust it to your taste.

Personally, even a delicious plant-based protein shake does not get much use if it is inconvenient. I also liked that, as a powder, it is easy to have whenever I am short on protein at a meal or before or after exercise. (Lately, I sometimes drink it as a meal replacement too~!)

I recommend it for

• People who want to consistently get protein while working out
• People who found the rich after-smell of regular chocolate protein overwhelming
• People who prefer a slightly bitter cacao flavor over excessive sweetness
• People looking for something simple to mix with water or soy milk

Things you may wonder before drinking it

Is it very sweet?

When I drank it, it leaned more clean and slightly bitter than intensely sweet.

Does the chocolate flavor feel very rich?

This was actually why I kept drinking it. It felt cleaner than the chocolate protein products I had tried before.

How should I drink it?

According to the product information, you can mix it with water or soy milk, and there is also a way to drink it mixed with espresso.

Final thoughts: is this a cacao flavor you can keep drinking?

Because I work out a lot, it has not been easy for me either to carefully meet my protein needs through meals alone every day. That is why I feel that, while ingredients matter in protein powder, the real question is, “Is this a flavor I can keep drinking?”

Cleanit Cacao stuck with me because, despite being chocolate-flavored, it was not rich and its slightly bitter cacao taste did not become tiresome, haha.

If you, like me, have not found a chocolate protein you can stick with because of that characteristically sweet, rich aftertaste, I think this could be worth comparing.