Black soybean soy milk powder shaken in a bottle: Garuseonsaeng Seoritae Yakkong

Soybean powder always seems like it would either clump up in water or taste kind of beany. Those were the two things I was most curious about too. This Garuseonsaeng Seoritae Yakkong (black soybean) Soy Milk I tried isn't a ready-made soy milk — it's a powder type you mix into water yourself.

Instead of stirring it in a cup, I just put the water and powder together in a water bottle and shook it. After a few shakes, it dissolved right away with no clumps — that surprised me. But the taste surprised me even more. I expected a slightly beany flavor since it's soybean powder, but what came through first was a nutty taste rather than anything beany. There was barely any sweetness, and it went down smoothly, so it was easy to drink a whole glass.

Does Garuseonsaeng Seoritae powder dissolve if you just shake it in a water bottle?

Garuseonsaeng Seoritae Yakkong Soy Milk comes as a fine powder. Open the lid and you can see the powder right away — the particles are pretty fine.

With powder products, taste matters, but how well it dissolves in water matters just as much. It's annoying to be stirring away at clumps on a busy morning. So I just poured it straight into a water bottle — water first, then the yakkong powder, then closed the lid and shook it a few times.

I didn't even shake it that long, but when I opened it, the powder had already dissolved without clumping. No powder floating on top, no big chunks — that part was really convenient.

Going forward, I think I'll keep making it this way in a water bottle rather than bothering with a cup and spoon.

Does Garuseonsaeng Seoritae Yakkong taste beany or nutty?

And the thing I was most curious about — the taste. Soybean powder products sometimes have that distinct beany flavor. I figured I'd taste it on the first sip too. But when I actually drank it, the beany taste I'd been worried about was barely there at all. It was nutty instead.

There's almost no sweetness. If you're expecting a sweet soy milk, it might taste a bit different at first. I liked that I could taste the soybean's nuttiness rather than sugary sweetness. I thought a powder mixed into water might feel a bit chalky, but it went down smoothly too. There wasn't much powder residue left in my mouth afterward either, so it was easy to finish a full glass.

What's in it: 99.3% domestic black soybean

Garuseonsaeng Seoritae Yakkong Soy Milk uses 99.3% domestic black soybean per the product label. The remaining 0.7% is domestic sun-dried salt.

According to the brand's guide, no sugar, emulsifiers, preservatives, or flavoring are added. That's probably why, when I drank it myself, the nutty soybean flavor came through more than any sweetness. They say the black soybeans are ground extra-finely, skin and all, into powder form. At first I just thought of it as soybean powder you mix with water, but looking at the ingredients, the makeup is actually quite simple — 99.3% domestic black soybean + 0.7% domestic sun-dried salt. If you're someone who checks the soybean's origin or ratio when choosing soy milk, this is worth checking too.

Why a water bottle is the easiest way to mix Garuseonsaeng Seoritae Yakkong

After trying it, I found that mixing Garuseonsaeng Seoritae in a water bottle was the simplest method. Add water, add powder, close the lid, shake a few times — done. Since it dissolves quickly with no clumping, there's not much prep needed even in the morning. It's not a grab-and-drink ready-made soy milk, but mixing it yourself means you can adjust the water amount — less water for a stronger, thicker drink, more water for a lighter one.

I didn't reach for this when I wanted something sweet — more when I wanted something nutty in the morning or when I was a bit hungry. Most importantly, the two things I was worried about turned out fine.

• Would the powder dissolve well? → After a few shakes in the water bottle, it dissolved right away with no clumping.
• Would it taste beany? → When I drank it, the nutty taste came through before anything beany. It went down smoothly too.

If you've been curious about powdered black soybean soy milk, or if you prefer a nutty soybean taste over a sweet soy milk, Garuseonsaeng Seoritae might be worth a look. Next time too, I think I'll skip the cup and just shake it up in a water bottle, haha. What about you — when it comes to soy milk, do you prefer it sweet, or unsweetened and nutty?