As we all know, there are far more choices of protein powders out there than even the most whey dependant person can ever hope to try. Most of us find a brand or 2 that we are loyal to, barring "Everythigng must go sales" at our favorte online warehouses, and just reorder that brand time and time again. While I don't have any brand loyalty yet, I do have my own way of choosing my whey. Being the CAB (Cheap A$$ Bastard) I am, and to an extreme I may add, I always look for simply the best deal for what I get as far as profile and quality. Flavor and company are after thoughts, although I try to stay away from Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry is avoided like the plague.
After polishing off my 25 lb. Box of Dymatize Cafe Mocha, and loving it I may add, I wanted to try a different brand. Anabolic Innovations was just getting started and seemed like a great choice, so I ordered 10 lbs of each Coffee and The Elvis (a.k.a. Banana/PB).
The Elvis Retrospective
Profile ~ 10/10
Taken From AI's Website:
Supplement Facts
One serving of Whey Protein Blend
supplies the following:
Calories: 102
Total Fat: 1g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol: 21mg
Sodium: 70mg
Potassium: 142mg
Total Carbohydrate: 1g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 22g
For a WPC that is a damn impressive nutrition profile, one really can't ask for much more from a Concentrate. Infact, some companies are selling Isolates with lesser profiles.
Price ~ 7/10
The prices at AI are outstanding:
5 lb. = $26
10 lb. = $48
15 lb. = $66.50
Anywhere between $5.20 and $4.43 per lb. for WPC. These could be cheaper but for the quality and from a smaller company, they are still competetive with larger sellers.
Mixability ~ 2/10
This is where AI really needs to improve their protein, it is almost unacceptable how badly this stuff mixes. When put in a glass and mixed with a spoon you get huge globs that float around and a very sticky texture that sticks to the sides of the glass, basically wasted protein. Using a fork makes things slightly better but still a clumpy mess, I can't even imagine using a shaker and having to clean the thing after. I though Dymatize was bad, but this is just terrible.
Flavor ~ 6/10
While the idea is very creative,and should be a hit with this communities love for PB, it is not exectued very well. The banana flavor is surprisingly natural, no fake Laffy Taffy taste here, but far to weak. The peanut butter flavor is very faint, and vey artifical in contrast, but adds a nice aftertaste to the banana. The actual flavoring is far to weak for my taste, even though the taste is plenty sweet, and the globbing tendency doesn't help, as it leaves one with a large... well glob of flavor and a glass full of watery, weak junk with a hint of banana. Over all, it just tastes like a sweet candy with a hint of banana and some "other flavor" that one can't quite pin-point.
Value ~ 8/10
Considering the price and profile AI still has a valueable product here. If one likes Oats with WPC, like I do, then this stuff is amzing, the clumping is almost a nonissue when "beat" into the oats and the flavor is oout of this world, add a little Cinnamon or a real banana and "Damn You're Gold". For me this use alone makes the value here outstanding, those that make there own shakes with Oats+PB+Whey and such will love the stuff as well, as will anyone who blends or bullets (as in magic bullet
) their shakes. However, if you're looking to make some nice smooth drinks look else where, and for PWO but even think about it, you WILL end up with a gloppey, sticky mess.
Overall ~ 6/10
On paper this apears to be one of the single best proteins on the market. However, after mixing up a glass of globby/weak flavored sweet stuff the overall quality is diffenently in question. This is certainly a product for those that only care about getting the most "bang for the buck", as for the price it can't be beat without comparmising nutritional profile. Protein Snobs (those that will throw away a product because of taste or texture, or come here and complain about it in evey thread about the product they can get there hands on) need not apply, and should go back to getting the Nectar or Muscle Milk, at $10 per lb., and complaining about "How they thew out Anator because it taste sooo Bad" and "How they can do squats because they hurt toooooo much".
I simply can't afford expensive gourmet protein/candy products with the amount of Whey I use, errr even if I could I would still buy in bulk and spend the extra money on a Power Rack/Custom BBs, Xtend/Excell, and Meat. I'm about 6 lb. into this flavor and am by no means sick of it, I'm not sure I will ever really get sick of anything that isn't terrible to begin with, but the agian I can eat almost anything. Although I am Jones'en for some DE Cafe Mocha and Buttered Toffee sounds delightful...
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