This was the fourth time that I purchased the chocolate malt Gold Standard protein powder, and I could not be more satisfied. The ideal user for this product in my mind is someone who wishes to take control of their protein intake, whether it be for nutritional purposes or to achieve maximum benefits after a demanding lift in the gym. I have decided to rate this protein powder based off three criteria: flavor, nutritional content per scoop, and blend-ability.
FLAVOR
When buying any type of protein supplement the main thing people tend to criticize is the flavor. After tasting this chocolate malt protein powder, I can honestly say it is the best tasting protein supplement I have ever consumed. The taste is comparable to the smooth, velvety, sweet chocolate malt you got as a child at your local ice cream shop. If you really want to take the flavor and calories to the next level, try enhancing your protein shake. Take one scoop of this protein powder, one ripe banana, one cup of milk, a hefty scoop of peanut butter, and 5-10 ice cubs, then blend for one minute.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT PER SCOOP
The most important part of a protein supplement is how much protein you are ingesting per serving. This is one reason why I like the Gold Standard brand because they have achieved a high level of efficacy by packing 24 grams of protein into one scoop. The 5-lb. tub contains 73 scoops of protein which last me (an intermediate/advanced lifter) about one month, as I take one shake between each main meal throughout the day, and one after my night workout.
BLEND-ABILITY
Blend-ability is how well the protein can mix with various liquids and create a homogenous, or even mixture. I have found this can be an issue with some protein powders, but not with Gold Standard protein powder. I have mixed this protein powder with a variety of liquids such as water, milk, and even beer. It has never failed to mix thoroughly or leave a chunky solution as the final product, which to most consumers is ideal.
SUMMARY
Overall, I would give the Gold Standard 100% whey protein powder 5 out of 5 stars. It has great flavor, optimal nutrition content, and great blend-ability. If you have been disappointed with protein powder in the past, give up on the “just okay stuff” and try something that won’t disappoint your needs, for me that is Gold Standard protein.
i’ve been training for a long time and i’ve tried many different protien powders in that time. optimum nutrition Is and has been a top brand for a while but this is the first time I actually purchased they’re gold standard and I must say I do enjoy it. I have the chocolate peanut butter and it tastes great and mixes so easily wich is the best part imo. I hate chunky/ gritty shakes it makes me not want to drink them. so with it tasting great and being easy to mix and easily digestible I feel like it’s definitely deserving of its name as a gold standard. will continue to use this through my current competition prep. my only “negative” about it is the 2g of fat per serving and the 4g of carbs. not that those are bad macros but I would love it to be 0 fat and lower carb. awsome product non the less. 5 stars.
I'm not a chemist so I can't verify the nutritional contents of this stuff. All I know is that it tastes great. I take one or two servings a day with skim milk, and it tastes like chocolate ice cream. I've had it with just water and it kind of tastes like watery Yoohoo. Its not the greatest taste, but it is completely passable for people who want a low calorie shake.
The problem I have with it is that it has a pretty strong artificial sweetener aftertaste to it that stays with me for a couple of hours. Its not awful, but its annoying enough that I consider trying other products at times.
My husband and I have used Optimum Nutrition for years as a low carb, low fat way to hit our protein macros. Over time we've tried several different flavors and all of them taste great, though of course we have preferences. I also noticed that the sodium level went up on newer batches of the protein, but it only went from 115 to 130 - that's a difference of 15, which we consider negligible, and neither of us can tell a taste difference. If you want a good protein with low carb and fat that still tastes fairly good without breaking the bank, this is a great choice.
PROTIP: If you are cutting and you don't have the calories to mix your protein with nut/soy/dairy/etc milk, do yourself a favor, purchase a $5-$9 water TDS meter, and make sure that the water you're mixing your protein with is as pure as possible. Within the last year we became very water conscious and did just that - we use ZeroWater filters now and we have noticed a definite taste difference with our protein. The same holds true for coffee. This simple change has ensured that we don't dread drinking our protein shakes any longer.
Our favorite flavors are:
1) Extreme Milk Chocolate - Our favorite ON chocolate flavor. (My husband actually hates all of the chocolate flavors except for this one and double rich chocolate.) This actually tastes like you've made a glass of chocolate milk from Nesquick or something, even if you mix it with just water (which is what we do). If you blend it with ice or use it to make protein fluff it tastes like a chocolate shake.
2) Vanilla Ice Cream - I love this flavor, which is controversial because a lot of people hate it. It tastes exactly like the description - it tastes like melted vanilla ice cream, with all of the sweetness that accompanies that. If you like that flavor (and I do), then you'll like this shake. If you prefer a more traditional vanilla flavor, stick with French Vanilla.
3) Double Rich Chocolate - My husband's favorite chocolate flavor until we tried Extreme Milk Chocolate. I'm not a fan of this, however - it has a dry, chalky, almost malty taste in your mouth and is more reminiscent of dark chocolate. If you like malt and dark chocolate (which hubs does), you'll probably like this a lot.
Thoughts on other flavors we have tried that were fine but not quite our favorites:
>Birthday Cake - Great for making homemade protein bars and adding a little pizzazz to your shakes with the sprinkles floating around. Definitely high on the artificially sweetened taste, though, so keep that in mind.
>Rocky Road - Wasn't bad! Wasn't great. Hubs absolutely hated it.
I really like this product. It provides a good amount of protein for a low amount of calories; Amazon had the best price I could find. The taste is good and the powder dissolves in water very well. I typically shake or use a blender - stirring does not work as well and it does leave some small clumps. Also, if I use the blender it seems to foam up pretty good but not to a point that it's a showstopper. Almost immediately, when using this product, I noticed that I'm not as sore the next day after a really good workout. I would purchase this again but after trying some of their other flavors.
Feature Product
- GOLD STANDARD 100% WHEY BLEND - 24g blended protein consisting of whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, and whey peptides to support lean muscle mass - they don't call it the GOLD STANDARD of quality for nothing
- OVER 5G OF BCAAS - help build lean and strong muscles with naturally occurring BCAAs
- 3-4G CARBS, 1-3G SUGAR, AND 1-1.5G FAT, GLUTEN FREE, No Sucralose in Double Rich Chocolate Flavor
- INSTANTIZED - improves mixability to prevent lumps and clumps
- BANNED SUBSTANCE TESTED - highest quality control measures so you feel comfortable and safe consuming the product
- 4 SIZES TO CHOOSE FROM - 1, 2, 5, and 10-pound options available
- OVER 20 DECADENT FLAVORS TO CHOOSE FROM
- ANY-TIME FORMULA - great before or after exercise, between meals, with a meal, or any time of day where you need extra protein in your nutrition
Description
OPTIMUM NUTRITION'S GOLD STANDARD 100% Whey uses pure Whey Protein Isolates as the primary ingredient. Combined with ultra-filtered whey protein concentrate, each serving provides 24 grams of all-whey protein and 5.5 grams of naturally occurring Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) which are prized by athletes for their muscle building qualities. With more than 20 tempting flavors to choose from, ON GOLD STANDARD 100% Whey gives you plenty of ways to keep workout recovery interesting. Search "ON Apparel TRUE STRENGTH" to see our new ON clothing line!
I use this powder on average twice a day. It tastes amazing, which especially good when doing a cut as it takes care of my chocolate cravings. It mixes very well and doesn't leave the gritty feeling that so many other brands do. I've mixed it with everything from sports drinks to coconut water and had success at every turn. The low calories and low carb count are (aside from the taste) the best part of this protein powder.
I got french vanilla creme flavor; unless you like french vanilla, I wouldn't get this flavor I think. After one scoop mix with water, I already could feel I was getting sick of this taste already lol probably in another 5-7 scoops with water mixing and I'll be really sick of it. Trying to find some recipes to make a smoothie blend out of this so I don't get sick of the flavor.
The free scoop was about halfway inside the bottle. I used a spoon to poke inside and hit a hard spot, then reach in with my hand so it was a little messy.
I should've stuck to chocolate lol 72 out of 73 vanilla scoops to go.
@@@EDIT 12/5/2015: Stirred, not shaken. I dislike creaminess, so when I shake and not stir my protein mixer bottle, it creates a lot of foam/bubbles that is almost equal to the amount I add in to mix with water (1 scoop + 7oz). But once I stir it instead, it was a smooth foamless/bubbleless drink that I can enjoy instead. I realize this on my 3rd attempt that shaking creates too much air into the drink (not a problem I had with Serious Mass Chocolate protein powder). An easy jump from 4 stars to 5 stars now =]
p.s. I also learn to review after trying at least 3-5 times or for a few weeks before reviewing a product.
I think ON Gold Standard protein is a pretty solid protein. Reasonable protein grams to scoop grams percentage, mixes well, and has decent amount of aminos. I mix with NOW unflavored whey isolate protein to increase protein to grams ratio with minimal affect on taste. I was not a fan of the white chocolate flavor. I am almost through every flavor ON protein and white chocolate got a 5 of 10 on my excel sheet. I did not reduce my star rating since flavor can largely be a personal preference and not necessarily a black mark to the brand. And I have never tried another brand with white chocolate flavoring to compare it to.
After 1 year of pounding this stuff I have come to a couple of conclusions.
1. Extreme milk chocolate is the only good flavor I've had. It's actually pretty tasty.
2. Double rich chocolate tastes like a generic of a already generic brand.
And 3. My big swole man hands can barely type this review.
Keep chugging.
Checks all the boxes: recommended by Wirecutter, seems to pass the impurities (heavy metals) test from Consumer Reports. Uses sucralose, which I don't care about, good protein concentration for the calories, very low carbs. Oh, and it tastes good! I got the malt chocolate flavor, and mixed with soy milk, tastes like something I would just drink for its flavor. Doesn't really mix well with just a spoon though; I use a Nutribullet to make smoothies, I haven't tried a shaker tumbler.
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