With the recent protein wars, I decided to try a different brand, one that sells bulk 20kg bags direct from the manufacturer. This led me to Protein Direct.
I didn't really want to spend hundreds of dollars on a huge bag of whey, so I tried their Iced Mocha WPC instead. They sell in 2.5kg bags which I think is a good size. I just received my delivery, with use by date 28/11/14 and possible batch number on label: 280510.
Packaging: Fairly compact bright red bag. Has quite a beefy seal at the top that is a bit fiddly but definitely looks like it provides a better seal than most bags. It comes with a scoop smaller than most, with a compacted flat scoop equalling 20g of powder measured on my micro scales.
Macros: Protein Direct's protein has slightly lower protein content than others, with both their natty WPC and WPI being a few percent lower than for example Bulk Nutrients. This seems a little more 'honest' to me what with recent 90%+ protein from certain companies turning out to be milk powder. I'm not sure what amount of lecithin is added but it is the only other ingredient in the natural wheys, and if it's 1-3% then that would explain the slightly lower protein.
Though, carbs come in at 12.2% which is quite high. I have just requested a reagent test from Bulk Nutrients, I'm unsure what powder with that amount of carbs will show. Fat is 6.5% which seems a little high.
Protein Direct Iced Mocha WPC per 100g
Protein: 74.2
Fat: 6.5
Carb: 12.2
Compare this to Bulk Nutrients' chocolate WPC with 76.5p 6.2f 5.8c. I'm guessing the difference is in whey supplier and lecithin, with Protein Direct's WPC coming in 20kg bags from Leprino Foods USA.
Powder appearance, texture: Quite a sandy powder with only the slightest of clumping. Could be the added lecithin changes the texture. Appearance is a pale creamy white/brown with flecks of coffee and or chocolate throughout.
Mixability: Mixed well with a fork in both milk and water, no doubt thanks to the added lecithin. No frothing at all, though I didn't get my whisk on as I didn't need to.
Flavour and smell: VERY mild, the mildest flavoured protein I have ever had. I am a sweet tooth, and registered almost no sweetness whatsoever. In my 500ml skim and 60g powder I ended up adding a couple of Equal sachets. The flavour itself is quite pleasant, a mild coffee tang and some milder chocolate. The smell is definitely stronger than the taste. The mildness would probably be good for a longterm protein and those who dislike strong flavours and excessive sweetness.
In a milky mug of coffee 60g of powder was quite pleasant. It melted in with little stirring needed, mixed quite a bit easier than the Bulk Nutrients vanilla WPI I normally use. It barely frothed at all, probably half as much as BN WPI. This level of sweetness was probably perfect for this mug of coffee however I am a sweet tooth so I added some Equal. 60g of BN vanilla WPI is probably three times sweeter than this Protein Direct Iced Mocha WPC. I find it interesting to note that the various No Bull WPI flavours I have tried in this fashion have been almost identical to Bulk Nutrients in terms of mixability/frothing/sweetness. Maybe my No Bull is okay, hopefully I can find out if Bulk Nutrients sends me test kits.
Tested so far: 60g in 500ml skim, 20g in 200ml cold water, 60g in soup mug of milky coffee.
I'm drinking most of my protein in the latter form lately. I forgot to take pics with water and skim, however water just looked like brown water with some creamy brown stuff on top, milk didn't look like much because I drank it out of a 1L stick blender cup that split so is covered in duct tape, so you can't see much of anything.
Price and delivery: $60 for 2.5kg of flavoured WPC comes in at $24 per kilo. Seems pretty good to me. $10 nationwide shipping is also decent, I decided to add $3 to that for express shipping as I am in WA. Got here pretty quick using Star Track. I got a receipt email at I think 10pm eastern time on Thursday 1st of August, received delivery in country WA on Monday afternoon 5th of August. Pretty happy with that.
Overall: Seems like a decent purchase. Will wait for BN test kits for final results. A very different protein than I am used to, though after shopping with No Bull for the past year, this may very well be a good thing. I notice that Protein Direct has Iced Mocha completely out of stock in both WPC and WPI. Natty WPC is also out of stock except for in original 20kg bag form. If the testing goes well, next I will probably try Vanilla and Banana as I'm usually a fan of these flavours.
I didn't really want to spend hundreds of dollars on a huge bag of whey, so I tried their Iced Mocha WPC instead. They sell in 2.5kg bags which I think is a good size. I just received my delivery, with use by date 28/11/14 and possible batch number on label: 280510.
Packaging: Fairly compact bright red bag. Has quite a beefy seal at the top that is a bit fiddly but definitely looks like it provides a better seal than most bags. It comes with a scoop smaller than most, with a compacted flat scoop equalling 20g of powder measured on my micro scales.
Macros: Protein Direct's protein has slightly lower protein content than others, with both their natty WPC and WPI being a few percent lower than for example Bulk Nutrients. This seems a little more 'honest' to me what with recent 90%+ protein from certain companies turning out to be milk powder. I'm not sure what amount of lecithin is added but it is the only other ingredient in the natural wheys, and if it's 1-3% then that would explain the slightly lower protein.
Though, carbs come in at 12.2% which is quite high. I have just requested a reagent test from Bulk Nutrients, I'm unsure what powder with that amount of carbs will show. Fat is 6.5% which seems a little high.
Protein Direct Iced Mocha WPC per 100g
Protein: 74.2
Fat: 6.5
Carb: 12.2
Compare this to Bulk Nutrients' chocolate WPC with 76.5p 6.2f 5.8c. I'm guessing the difference is in whey supplier and lecithin, with Protein Direct's WPC coming in 20kg bags from Leprino Foods USA.
Powder appearance, texture: Quite a sandy powder with only the slightest of clumping. Could be the added lecithin changes the texture. Appearance is a pale creamy white/brown with flecks of coffee and or chocolate throughout.
Mixability: Mixed well with a fork in both milk and water, no doubt thanks to the added lecithin. No frothing at all, though I didn't get my whisk on as I didn't need to.
Flavour and smell: VERY mild, the mildest flavoured protein I have ever had. I am a sweet tooth, and registered almost no sweetness whatsoever. In my 500ml skim and 60g powder I ended up adding a couple of Equal sachets. The flavour itself is quite pleasant, a mild coffee tang and some milder chocolate. The smell is definitely stronger than the taste. The mildness would probably be good for a longterm protein and those who dislike strong flavours and excessive sweetness.
In a milky mug of coffee 60g of powder was quite pleasant. It melted in with little stirring needed, mixed quite a bit easier than the Bulk Nutrients vanilla WPI I normally use. It barely frothed at all, probably half as much as BN WPI. This level of sweetness was probably perfect for this mug of coffee however I am a sweet tooth so I added some Equal. 60g of BN vanilla WPI is probably three times sweeter than this Protein Direct Iced Mocha WPC. I find it interesting to note that the various No Bull WPI flavours I have tried in this fashion have been almost identical to Bulk Nutrients in terms of mixability/frothing/sweetness. Maybe my No Bull is okay, hopefully I can find out if Bulk Nutrients sends me test kits.
Tested so far: 60g in 500ml skim, 20g in 200ml cold water, 60g in soup mug of milky coffee.
I'm drinking most of my protein in the latter form lately. I forgot to take pics with water and skim, however water just looked like brown water with some creamy brown stuff on top, milk didn't look like much because I drank it out of a 1L stick blender cup that split so is covered in duct tape, so you can't see much of anything.
Price and delivery: $60 for 2.5kg of flavoured WPC comes in at $24 per kilo. Seems pretty good to me. $10 nationwide shipping is also decent, I decided to add $3 to that for express shipping as I am in WA. Got here pretty quick using Star Track. I got a receipt email at I think 10pm eastern time on Thursday 1st of August, received delivery in country WA on Monday afternoon 5th of August. Pretty happy with that.
Overall: Seems like a decent purchase. Will wait for BN test kits for final results. A very different protein than I am used to, though after shopping with No Bull for the past year, this may very well be a good thing. I notice that Protein Direct has Iced Mocha completely out of stock in both WPC and WPI. Natty WPC is also out of stock except for in original 20kg bag form. If the testing goes well, next I will probably try Vanilla and Banana as I'm usually a fan of these flavours.
