Flavors: Several, including unflavored, vanilla, chocolate, coffee
Nuzest was the 23rd vegan protein powder that I tested on my quest to find the best tasting vegan protein powder.
I can sum up Nuzest’s protein powder really easily: It would be THE best overall, except that it’s very expensive.
If money isn’t a factor for you, then it’s probably the best option you’ll find. Otherwise, if budget is a concern for you, there are better “value” options.
In this review, I’ll break down how Nuzest scored based on my standardized testing procedure.
Table of Contents
Nuzest Nutritional Value and Protein Content
The first thing I always look at is how much protein is in the powder.
Protein powders should ideally have as much protein as possible, with as few calories as possible.
So I created a nutrition score that compares the percentage of calories that come from protein to the highest amount I found in any powder (which was 90% of calories). Here’s the simple formula:
In a serving of Nuzest’s vanilla protein (varies a small amount based on flavor), there are 21 grams of protein and 100 calories.
Plugging in that data to the formula, and we get a price score of 24.69 out of 25. That’s a perfect score when rounded up.
In plain English, Nuzest has almost as much protein per calorie as you’ll find in any powder.
Ingredients
The high protein content is mainly due to the simple ingredients list. For example, here’s the ingredient list for the smooth vanilla flavor:
Pea protein isolate, Natural vanilla flavor, Thaumatin
Nuzest is arguably the best vegan protein powder without stevia, which is used in the majority of them.
Thaumatin is a low-calorie natural sweetener. Personally, I much prefer the taste of it to stevia, which almost every other powder uses.
Finally, one last note is that Nuzest uses European pea protein isolate. There have been some concerns over heavy metal contamination in protein powders lately, mainly those sourced from China (which most companies use).
So if you wanted to be on the safe side, Nuzest is one of your few options that sources their pea protein from elsewhere. This adds to the cost of the product.
Nuzest has about as much protein as you can get in a protein powder with the fewest calories.
Is Nuzest More Expensive Than Other Vegan Protein Powder?
In the summary at the beginning, you may have seen that Nuzest had a price score of 0 out of 25.
In other words, it’s the most expensive vegan protein powder per 100 grams that I’ve come across.
The average score is around 15 for reference.
I don’t have much else to say, only you know how important budget is to you.
How Well Does Nuzest Mix?
The third main component that I test is mixability.
I follow the same procedure for every powder, to ensure that they are compared fairly:
- Add 450 mL of unsweetened almond milk to shaker bottle.
- Add 35 grams of protein powder.
- Shake for 45 seconds.
- Pour shake through a fine strainer to remove clumps (and weigh them).
The mixability score is then calculated with this formula:
Nuzest mixes really well. There’s a bit that sticks to the sides of the bottle, but no actual “clumps” (more like foam on the sides of the bottle).
Here’s a picture of the strainer after I poured the shake through it:
You can see that other than a few specks that weigh virtually nothing, it’s empty.
With 0 grams of clumps, Nuzest gets a perfect mixability score of 25.
Nuzest mixes perfectly, with no clumps forming. Only a few other vegan protein powders that I tested can claim that.
Does Nuzest Pea Protein Taste Good?
The final thing I test is taste, which is the only area where my personal opinion is really involved.
I try to be consistent as possible, but of course you may rate certain tastes differently than I do.
Here were my main takeaways from my tests (I test multiple shakes):
- The flavor is great
- The texture is smooth and a bit foamy
- No noticeable aftertaste.
- There’s the tiniest bit of chalkiness.
In short, it’s arguably the best tasting one that I’ve tried so far.
I debated whether to score this 22 (like some of the other best ones), or a perfect 25.
Ultimately, I think Nuzest tastes about as good as you can get for a protein shake, so I gave it the only perfect 25 of any powder so far.
Summary of My Nuzest Pea Protein Review
If cost isn’t too important to you, I highly recommend Nuzest.
The product is incredibly high quality, and tastes great.
However, if overall value for your dollar is more important to you, there are other options that might be better for you.
Nuzest Vegan Pea Protein Powder
Has the highest quality ingredients and is one of the best vegan protein powders. It tastes amazing, partly due to being one of the few protein powders not sweetened with stevia.
Alternatives to Nuzest
I’ve tested dozens of vegan protein powders, and while Nuzest may taste the best, others do come close:
- Future Kind – If any vegan protein powder outperforms Nuzest in terms of quality, it’s Future Kind’s. Their protein powder tastes almost as good, has a higher protein content, and is a much more reasonable cost. See my Future Kind vegan protein review for my full thoughts.
- Plantfusion – One of my top choices for the best overall powder in terms of “value”. It tastes great, mixes well, and is more affordable. Here’s my full PlantFusion vegan protein powder review.
- KOS Organic – This is an organic vegan protein powder with high quality ingredients. The flavor is good, but the overall taste isn’t quite as good as Nuzest because it doesn’t mix perfectly. However, it’s still a bit more affordable, and a decent option. Here’s my full KOS protein powder review.
