Jake Drink review

[ryanhellyer]

My Jake arrived today. I've tried a wide variety of meal replacements, and Jake powder has been my preferred option so far. Jake Drink is my new preferred option.

Taste
The taste of Jake Drink is very bland. Nothing stands out as spectacular, but there's also nothing at all unpleasant about it either. I've had other ready to drink options and although the good parts of their taste were better, there was always something a bit off about them. Jake is just pleasantly bland. It's a bit like drinking a nut milk. I may occasionally turf in some toffee flavouring to spice it up a little (MyProtein sells a really nice squeezy bottle of this).

Convenience
I just unscrewed the cap, ripped off the foil cover and took a slurp.... enough said. Food aint gettin' much more convenient than this.

Price
Very acceptable. This is quite affordable for most people as a major source of food. It's certainly cheaper than eating out in most places.

Nutritional profile
The nutritional profile seems similar to the powder, which was already acceptable for it's purpose IMO. It has a better nutritional profile than any of the other ready to drink alternatives I've tried.
EDIT: This may be due it's use of maltodextrin and soy protein, neither of which are recommended as a primary source of nutrition.

[ryanhellyer]

Actually, the ingredients don’t look so great. The nutrition stats look fine, perhaps it’s just all maltodextrin and soy protein making them look better than they really are

Water, maltodextrin, 5 % soy protein

This may explain why the taste is so pleasant too.

[latestfuels]

ok so great. The nutrition stats look fine, perhaps it’s just all maltodextrin and soy protein making them look be

Just feels like they have lost a chance to differentiate themselves in the market.

There must be a mixing/taste/manufacturing reason for which all brands are going for soy protein in the RTDs. I do not understand why they would choose soy over the pea or pea/rice combo they use in the other products.

[Red]

I am guessing if rice protein was to be used instead of soy, that without oats to disguise it like in the powders, that the rice protein is neither neutral nor smooth tasting

My own hope is that the final product will have isomaltulose and sunflower oil removed in the final version of Jake drink, though I admit many if not most consumers may not care about this or will have heard the patented isomaltulose marketing and science funding in its favour

Removing sunflower oil will raise omega 3 to 6 ratio further and reduce inflammation. Jimmy joy dont use it for example. Thankfully sunflower oil does appear to be the second oil after rapeseed oil

Sugar about 20g daily is also lower than Saturo/Soylent/Mana about 40g which I am thankful for. Removing isomaltulose completely instead of using less, though it is the current darling of RTDs, will lower added sugar further. World Health Organization recommend ideally under 25g per day so the drink is close to max if taking regularly. It would be an excellent differentiator, just like Huel is extremely low sugar. I have read, on a forum, a case report of Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease from high use of Soylent for a year - due to the fructose in isomaltulose I wonder. Personally Soylent/Saturo/Mana fructose sugar aggravates gout feeling in me or anything over about 1g sugar per 100 calorie does same. Just because isomaltulose converts to sugar slowly does not make it healthy for everyone in my opinion

One interesting differentiator is the 100% daily required vitamin d in just one serving. I recently read of a meal replacement eater of a different brand having half recommended vitamin d levels in their blood, though other vitamins were ok, so this is probably welcome, unlike other drinks

Another interesting differentiator is most micronutrients are over 25% requirement per 400 cal drink. So potentially drinking 4 bottles could be used in similar use case as Jake Light to lose weight without losing out on micronutrients unlike all the competition

I admit these may not be perceived as differentiators by many if not most consumers but they will be valuable to me

I would like to know what is meant by flavourings in the ingredients. This would be another useful differentiator regarding transparency though I admit it might be a trade secret!

[Shem]

Just trying these for the first time today. Taste is bland with a rather unpleasant aftertaste.

It is very convenient but not a nice experience drinking it. The shakes are much nicer so I can't see myself reordering the drinks.

[ryanhellyer]

Is there anyone from Jake here who can explain why soy and maltodextrin are being used instead of something generally considered more nutritious?

I'm sure there is a logical reason, I'm just wondering what it is.

[Johan]

I got the chocolate ones and I agree with the comment on the aftertaste, there's a minor bitterness in the back of my throat after finishing the drink. Overall I'm quite happy with the product though, very convenient for when bringing a shaker and pouch just isn't an option.

I've also tried mixing it with hazelnut milk to make it less thick and that worked out great. I think that might be a personal thing though, even with the shakes I use 600-650 ml of liquid to make it more watery and less sweet.

[ryanhellyer]

I find it interesting that some of you are experiencing a bad aftertaste. I have not had that experience at all. The taste to me was almost non-existent, which I think is great because it leaves a lot of avenues open for adding flavour later.

[Gabzo]

I agree with you. I have tried it and I don't really see the aftertaste compared to other lents. I actually really love the flavor of this one and just wish they had one of their two fruit flavors available as a drink. That being said, I am looking forward to them making this a permanent thing. It's more expensive but hey hopefully they can bring the price down eventually.

That being said, I personally find neutral being bland a good thing.