Canadian Protein - Grass-Fed New Zealand Whey Protein Isolate

Unflavoured just means there's no flavour added to it, it's just the natural flavour of the whey. Tasting notes vary hugely between people, they have sample packs so you can just try a bunch without committing to a bag.  The Canadian Protein ones I tried 2 years ago were New Zealand Whey concentrate, New Zealand Whey isolate, whey protein isolate, hydrolysed whey protein isolate, premium whey blend, premium whey isolate, egg white protein powder.  Some were absolutely vile (to me, plenty of other people don't mind the taste), others almost disappeared if you mixed them into hot chocolate or a smoothie. From my tasting notes, the hydrolysed whey and premium whey isolate disappeared the best in chocolate milk. New Zealand Whey and whey isolate worked basically fine mixed with lemonade. The other combinations had varying levels of milky/chalky/vomity/weird taste to me but that's very individual. 

Unflavoured just means there's no flavour added to it, it's just the natural flavour of the whey. Tasting notes vary hugely between people, they have sample packs so you can just try a bunch without committing to a bag.  The Canadian Protein ones I tried 2 years ago were New Zealand Whey concentrate, New Zealand Whey isolate, whey protein isolate, hydrolysed whey protein isolate, premium whey blend, premium whey isolate, egg white protein powder.  Some were absolutely vile (to me, plenty of other people don't mind the taste), others almost disappeared if you mixed them into hot chocolate or a smoothie. From my tasting notes, the hydrolysed whey and premium whey isolate disappeared the best in chocolate milk. New Zealand Whey and whey isolate worked basically fine mixed with lemonade. The other combinations had varying levels of milky/chalky/vomity/weird taste to me but that's very individual. 

I found the regular whey protein isolate and premium whey isolate to be pretty similar when mixed in water, the regular had a slightly stronger weird taste that took more other stuff to mask than the premium. But the textures and ease of mixing were the same in the batches I received. 

If you care about what processed foods you put into your body (I do being 30+), the grass-fed New Zealand whey ingredient list is incredibly clean. For quality protein products, they cannot be beat at their current price point. Unfortunately, they have been slowly raising their prices, with the biggest hike being in the last 6 months.

I buy Canadian protein directly from their website since I like their unflavoured grass-fed New Zealand whey, which Costco doesn’t carry. I find the flavoured ones too sweet for me so I just add my own stevia to taste. Their website has discounts and promos every so often, which helps. 

It blends very well, I try to buy their unflavoured unsweetened isolate Ça se mélange très bien. J'essaie d'acheter leur isolat non sucré non aromatisé

It tastes pretty meh on it's own. The flavour disappears if you mix it in oatmeal, but I don't like the texture of that. I prefer their chocolate for taste and texture. The vanilla tastes OK but has a fluffier texture compared to the chocolate, which is more granular.  Edit: Also, IIRC, the nutrition info for the different flavours of the whey isolate is the same across flavours. I haven't heard that unflavoured is more protein dense, so can't comment directly there. 🤷🏼

It tastes pretty meh on it's own. The flavour disappears if you mix it in oatmeal, but I don't like the texture of that. I prefer their chocolate for taste and texture. The vanilla tastes OK but has a fluffier texture compared to the chocolate, which is more granular.  Edit: Also, IIRC, the nutrition info for the different flavours of the whey isolate is the same across flavours. I haven't heard that unflavoured is more protein dense, so can't comment directly there. 🤷🏼

the unflavoured whey protein tastes a bit like very watered down milk - pretty mild at that.

I'm glad it worked out for you. I just discovered a great way to use it when you're craving something a bit sweet. I used a scoop of the whey isolate, 1 Tbsp of a hot chocolate mix (about 1/3 of the suggested quantity), put a bit of milk (or water) in to make a watery paste and then add hot (but not quite boiling) water. Mix it up and it's a pretty good and easy hot chocolate. Apparently if you use boiling water the whey clumps.

No, I haven't tried that one. I'm looking for nothing but the whey protein to be in the powder. So no flavourings, sweeteners, thickeners, etc.

Canadian Protein does batch testing on all its powders, and you, the consumer, can look up the test results. https://canadianprotein.com/ The only brand that I get their whey from is due to the overall lower heavy metals. Edit: Link, if you have bought a batch from Canadian Protein and want to see the results: https://canadianprotein.com/pages/batch-tested-for-quality-safety

I buy 2kg bags from Canada protein when they go on sale. Some flavours are better than others, but I like chocolate and strawberry for shakes, and banana cream and cappuccino for mixing with my Greek yogurt in the morning. They also have a protein “coffee” which is basically just coffee flavoured whey powder with caffeine added. I use a milk warmer and warm up a cup of protein milk and mix with that protein coffee powder and an extra shot of espresso. Between that and my yogurt with whey I get over 80g of protein for breakfast at about 550 calories.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard, even at full price, from Costco, is about a 1.15 Canadian a serving, for 24g of protein in 120 calories. I've recently switched to Canadian Protein, which is a brand of protein that's available in bulk, and it works out to around 1.05 CAD/serving, for 27g of protein in 125 calories. Even if you don't buy it from costco, most whey isolate typically will cost less than 1.50 a serving. You just have to mix it yourself.

I use Canadian Protein and it’s 3rd party tested. NOW what I’d like to know is if they are testing for lead.

So I checked my packaging today, as Canadian Protein has 3rd party testing, and you can check your lot number on the bag. I entered my lot number and it came up no products found :/ Not exactly inspiring. The text on their website indicates they test for heavy metals though - so I’m going to further reach out to the company and ask my why lot # isn’t showing up.

They have been good to me for years, so I’m sure they will clear this up for me.