I’ve been using Huel (Vanilla) for about a week now, usually for breakfast and lunch with a healthy cooked meal in the evening. My experience has been mainly good so far, minor bowel issues aside. I do have one problem with the taste though, but I’m not sure if it’s just me or the product.
Some of the time (I’d say every few mouthfuls) I’ll get a bitter/sour aftertaste. I love the taste in general but this occasional aftertaste really puts me off. To the point where I feel like I’m “forcing” it down rather than enjoying it. I have tried mixing it with things like fruit, yogurt etc but it’s still too noticeable to enjoy.
At first I thought it might’ve been because I didn’t properly close the seal of one my bags. I made a small sample from my other bag after opening it immediately and still had the same problem. So it wasn’t that.
I then thought it may be due to my blender and/or shaker not being properly cleaned. I cleaned them both thoroughly and made other drinks with them but they were fine. So it wasn’t that.
Does anyone else experience this same problem? It’s a little disappointing for me because other than that, I’m loving Huel.
Hi @laronda, I’m sorry you’re finding it to have a bitter aftertaste, that isn’t normal. Is anyone else experiencing this? I found it took me a little while to adjust to the flavour. In terms of bitterness, it is very subjective; there are some bitter compounds that only some people can taste and others can’t due to different gene expression. However, I don’t feel this applies to any of the ingredients in Huel, rather quinine which is in tonic water. Which batch of Huel do you have? The batch is a 4 digit number on the reverse of your Huel bag below the nutritional information label.
Thanks for the quick reply @TimOfficeHuel . I thought it was maybe just getting used to the flavour, but I looked through the forums and noticed nobody else was really experiencing the same thing. I am definitely going to continue using it regardless, perhaps my taste buds are just strange. Would love to know if anyone else is experiencing the same though.
As for the batch number, I’ll let you know once I get back from work.
Hello @TimOfficeHuel, I am also experiencing a bitter aftertaste, batch 2160. For what it’s worth I dislike tonic water because it’s far too bitter for me.
This is somewhat anecdotal, but I had the same problem for a while. However, three things seemed to make a big difference:
Huel tastes terrible after you have cleaned your teeth. I was taking a bottle to work with me and drinking it enroute. Instead I now drink a glass at home, make some for lunch, then clean my teeth. Big difference.
I used to put coffee in huel, but it felt like it was adding to the bitterness.
Make sure your bottle is properly cleaned. Huel does go pretty rancid sometimes after abour 24 hours, so any residue will taint the next batch.
Like I said, those things aren’t necessarily relevant to you, but they might have an effect.
I think it is possible, however, that I also had a weird batch. The taste completely vanished, and my current batch tastes absolutely fine.
I’ve since tried a few things and now do not feel the bitter aftertaste at all.
I might’ve just adapted to it and don’t notice it anymore, it’s been a week and a half on 100% Huel. This is how I prepare my Huel:
Warm-hot water (blends better)
100g Huel, 500ml water, 10g coffee (or barleycup for the evenings)
Mixed in the evening and left in the fridge overnight
I’m not sure which of the coffee or the overnight fridge fixed it or if it’s in my head but I no longer feel terrible at the idea of drinking my Huel shake, on the contrary I find it quite pleasant.
Can I ask are you shaking your Huel or blending it? It could be unmixed lumps of huel powder if the former. If you haven’t tried it, put it in a food blender and blitz it, then see if you get the same bitterness.
Honestly not sure what to say. I wouldn’t have thought it was the batch, we work hard to ensure every batch is the same. I think that we are all a little different. For example, we get lots of people saying Huel is too sweet, when many people say that they think it doesn’t taste of anything or is just right. The toothpaste definitely wouldn’t help!
I find a bitter aftertaste with the vanilla, it is the artificial sweetener. I have switched to the unflavoured, which I drink straight, or add banana or honey. I would like some advice on how to cover up the bitter taste of the sweetener though, as I have almost 2 whole packs left.
@TimOfficeHuel I might be a bit late to the party on this one as I bought my Huel at the end of Feb, batch 2176 but the Vanilla flavour had such a bitter aftertaste that I don’t remember from the sample I tried, that it I found it almost impossible to get the whole serving down. Tried chilling it overnight and this seemed to make the taste even worse. My two bags have been sat waiting ever since, not the turnout I’d hoped for
I don’t like the aftertaste of the vanilla either. I put 1 scoop of vanilla with 2 scoops of unflavoured, then add half milk half water and either banana or hot chocolate powder to flavour. If I have hot chocolate I have it hot, but be aware, it thickens immediately so it takes a bit of faffing to get it smooth in the mixer.
Really sorry to hear that, that is unusual for the after taste to be so powerful. We use natural products, so there can be natural variances, however we haven’t heard anything else unusual about this batch. It might be worth trying the Unflavoured, or possibly just add more water. The sample is only 100g and you could have added more Huel to your meal once you ordered the full batch. Experimenting with the ratio of water to Huel would certainly be the next thing I would try.
I just really don’t like artificial sweeter, never have done, but the way I’m using it covers it up. My next batch I will order just the unsweetened, then I can flavour ax I like, if needed.
I have a vitamix and blend for a couple of minutes on high…if I taste it straight away it has a slight bitterness, but stick it in fridge overnight and perfect next day.
I don’t mean to necro an old post, but I just wanted to out my 2 cents in. I also have an odd taste after storing it overnight. Almost a kind of metallic taste which is a little bitter.
This is 2.0 vanilla.
I blend in a blender and then store. Have had this in several batches.
From reading all these posts I think it could be something reacting with the metal in the blenders people are using. I’ve been using huel for a while and not having this problem but then I switched to using an electric whisk because I am have a large dose of huel each day and now I’m getting this after taste as well. I will try using hot water as suggested here and mixing with a wooden spoon and see if this fixes it tomorrow.
It’s vile, horrible taste of artificial sweetener that lasts for hours, my mistake, would never have gone near this product if I’d known it had Clorine in it, should have read the small print, total waste of fifty quid, makes me feel nauseous for hours after. Googled sucralose but I knew the answer anyway, artificial sweeteners are pure poison, don’t let the food agencies fool you - huel original vanilla is NOT healthy, and autocorrect wants to quite rightly change it to hurl…
Sucralose can destroy up to 50 percent of your healthy intestinal bacteria, as these bacteria help maintain your body’s overall balance of friendly versus unfriendly micro-organisms, and support your general health. Many people are already deficient in healthy bacteria due to choosing highly processed foods.
