Powder Lumps - am I mixing it right?

[aoikihou]

Hi guys, new Huel user here. Received my pack end last week and was super excited to try it out this week.

However, its really giving me so much trouble. I am currently using the chocolate powder, with no blender (just the shaker - I make it at work for lunch so a blender is kinda hard to get access too + the washing is annoying.) I’ve read online extensively that that’s the easiest way to solve lumps but I really didn’t buy Huel to be blended because from the advertising it was supposed to be as easy to use as protein powder (which I have never had any issues with mixing).

I currently follow the instructions to a T - 400 ml of water, 3 scoops of huel, add ice, shake like crazy (they said 10 seconds, I literally shook it for 3 minutes - I timed). Still same terrible lumps.

Yesterday I tried to leave out the ice and I spent 5 minutes shaking. Lumpy.

Today I tried adding less powder first (400 ml + 2 scoops, shake, then extra scoop, shake, extra water, shake, ice).

Today’s one still had such HUGE lumps (this is not the only lump I found and its HUGE. I think the outside had somehow emulsified and it kept the inside of the lump like untouched…)

(added another pic to show how it sticks to the side of the shaker)

I drained a bit when I added too much water and the end and - its just…wow. so many chunks. And I can see powder chunks in my bottle, I shook it so hard but it still refused to go away, I then took a fork and scraped at it. Its literally powder bombs in my mouth. ugh.

I bought Huel for the supposed practicality + easy-to-use nature but it’s been tough. I have a whole pack and I do want to keep using it because it tastes fine to me. But the texture has bee so hard to work with…

Please let me know if anyone has any tips that can be used in the office? (so no blender)

[Tangotango]

That’s definitely not right, I don’t get any lumps and I just shake for 10 seconds as suggested.

A couple of ideas if you aren’t doing these already;

Use a bit more water at first to give yourself more chance.

Water in first, then powder, then don’t leave it to sit at all just get on with shaking it.

Leave the ice guard thing in (even if you don’t have ice)

Shake vigorously, in an up and down motion (hold the lid on with one finger), not in a side to side or swirly action which does nothing.

You can buy small mixing balls to put in the shaker to help agitate when mixing.

[Phil_C]

more water and mixing ball as Tango mentioned definitely will help. you might also want to consider one of those personal USB powered blenders at work - dunno how good they are but seem to be increasingly popular.

[Kaedius345]

Water, powder, water, followed by a vigorous shake and then letting it sit for at least an hour (I do room temp as I don’t like cold Huel, you may prefer fridge) and it’s smooth as can be.

Giving it some time to fully saturate and thicken helps the texture a lot!

[Dan95]

I have the same at times, the ice shield helps a little, I always water down alot more since I dont like the earthy taste too much - I’ve brought myself a little £20 blender to hide in work and another at home (keep the bottles with me then no one uses it haha)

Seen a few people swear by those vortex water bottle things, ive never used one personally

[David]

One thing I noticed is that if you immediately start your shake with a strong up-down action, some of the powder sticks inside the mouth of the bottle and won’t mix properly. What I do now is gently shake sideways until all the powder and water are intermingling nicely, and only then do I start shaking properly.

I never use the ice grid but I do use a blender ball. But even without, it mixes pretty well.

I never drink it immediately. I always leave it in the fridge for hours, which likely gives small lumps time to dissipate.

[soopahfly]

Somethings definitely not right there, I’ve never had lumps like that.
Give it a proper shake, not a tickle.

[Tottiroo]

I only do 300 ml of water (more empty space to shake everything around in) and -this I think is essential- I do not pack the powder into the measuring cup. I shake the powder down over the water so it falls loosely in and lands more on top of the water, not in a thick clump that proceeds to plummet into the water and get encapsuled.

Then I add ice, grid, and shake hard up and down, then upside down. I have no clumps after this step, but I’ll proceed to add more water (+frozen berries for taste), shake a little more to mix it in and leave it in the fridge or my bag for a while, or drink it directly. I have no issues with clumps, so try to not pack the powder before/while adding it and get back to us with results.

[hunzas]

You need to practice your wrist action @Ian42 can give you seem relevant tips on this.

[aoikihou]

Hi guys,

Thanks so much for the tips! Just to assure everyone, I am shaking it like, really hard - like a bartender style shake, up down, finger on lid lol I even watched the instructional video to compare, and really vigorously for quite a long time (at least a minute, and I’ve literally shaken it for up to 3 minutes before). I can shake it really hard and yet I still see some powder on the side of my shaker sometimes that I have to scrape off. I leave the grid on usually, I tried it once without when I was doing the layering thing (water powder water powder water ice.) As mentioned I’ve used protein before and never had a problem with chunkiness at all. It would be okay if it was grain from oats but it’s really…just clumps of powder, which is just not very nice.

Here’s a picture of my sink’s strainer to show literally how chunky one of the batches was - I drained a bit because I added too much water, and this also includes the remnants of whatever I was washing out. it looks so gross haha. I am usually ok if it’s a little chunky but as you can see it’s really ridiculous so I was like ??? am I doing something wrong?

I take quite a bit of time to drink it (20-30 minutes) and there are still chunks at the end although it does get a little better once I add a bit more water at the end and shake again. I do put water in before powder, 400ml like the instruction, + i try to shake it almost immediately. I’m getting conflicting instructions about how much water to put so I’ll try to experiment and see which works, less or more! But it’s just frustrating that the instructions aren’t accurate haha…

I’ll try the pouring thing - I kinda just scoop it into the shaker like I would with protein, just on top of the water this time. It gets kind of messy, but I will see if i can do it in a way that doesn’t make a clump fall down. I’ll also try making it a bit earlier and refrigerating it for a bit. If if still doesn’t get better I might get a mini blender, but tbh I might just find another alternative that mixes easier haha…

Thank you for everyone’s help nevertheless, I hope it works out better next week!

[Berserker]

I’ve tried all sorts of shaking techniques and the only thing I can recommend is a fork. Put your water in put your powder in and mix slowly with a fork until the powders wet then mix fast, crush any lumps on the side of shaker.

Or maybe the mixing ball helps I’ve. Never tried it

[Bee]

I’m not that careful at scooping it in on top of the water yet mine is fine. I use 400ml water and 100g powder. I usually use a whisk ball in the shaker but occasionally forget and it’s ok. Standing will usually make it a bit thicker and smoother.

[Liath]

I’d also suggest shaking the closed bag of powder before scooping to break up any powder lumps. Whenever I start a new bag I tend to shake it before opening as the powder tends to settle and compact in transit. It’s the best way I’ve found to not transfer any lumps into the shaker to start with.
I make most of my Huel in a blender but use the shaker when travelling and I haven’t had any issues.
Make sure you don’t have any big clumps of powder in the bag or scoop before you add it and then following the instructions (water first then powder) seems to work fine. I always invert the shaker first, then shake vertically and finish off by holding the shaker horizontally and shaking from side to side.
If you are making it at work I’d suggest making it when you arrive and leaving it in the fridge then giving it another shake when you take it out of the fridge at lunchtime. Sitting in the fridge for a few hours seems to help break up or dissolve any lumps.

[hunzas]

@aoikihou

I’m getting conflicting instructions about how much water to put

I use about the amount of water you say in your original post and there are no lumps for me, so don’t think you need to worry about the quantities. I’ve never used ice when shaking though.

[bathroom4444]

Blend that sh*t!

[Chrisette]

Are you using the barrier that comes with the shaker? The barrier is the one who does all the work.

[Ian42]

Always blend mine, that looks like fag ash to me, extra flavour?

[David]

Looks like an owl pellet.

[hunzas]

That’s a bit rude…She has a few wrinkles admittedly.

[Ian42]

Actually that’s a selfie of me I just took