Amazingly Good And Healthy, Bolthouse Farms Has A Real Winner With Their Protein Plus Chocolate Drink!

The Good: Tastes amazing, Exceptionally nutritious
The Bad: Expensive!
The Basics: Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Chocolate might be the best chocolate milk ever . . . except that it costs so much!


It has been an interesting month for my tastebuds as I branch out into some new (to me) and different beverages. I’ve been drinking a bunch of different Bolthouse Farms drinks lately, like their Mocha Cappuccino (reviewed here!) and Vanilla Chai Tea Soymilk drink (reviewed here!). With their Protein Plus Chocolate milk drink, I have finally found an almost-perfect beverage. In fact, the only thing that robs this Bolthouse Farms drink from perfection is the expense. At an average price of $2.99 for a 15.2 fluid ounce bottle, I cannot endorse it as a perfect drink; it is just a little too expensive for what one gets.

But, it is SO close!

Basics

Bolthouse Farms is a health drink, which is like an energy drink except that is designed for more of a full-health solution (as opposed to being a liquid vitamin supplement) and they tend to taste better. This is like a dairy beverage that is enhanced with nutrients. Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Chocolate comes in a 15.2 fl. oz. plastic bottle that is smooth and very portable. The #1 recyclable bottle is filled with the opaque dark brown liquid, reminiscent of chocolate milk, that is Protein Plus Chocolate. Bolthouse Farms juice products is one of the leading manufacturer of healthy prepared beverages, both of fruit juices and dairy beverages.

The 15.2 fl. oz. bottle is intended to give consumers just under two servings, which seems pretty ridiculous to me. Rather unfathomably, Bolthouse robs consumers of the last .8 oz. that would give consumers the two full servings in one bottle!

Ease Of Preparation

Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Chocolate is a liquid in the 15.2 fl. oz. bottle and is a ready-to-drink beverage. So, preparation is as easy as opening a plastic bottle. Bolthouse Farms has a plastic cap that easily twists off and can be put back on in order to reseal it. It is important to note that this is supposed to be refrigerated, so quality of the beverage may degrade if it is left out at room temperature before or after the bottle is open. This has a pretty standard security seal ring around the lower half of the cap and informs the consumer as to whether the product has been opened by cracking off when the top is twisted.

Taste

Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Chocolate smells just like it is supposed to. This smells entirely like chocolate. This is the scent that milk chocolate chocolate milks aspire to. It smells like a full, rich, dark chocolate beverage and that is more than enough to get anyone who wants milk with a kick to give it a taste.

And the taste is awesome. Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Chocolate tastes like a liquefied chocolate bar. The flavor is powerfully chocolate, without any creamy milk taste to it. Instead, this is a purely chocolate flavor that is absolutely delightful from the first sip to the last!

The aftertaste from the Protein Plus Chocolate beverage is surprisingly not very dry at all. Even so, as a dairy beverage loaded with vitamins, this is not a thirst quenching drink.

Nutrition

As a healthy dairy beverage, Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Chocolate is designed to fill in some of the nutritional gaps one might have in their diet, while tasting pretty awesome to boot! Nutritionally, Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Chocolate is a great option for those who are dieting or are trying to improve their health. Protein Plus Chocolate is primarily composed of low-fat milk, filtered water and agave nectar. It contains nothing bad, but does have additional vitamins pumped into it. While it is gluten free, it contains milk and whey, so it is in no way Vegan compliant. On the plus side, though, there are no preservatives, artificial flavors or colors or genetically modified ingredients!

This drink is also exceptionally healthy for you. One serving of Protein Plus Chocolate has 3 g fat and 190 calories, 25 of which come from the fat. While there are 26 grams of sugars, the beverage has only 10 mg of cholesterol and an ass-kicking 16 grams of protein! Surprisingly, there are 150 mg (6% RDA) of sodium in each serving. A single serving is a sufficient source of Vitamin A, Calcium (50% RDA!), Iron, Vitamin D, Potassium, Chromium, Zinc and about half a dozen other nutrients. It has more than your daily needs for Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12, so this truly is a healthy beverage (ironically, more healthy than many fruit juices I have reviewed!).

Storage/Clean-up

Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Chocolate comes in a plastic bottle and it keeps for only a few months. The bottle my wife and I bought the first week of January had an expiration date of March 10, 2012. This beverage must be refrigerated!

This drink is a dairy product and dark because of the chocolate in it. If this gets on clothes, it will certainly stain them. Consult a care guide for your clothes, though I suspect light clothes would need bleach to get this out. Still, the drink wipes off surfaces easily with a cloth, assuming they are impermeable.

Overall

Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus Chocolate tastes great, is loaded with a tremendous amount of nutrients and is well worth the money to pick up, though even with all its benefits, it remains a bit pricy.

For other prepared beverages, please check out my reviews of:
Powerade Fruit Punch
Duff Energy Drink from The Simpsons
Dole Sensation Natural Guava Juice

9/10

For other food reviews, please visit my index page for a complete listing by clicking here!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |