Yes, you are absolutely right. The chocolate flavor is weaker than many other chocolate protein powders on the market. For me personally, this is precisely why I love this flavor, because I dislike a too-intense chocolate flavor…..always have.

One of my favorite ON flavors is mint chocolate chip casein. The mint flavor is not very intense, which I find agrees with my palate. And it has tiny pieces of cookies in it. IMHO, it’s much better than cookies and creme. I haven’t tried most of their flavors yet. I did try vanilla ice cream and I like it, but I usually add a little natural vanilla extract and 1 oz of heavy cream to the shake.

Finally I was able to get my paws on the tub of Double Rich Chocolate, as it was the last of the line from flavours I wanted to try and… I’m confused, honestly.

I’ve read it is a bit light on the flavour, yet the tub I got feels like not Double Rich, but more like Triple Poor. It is not the sweetness (or lack thereof, which I like), just the flavour itself. It feels very diluted, like I mixed a scoop of protein with half a litre of water.

When I poured 200 ml of liquid (as I usually do when assess flavour on all proteins), flavour almost wasn’t there. You know, like you used not a teaspoon of cacao powder for your mug as usual, but those spices spoons that look like scale model of a spoon. Some notes were there, true, but very-very faint.

At first I thought I got old or fake tub. Yet BBE was very good, and according to ON site tub is authentic. Then I though during my long shift work I forgot how ON proteins should taste, so I opened Mocha Cappuccino tub I bought at same store and the flavour was there, exactly as I remembered it: strong, rich, delicious. Same with Extreme Milk Chocolate leftovers (less than a scoop), which is expired, by the way:)).

Next I reduced amount of liquid to 100 ml and only with milk I was able to taste something “chocolatey” not in “trace amount”, but clearly not rich.

As I haven’t ever tried DRC, I have no reference point to compare it with. But I am confused for sure.

Regardless, take care and keep up the good work!:)

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the comment.

I haven’t tried it recently.

I just checked out the reviews on Amazon though, and it seems Optimum Nutrition changed the formula for Vanilla Ice Cream, not Double Rich Chocolate, which I’m already aware of (I always avoid Vanilla Ice Cream).

But if you read the more recent reviews for this flavor specifically, you’ll find more positive ones than negative ones.

There’s also this review:

“Best protein on the market. For everyone saying the formula has changed… as far as the Double Rich Chocolate I’ve been getting for YEARS, there is no change as of a week ago (Jan-2018).”

So I’m sure Double Rich Chocolate is still the same as when I first tried it. Most people writing negative reviews, or reviews claiming the formula changed, may have just received a bad batch, which happens very rarely.

Hope this helped!

Darren

Hi, Darren.

Sorry for barging in.

Of those Proteins I tried, either pure Casein, or multi-component (or complex) Proteins with Casein dominance (60% or more) are actually thick, even when diluted with water. Obviously the more Casein, the thicker the shake. Non-Casein Proteins are quite thin.

As for authenticity, ON’s site has dedicated page. https://www.optimumnutrition.com/en_US/authentic
However, all proteins I bought (all fresh) have black seal with small golden segment and no golden text. Yet when I mailed ON’s support, they told me it’s fine.

Hey afroz,

Thanks for your comment.

If you ordered from the Amazon link I included in this post, yes, it is original. It’s sold by Optimum Nutrition themselves, and is where I order all of my protein powders.

In regards to taste, yes, Double Rich Chocolate with water can be a bit light in taste. And it should NOT be thick at all. I don’t think any protein powder mixed with just water should ever come out thick. Only creamy. Which is what this flavor is like.

There’s two ways to solve this problem though:

1. Mix your protein powder with less water, or with milk.
2. Or I’d suggest going with Optimum Nutrition’s Extreme Milk Chocolate. (Review)

Hope this helped!
Darren