ESN says its “designed by athletes for athletes” and it certainly lives up to talk and delivers top quality, as well as some of the best tasting sources of protein on the market.
The German sports nutrition brand offers a massive assortment of products ranging from protein bars to protein shakes to creatine and various other supplement. As someone who has always struggled to hit their mandated protein intake, shakes have been a constant staple in my diet and ESN’s products have been some of the best I've used in recent years.
Easily my favourite product from the brand is their Dark Cookies and Cream Designer Whey Protein. ESN offers a massive – almost a kilogram – of tub protein powder at 908g at a fair price considering its size.
The majority of powders I’ve used, whether those are supermarket owned brands or products you can find in your local Holland and Barret's or Decathlon sit at between 21-28g of protein per serving. ESN’s Dark Cookies and Cream Designer Whey Protein hits up to a very respectable 23g per serving and lasts users for a substantial amount of time, making it easier than ever to hit your protein goal without compromising on taste or texture.
This single purchase will provide some gym rats (myself included) with all the protein powder they need to fuel their workouts for an entire month – something other protein powder brands can’t claim. Currently ESN’s Whey’s Designer protein is on sale to UK customers and available for only £26.39 pounds if they use the 20% discount code 'UK', costing an average 87 pence per single scoop of protein.
Normally I prepare my protein shakes by blender to ensure that the powder had actually dissolved and floating bits of undissolved proteins won’t ruin the shake. However, with ESN’s various protein powders this wasn’t necessary. A quick mix with their shaker for a few dozen seconds was enough to fully dissolve any powder into a quick drink that tasted surprisingly good.
The consistency is smooth, light and ESN protein powder did not have a chalky texture, something that sadly can't be said of all protein powders.
Many gym rats have weighed in on the fierce debate on whether protein shakes are better made with milk or water. Honestly, I found myself using both with ESN's Cookies and Cream and Vanilla flavoured shakes.
I found milk gave the shakes a thicker and creamier consistency, making a heavier shake that complimented the flavour. But water wasn't without its merits making for a lighter shaker that was faster to go down the hatch. I found that the milk-made formula was much more filling in comparison to water. The only fault I personally have with milk is that after awhile you tend to go through a fair amount after a week or two.
My only issue with ESN's products is that while they had a very vast array of protein shakes and bars they did not have a very extensive selection for mass gainers. This was disappointing for someone who would like to use their products more frequently.
Their mass gaining shakes didn't have the same range in flavour, high protein count per serving and started at far higher prices than the rets of their products. Sadly, because of these issues I would be more likely to use other products like Optimal Nutrition's Serious Mass in my diet instead of some of ESN's products.
Despite protein bars not being usual staple in my diet, ESN's protein bars pleasantly surprised me. I find most protein bars usually have very chewy texture and don't taste especially nice.
Regardless of my preconceived opinions, I found ESN's protein bars actually tasted pretty good and despite being a little chewy they were something that resembled a chocolate bar far more than your average protein bar.
Out of their massive range I found their fudge flavoured protein bar to be one of my favourites. While I am not a massive fan of Bounty's chocolates I found the Almond coconut flavoured bar was pretty good and I believe Bounty enjoyers – the small number out there – would love the bar. So ESN's flavours truly do have something for everyone.
As a frequent user of Optimum Nutrition's products and Holland and Barret’s own plant based protein and their Mass Gainer I found the change to using ESN’s protein powder seamless.
Simply put, ESN’s protein powder is honestly some of the best I’ve tried in recent memory. In the span of a couple of days I quickly found myself passing up on my regular protein powder before my trips to the gym and choosing ESN.
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