Update 3/10/20. This is a follow up to my post on Shakeology. When I wrote my first Shakeology review, my biggest disappointment was that I didn’t have any Shakeology to try. I could never find a BeachBody Coach to give me a few samples. Well that all changed when I was given several packs. The person gave them to me because she didn’t like the taste. I was surprised because Shakeology is so heavily marketed that I figured this stuff would have to taste great. So I was anxious to taste them. The flavors I received were Greenberry and Chocolate. I made the shakes with exactly 8 oz of cold water, just as Beachbody recommends. I blended the shakes up in my VitaMix. This is what I found…
I first tried Greenberry. I have to say Greenberry flavor Shakeology doesn't taste anything like a berry. Rather it tasted, well, kind of ‘green”. 
That’s about as good as I can describe the taste because I don’t think I've ever tasted anything like it before-and that's not a compliment. I think I tasted a hint of mint flavor (maybe) but there was definitely an aftertaste that I didn't care for. The bottom line is that Greenberry didn’t taste good to me.
It looked very dark green color– which wasn’t appetizing at all. I'm OK with that. It doesn't take much to make me happy. It was the taste that turned me off. It just tasted bad. I took the picture you see here. That's what it looked like.
A few hours later I tried Chocolate flavor. This did taste like chocolate but it wasn't good tasting chocolate. It had a kind of bitter taste to it 
and there was a bad aftertaste as well. Chocolate was better than Greenberry (anything would have been better than Greenberry!) but I've tasted much better products.
I know taste is an individual thing but for me, neither Chocolate or Greenberry Shakeology would be something I would pay for.
I predict that Beachbody will eventually reformulate Shakeology so it tastes better. I have no proof of this. I'm just guessing. I say this because I can’t believe no one hasn't complained to them about the taste.
Update: Shakeology has been reformulated. See my review of Vegan Chocolate Shakeology for more on this.
But don't just take my word for this. We are all different. I'm sure some people like the taste of Shakeology. I suggest that before you plunk any money down that you see if you can get some free samples to try first.
Yeah, I totally agree with you! I think they taste terrible!! I am from the UK, I purchased this fitness programme from the states called Turbofire and I saw an advertisement about it..it looked really good. Then I checked it out on the web to see what others said about it and the way it was made to sound that it was gonna taste great..So I spent a load of my money (it’s expensive!) and I ordered a big pack of the chocolate (but I ended up getting the Tropical strawberry) and also got the greenbury and chocolate flavours too..
The first time I tried the strawberry was with water and it tasted disgusting!! It has a really bittery taste..so this morning I thought I would try one of those recipes they recommend and mixed it with Rice milk and watermelon fruit instead…but it tasted like crap!!!
So I would definitely tell anyone who is thinking of buying this…DON’T!!! You are better off buying another shake..I tried Lighter life shakes and they are so much better..much more tastier and you lose weight and feel great on them too! Also with the lighter life shakes you actually feel full on them for a good few hours before you have your next one..unlike this s**t! I had one in the morning at 0900am and by 11am I was hungry again!!
This product is rubbish! and too expensive…! DO NOT BUY IT!!!!
Constantina, return the product to Beach Body. They say they have a money back guarantee. No questions asked.
I just bravely tried the chocolate shake this morning. I will say it was not as bad as I was suspecting…but it had kind of a funky aftertaste, which thankfully did not linger on too long! I blended my chocolate shake with 8 oz of chocolate almond milk, a cup of ice and half a banana. WOW did it ever make a lot! That alone should make anyone not hungry for awhile!
I am really really really hesitant to try the greenberry flavor now after reading the reviews on it!! I have such a prominent gag reflex, so this should be interesting to say the least!
And thankfully, I have not invested any money in these, I have a friend that is a Beachbody Coach and she has passed along all three flavors for me to try.
Wish me luck! LOL
Hi Blaze,
I want to buy a pack of Shakeology but for the price, I would like to try it first. Earlier in the discussion, you offered Joe a sample. Would you be willing to send me a sample of one of the flavors?
Thanks,
Roshanda
Roshanda, since you singled out Blaze on this, if he replies I will email you his email address so you both can communicate privately about this. I wont post replies from other team BB coaches because the question is for a specific person. If, in a week, Blaze had not replied to your request, then if another team BB coach wants to send you a sample, I will privately send you the address of the first person who replies. Just trying to prevent this page breaking down into a free for all.
This is a bummer to hear! I have been drinking the chocolate shakeology for a month and agree that it was good, but not that good. I Just ordered a combo of both greenberry and chocolate to switch it up a bit. I hope it is not totally disgusting. I found it really helps to add ice for some reason!
I guess to each their own. I got a sample from my chiropractor (and yes she is a beachbody coach). I tried the greenberry and mixed it in my blender with the recommended water and ice cubes. Honestly, I thought it was pretty good! And I did feel like I had a bit more energy after it, and it did “curb” my appetite for a couple hrs (I had it around lunch time). Even if you don’t use it as a meal substitute, it’s good as a snack (as most of my snack’s are usually over 150 calories!) I’m trying to decide if I want to spend the money and do it for a month and I think I will…what’s the harm in giving it a try. In regards to the taste, as I mentioned, to each their own and I think it was good! I haven’t tried to tropical or the chocolate but since I like the greenberry I might just stick with that.
PS – I am NOT a beachbody coach. I’m just doing Insanity and thought I’d give Shakeology a try.
I started Shakeology recently and I LOVE the taste. I’ve been drinking the chocolate and I think it’s delicious. However, I tried it with water one day and it was kind of mediocre. I drank it with milk the first few days but I’m trying to limit my dairy intake so I’ve been alternating between using almond milk and soy milk and also adding other things, like ice or bananas or other fruit in a blender. I really do think it’s delicious as long as it’s not just water you’re blending it with. If you ever try it with some sort of milk and ice blended, it seriously tastes like a real chocolate shake. I’m a fan.
i have my own suspicions about this product for a few reasons. 1, its not sold in stores and can only be bought at beachbody or their affiliates, 2, the ones pushing this product are not doctors or scientists and when i question them the best answer they give me is ” Hey! did you look at the ingredients! there’s so many good stuff for you!” 3, the whole beachbody coach thing reminds me of Amway get rich system, and gives me the shivers! i tried greenberry, it tasted like sweetened sewer, the chocolate had a wang taste, probably from the sweetener they use? all in all i will stick with my fruit smoothy with whey protein powder. also noted, is that anyone endorsing this product in your comments sound strangely just like the beach body coaches pushing this stuff like a drug….just sayin! happy hump day! 🙂
Joe,
Just wanted to follow up with my 3rd Tropical Shakeology test, this time with strawberries. 3 attempts, 3 major fails!!! This stuff has a very odd after taste, somewhat artificially about it or whatever the particular ingredient is causing it… This bag will be going back for my refund VERY soon. Just thought I’d post to give some readers my thoughts and honest opinion. Glad I found your site to exchange honest reviews, thought and opinions, instead of just biased reviews. I can deal with many protein flavors and shakes, but this one is by far the worst yet!!!
I actually did lose weight from drinking Shakeology. I have tried tropical and it is my favorite by far. It takes MORE flavoring and blending because it is vegan. I added a cup of watermelon and blended it with magic bullet and it is pretty good.
Shakeology, it’s ingredients, and the person who found them all are featured in magazines and television shows all over the place. As a person who has tried a lot of things, I know that it definitely has changed my life. As far as price, I’m not sweating $4 a day because I pay more for lunch.
I will say this: drinking it plain/with the recommended amount of liquid is NOT a good idea. It just doesn’t taste good. It’s overbearing. As far as bitter? Yeah right. If anything, chocolate is TOO SWEET. I say this as someone who drank it for a year.
Also, Joe, if you want a sample, I will send you one.
Blaze, thanks I will email you and take you up on your offer. I’m kind of curious what the tropical flavor tastes like.
Today is my first day to try the Chocolate Shakeology and I don’t really like the taste. It is real bitter and has a bit of an unpleasant aftertaste. I have tried the Six Star Whey Protein Powder, and to me it tastes better and doesn’t have the bitterness that the Shakeology has. Does anyone know how the Six Star compares to the Shakeology?
Amanda, I tried to look up six star protein for you and couldn’t see its ingredients but I think its basically a protein supplement (how much protein per scoop does it have?). Shakeology has a lot of other ingredients other than protein but how much of those other things are “needed” I’m not sure. What I did see online was that a lot of people liked the taste of six star, which it sounds like you do as well 🙂
Compare the calories per scoop with the amount of protein. For comparison, I use dymatize elite chocolate which has 117 calories per scoop and 24 grams of protein per scoop. I think thats pretty good. How does six star compare to that?
Joe,
I recently tried the tropical shakeology over the weekend and I must say it is HORRIBLE! I drink Chocolate Shakeology every day with water, wheat germ and some ice and it is excellent.
Occasionally I add some fruit to mix up the taste or PB2, but with this Tropical Shakeology I had to add a Banana today for my second attempt. Tropical, water, ice, wheat germ, and banana… hmmm still didn’t do it for me, it made the taste more bearable, but still not “enjoyable”. I enjoy bananas, but the tropical flavor has more of a banana flavor hint in the mixture, kinda odd tasting. This bag will be going back to BeachBody soon for a refund! I’m sure I could find a recipe that would work for me, but I still would not fully enjoy it, not with adding added calories, which is the point a “meal replacement”.
BTW.. I recently tried almond milk (Vanilla) for the first time last week WOW!!! AMAZING! Some cake batter optimum nutrition Whey, almond milk (vanilla) and a clementine… it tasted like a orange creamsicle shake.. talk about a low calorie great tasting protein shake.
Not to go on and on Joe, but is it really cost efficient to try to make almond milk? I don’t have a blender or vitamix, but I saw some recipes how to make this, wonder the cost vs. buying at the store. Also, is there any difference between the refrigerated ones or non-refrigerated?
Thanks
Rafael, thanks for the feedback on the tropial shakeology flavor. When it comes to almond milk, I’d would just get it from the supermarket. I’ve never tried to make it myself so I dont know how hard it would be.
I’d choose refrigerated almond milk because it sounds like it would taste better but I admit I’m not sure of the difference or if non-refrigerated almond milk might be healthier in some way. Does anybody else know about this?
I’m highly sensitive to food additives and sugar, and as far as almond milks go, Almond Breeze Original Unsweetened is the must unadulterated of the bunch, and can be found at most supermarkets. I think they do have a refrigerated version, but I’ve always found what I wanted on the shelves.
Because it isn’t sweetened and flavor enhanced, unsweetened almond milk isn’t what you’d call drop dead delicious–it tastes like liquid almonds–but I find it’s really good in smoothies and I like it in my coffee instead of cream.
I absolutely agree with you on taste – I’ve tried both the chocolate and could barely choke that down. I just mixed up the new tropical strawberry and it’s more banana (which I personally dislike) than strawberry, but really just a terrible flavor in general, it’s going down the drain.
Mina, you are the first Ive heard who tried the new flavor of shakeology. Thanks for the feedback. I have not yet tasted it.
I used Shakeology for two months and it took a few different combinations of fruits to find a shake I really liked. I mixed chocolate shakelology /1/2 cup water and ice with Natural Peanut Butter from the whole foods store and 1/2 banana to limit the sugar. It is terrific and only about 250 calories to start the day. Drinking it by itself with water or other fruits was not good. The peanut butter banana mix is one I looked forward to each morning. I recently have stopped ordering shakeology due to the price. I can’t justify spending $100 each month for it.
The reason Beachbody doesn’t have a vanilla flavor yet is because in order to make a vanilla shake with all of the potent ingredients that shakeology has in it taste good, chemicals and artificial sweeteners need to be added. Shakeology doesn’t want to compromise the integrity of what the company is about….health and natural whole food ingredients.
I have not tried the greenberry because I didn’t think I would like it. If you read all of the ingredients in Shakeology you will see that it contains wheat grass, blue green algae and many other super foods which are great for your health. Unfortunately they also have very strong flavors. Cocoa is one of the few flavors that will mask these potent ingredients with out adding a large amount of sugar, chemicals or artificial sweeteners. The chocolate Shakeology has 9 grams of sugar which is a natural sugar from fruits and vegetables and has a very low glycemic index value. It’s a 24 which is even lower than most fruits.
It is actually certified as low glycemic and it’s also gluten free. I mix my chocolate Shakeology with unsweetened almond milk and ice in my blender. Sometimes I add frozen fruit or peanut butter. In order for it to be a true meal replacement, it should be at least 250 calories which is why I add to it. I think it tastes amazing. For people who like a very sweet shake, it may take some getting used to. But we can’t be slaves to our tongue when trying to get healthy. Once you change your eating habits and get used to eating less sugar, you won’t crave the sugar any more.
Note* artificial sweeteners trick your brain into craving more sugar and have harmful side effects as well so please read the ingredients when you’re looking for a healthy meal replacement. Shakeology may not be for everyone but it’s been fabulous for me and I’ve lost 30 lbs and dropped 3 sizes. I love it because it has all the vitamins and minerals I need for the whole day and I don’t have to take any other supplements through out the day.
My energy level is through the roof and my cravings for sugar and salt have disappeared. Also, I don’t get sudden drops in blood sugar that used to make me feel like I was going to pass out. I crave healthier foods too. This is a fist for me..lol I started a website and it has lots of info about nutrition and Shakeology on it. I have before and after pics of my on their as well.
What ever you decide, I hope you find a healthy way to get fit. I can’t stress enough how important it is to read the ingredients and if you don’t know what something is, then just Google it. Good luck to everyone!
Try Gold Standard Protein in Chocolate….it has 2 different kinds of protein (whey and egg). This tastes great!
You guys kill me with this obsession with the “taste” thing. It seems many of you make you decisions about your health and longevity based on….taste? Come on. That’s like letting your car go empty because you don’t like the way gas smells. The geek does a Shakeology review and rules out the product strictly because he likes the taste of other chocolate products better??? Are we comparing highly nutritious meal supplements here or Mars bars?
Let’s face it, you’re really saying that the main concern is taste, so just eat homemade chocolate cake, and lot’s of it! I suppose the reason for not working out and staying active is because it is too “difficult”. I’m sure those people are among the ones who have to have the right “taste” to eat properly. Power to those of you who make rational decisions based on ingredients and nutrition first, with everything a distant second, and not what tastes the most like a french souffle!
Mike, did you read my review of shakeology? I broke it down by ingredients and looked at the scientific evidence for each ingredient. Fact there are no published scientific studies on Shakeology. Taste is a distant second for me compared to the proof of efficacy. Prove me wrong and show me a study published in a peer reviewed publication that shows Shakeology works.
Its interesting how in your original comment it sounded like you were alleging that I was a “secret beach body coach” – because I dared to say I knew some of them – but now you are sounding like a BB coach to me!
I drink Shakeology every day. I had to find the right blend to work for me. For chocolate: I use 8oz water 4 oz almond milk, pb2, and a banana. Greenberry I can actually drink with room temperature water… but I add some raspberry lemonade and it is awesome. Shakeology is NOT for everyone, but just like most foods, you have to see if there’s a way to make it work for you.
I have had no issues drinking it, my bowels are more regular and my blood pressure dropped just from drinking it (I was not exercising at the time)… the bottom line is, you have to get something great that makes your body feel awesome.
Blaze, thanks for sharing. Question, did you lose weight with shakeology? I ask because you said that your blood pressure dropped just from drinking shakeology. Weight loss can reduce blood pressure. Even a just a few pounds could do it. So if you lost weight while drinking shakeology, that would make sense. Regardless, glad you found something that works for you.
I agree that shakeology is the most gross drink I have ever tasted. I tried almost all the possible mix in’s from fruit to yogurt. I have been a health nut for years and go to the gym everyday. I tell everyone that spiru-tein is by far the best shake on the market and offers many flavor choices. Taste is out of this world makes you feel great and give you energy with out high sugar. Take time to compare shakeology to spriu-tein, you will find that spriu-tein is by far more nutrition that shakeology. Price is very good, a lot less……..
I too did not like the taste of Greenberry when I first tried it.
After lots of trial and error (and just drinking them anyway because I didn’t want to waste the $$), I discovered that it is 100% in how you mix it and what you mix it with. I GUARANTEE there is a “recipe” out there for everyone!
My favorite now is straight up with almond milk. The Greenberry is still a little bit of an “acquired” taste, but doesn’t have the gross aftertaste in my opinion with almond milk. The chocolate has quickly become my favorite – and my go-to when I’m craving anything sweet! I mix it up in my ice cream machine to have chocolate ice cream, I make a paste of it with hazelnut extract and have knock-off Nutella, I make some killer brownies with it…
And yes, they’re coming out with tropical strawberry on Feb. 14. I will be ordering it! Now that I’ve found how I like it, and since I absolutely love how I feel when I’m eating it, I don’t intend on ever stopping!!!
Trish, glad you are enjoying it. I’ll see if I can get a sample of the new flavor when it comes out too.