Mutant Iso Surge - Mint Choc Chip 🍃🍫
Mutant’s Iso Surge features actual chocolate chips (bottom of the jar)
Perhaps I’ve seen too many Marvel movies, but Mutant’s stylised biohazard logo (and name) makes me think their products are dosed with Captain America’s super soldier serum. (In case you didn’t know, that dude is on juice - I suggest watching this documentary)
But is their XL tub of green Iso Surge more Hulk or Bruce Banner? Read on to find out…
The Product Summary
📋 Product: Mutant Iso Surge
🥛 Type: Whey Protein Isolate & Hydrolysate
👄 Flavour: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
💰 Price: £47.50
⚖️ Weight: 5 lbs
🥄 Servings: 71 scoops
The TLDR
Pure whey isolate product with a clean macro profile and competitive pricing. The mint choc chip flavour was amazing, contained actual chocolate chips, and somewhat surprisingly serving 71 was just as good as the first. What more could you ask for?…
The Macros
🔥 120 Calories
💪 25g Protein
🍬 2g Carbs (1g sugar)
🛢️ 1.5g Fat (1g saturated)
The Brand
Mutant are a Canadian brand that produces a range of supplements ranging from their popular Mutant Mass weight gainer to a core series of basics like caffeine and MCT oils. Mutant’s aggresive branding and products are clearly aimed at bodybuilders / hardcore gym goers - who else would drink something branded with a bright yellow biohazard sign?!
Notably, the late Rich Piana was associated with Mutant at one point, and a quick google search of the dude will give you a good indication of the target demographic here. (I recommend watching his full day of eating video, but please don’t emulate without taking medical advice…)
Although Mutant do not sell to the UK directly through their website, a selection of their products are sold on Amazon by fitfoods - a canadian distributor who, according to their website, are exclusive worldwide distributors of Mutant products
The Formula
First thing to note is that Iso Surge is a pure whey protein isolate and hydrolyzed whey product. Whey isolate is essentially whey that is filtered for a higher protein content. Theoretically, this means whey isolates are absorbed faster than concentrate, and cause fewer digestion issues. This also means that isolates in general are more expensive to produce.
Mutant have also added lactase and protease to this product, which help the body break down lactose (milk sugar) and proteins. I don’t typically have issues with digesting whey protein, and I found that Iso Surge caused very little (if any) bloating compared to some of the other products I’ve used.
While I’ve long suspected that most of us casual gym bros / sis' don’t exercise with enough intensity to really benefit from the faster absorption of isolates, I do think that faster aborption is a nice bonus on top of the other benefits (like better digestion and clearner macro profile).
One final note is that Iso Surge is sweetened with Sucralose. Sucralose is a low-calorie sugar substitute, which actually has the same caloric content as sugar. But because sucralose is 400-700 times sweeter than sugar, only a tiny amount is needed to achieve the same level of sweetness. While sucralose is safe to consume, some choose to avoid sucralose because it can affect blood sugar, insulin, and gut health.
Full Iso Surge ingredients list below:
Whey protein isolate (Milk), whey protein hydrolisate (milk), Cocoa, mini chocolate chips (sugar, palm kernel oil, cocoa powder, soya lecithin), sorbitan tristearate (E492), natural and artifical flavours, natural and atificial flavours, natural cream flavour, fractionated coconut oil (medium chain triglycerides), salt, potassium citrate (E332), Guar Gum (E412), Sucralose (E955), Soya lecithin (E322), Silicon Dioxide (E551), Lactase, Protease, purified stevia leaf (debittered)(E960)
The Mixability
While the powder is an off-white colour, once mixed the protein turns into a light (mint?) green colour. Worth pointing out that there are small choclate chips dotted throughout the tub, and every scoop will contain a fair number of these. Overall, the protein mixed very well, even in a shaker without a wire ball. Typical of pure isolates, the consistency may be slightly thinner than you’re used to.
One minor complaint I had was that the choclate chips tend to sink to the bottom of my shaker, and was quite difficult to “drink” with the liquid. At home, I resorted to pouring the shake into a short glass, and spooning out the chocolate chips after finishing the liquid. Obviously this is less than practical, and chugging this after a workout means you’ll likely miss out on the chocolate chips.
The Taste
I’ve been told that mint chocolate chip is a controversial and divisive ice cream flavour, so let’s start by clarifying that I LOVE mint chip flavoured ice cream. I was therefore extremely relieved that the flavour did not dissapoint. Did it deceive me into thinking I was slurping melted ice cream? Not quite, but it was pretty close! In water, the taste was excellent, and mixing this with plant / dairy milk really amped up the creaminess.
While this was on the sweeter side of things, this shouldn’t be an issue as sweetness can be diluted by adding more liquid. I’d say the mint flavour was more pronounced than chocolate, which was quite pleasant and refreshing. Perhaps the ice-cream drinking experience Mutant are trying to emulate would be improved if they can figure out how to solve the sinking-chocolate-chips issue.
Speaking of the chocolate chips, these have the right chocolate texture and a very noticable cocoa taste, but lacks the sweetness of milk chocolate. The best way to describe this is to imagine eating a sugar free piece of chocolate.
Overall, Mutant have nailed the flavouring, and I would not hesitate to reccomend this flavour to anyone who is into chocolate mint ice cream.
The Flavour Longevity
As a general rule, I tend to find that the more “unique” a flavour is, the quicker you tend to get sick of it. Sure the pina colada sample you taste tested was great - but would you really finish a 5lbs tub? Didn’t think so…
I typically consume 1 - 3 servings of protein a day, consisting of 2 servings after a workout and sometimes an additional serving in the morning as a quick protein source. Surprisingly, this protein remained very drinkable throughout the month and a half of testing, despite mint chip being a relatively special flavour.
The Versatility
Like longevity, the uniqueness of a flavour tends to be inversely correlated to it’s versatility, and Mutant’s mint chocolate chip ice cream flavour is no exception. The minty aftertaste didn’t work well with oatmeal, and also didn’t taste quite right mixed into greek yogurt.
The protein was alright blended with a frozen banana, but I can’t see how this might work with other fruits in a smoothie. However, an interesting observation is that given the powder is green when mixed , blending this with spinach / avocados did not result in an overly off-putting colour
In a roundabout way, I actually think the limited versatility of this flavour demonstrates just how good the taste really is, as I never really grew tired of it even after drinking well over 60 servings with water.
The Pricing
At £47.50 for 71 servings of pure whey isolate, I think this product is priced incredibly competitively.
At the time of writing, the ever popular Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey (in Chocolate Mint) is marginally cheaper at £44.95 on Amazon. If you pay £89.99 per tub at H&B, then please get in touch - I will consider breaking my self-imposed “not try to sell anything” rule for you. Jokes aside, ON’s whey is a blend of concentrate and isolate, and therefore shouldn’t command the same price as a pure isolate. Moreover, while ON’s 5lbs tub has 73 servings, each serving only has 24g of protein (vs. 25g here), so you’re actually getting a bit more protein from Mutant.
A more comparable product is Dymatize’s ISO100, which is also a pure whey isolate and priced at a higher price point of £51.95. Both isolates have 25g of protein per scoop, and depending on the specific ISO100 flavour, the number of servings range from 68 - 73 per tub. Very little to separate the 2 products on paper, but Mutant is obviously slightly cheaper.
In conclusion, Mutant is priced very attractively vs. some of the most popular products on the market.
The Verdict
Overall, I have Mutant has given me very little reason to dislike their Iso Surge. The flavouring is amazing, the macros are good, and the product is sensibly priced. I was very pleasantly surprised that unique mint chip flavour aged well, and would be very keen to try other flavours on offer. Regrettably, the only other flavours available at the moment from Mutant’s official distributor are Birthday Cake and Cookies & Cream (I would love to try Chocolate Cheesecake… see Mutant’s website for a full flavour listing)
The only minor complain I had was that the chocolate chips tended to sink, but to be fair this is a unique feature that isn’t normally found in other proteins, and didn’t really impact flavour.
My reccomendation is for you to go get some, you won’t regret it (if you’re normal, and like mint chip, that is…)