Your Protein Opinion

Protein Review - Quest Protein Bar (Ltd. Edition Pumpkin Pie)

Now I'll say this first, I'm a sucker for anything limited edition, and when Quest released a new (at the time, perhaps not now) Pumpkin Pie flavour protein bar, I just had to try it. Though I have to admit, I have never tried pumpkin pie but I do like apple spice and cinnamon so I had high hopes for this new flavour.

Now, for all the different bars I will be trying, I will be rating them on five criteria: Taste (which is probably most important, and I will also judge it on taste accuracy, does it taste like what it says), Macros (and Protein:Calorie Ratio), Texture (or Mix-ability if it is protein powder), Cost (which can vary, I know) and finally a Bonus Column, which will take into account any other positive things such as additional vitamins/nutrients, improved texture from microwaving (I'm looking at you Quest) or even something that is completely unique to that product. Now, let the show begin.



Taste - 5/10
Overall, I was somewhat disappointed with the taste of this protein bar. It didn't taste bad by any stretch of the imagination but I also would never be able to guess that it was pumpkin pie flavour. It just tasted sugary on the outside and then your typical whey taste of the protein bar inside (this was double layered unlike other protein bars, but I will go into more detail in the texture section). If I were to guess a flavour, it would be something along the lines of sugar/maple syrup. Overall, the taste of this bar is pretty average and would probably land somewhere in the middle of all the different quest flavours. Whilst it is no-where near as good say, chocolate chip Quest bars, it also isn't disgusting like the lemon cream pie flavour.


Macros - 7/10
As always, Quest has excellent macros but this one has a sugar coating outside so rather than the usual 170-190 calories per bar, this one goes up to 220 per bar, which puts it in the same calorie bracket as practically every other brand like the Musclepharm combat crunch range or the Grenade Carb Killa range. Other than that, the macros are pretty standard for a quest bar with around 10.48 calories for 1 gram of protein and a lot of fiber per bar.

Texture - 7/10
This protein bar has a very interesting design and is unlike any other quest bar in that rather than one bar with flecks of chocolate or fruit in it, instead, it is your standard protein bar that is then coated with an orange layer studded with small crunchy pieces. So overall, the texture is pretty good with the typical protein bar chewiness we all know (and love?) and a nice crunchy exterior. This bar gets even better when you microwave it as the inside becomes oh so soft and that, along with the crunch that remains, really works well together. The only pity when it is microwaved is that the outside coating somewhat...melts, so it gets pretty messy, I got radioactive looking orange goo all over my fingers the first few times.

Cost - 8/10
I picked up a box of 12 for £16 so each one cost around £1.33 (~$1.75) which is pretty cheap for a protein bar as normally in the UK, they cost £2.50-3.50 per bar, in addition, compared with other quest bars, it is also pretty good value as the cheapest box price is normally ~£20.

Bonus - 3 Points
Some bonus points do go to the fact that the taste does drastically improve upon microwaving from a mid-range quest bar to a top 6 and also, I am always a fan of something new so props to Quest for trying something different (even though it didn't turn out quite as good as it could have been).

Total Score - 30 Points
Overall, this is a solid protein bar with pretty good macros and is great if you want to try something different. However, if you buy quest (and other protein bars) for the low calorie content, then this one is a tad higher thus, not as good. I would recommend you to buy one to try it first before committing to a whole box and if you've never tried Quest bars before, I would recommend the chocolate chip cookie dough or the cookies and cream flavour as they are by far my personal favourite flavours.