A Mars Refuel a day - would probably rot your teeth! (Mars Refuel)

Member Name: jo1976

Product:	Mars Refuel
Date:	05/10/09 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pleasant chocolate milkshake

Disadvantages: Overly sweet, not very thick, doesn't really taste like Mars

Both of my kids are milkshake mad at the minute and I usually end up indulging them as it's a good way to increase their milk intake if nothing else. This Mars Refuel drink found its way into our trolley the other day, although it didn't last very long in the fridge, thanks to the human locusts in our household!

I haven't seen this particular Mars product for sale before but it appears to have been around for a while as, according to the packaging, a Mars Refuel drinks fund has been going since 2008. We found this in the chilled aisle alongside other milk based drinks, although this is actually a UHT product so technically doesn't need refrigerating until it is open. It then needs using up within three days, although that certainly wasn't an issue for us! The packaging of our 1 litre version is totally different from the image shown above. Ours comes in a slimline tetrapak, making it the ideal size to slot inside the fridge door and become a target for everybody that opens the fridge!

Like the original Mars chocolate bar, much is made of this drink's ability to give you energy, citing the combination of 'glucose, malt and the balance of carbs and protein' as the key to the usual Mars tagline of 'work, rest and play.' Personally, I think this is just a bit of marketing spin to make us believe that was is, essentially, a very sugary chocolate milkshake is actually beneficial to our health.

The crucial factor is whether this actually tastes nice. As far as the kids were concerned this was a chocolate milkshake and that in itself made them gulp the stuff down like desert nomads at an oasis! I was a bit dubious about this myself. I had noticed that this contained malt and, even though I know the stuff is supposed to be good for you, I'm not overly keen on the taste. When it comes to overtly malted drinks such as Ovaltine, I'm not so much 'take it or leave it' as 'leave it.' Thankfully, I found the malted taste within this drink to be pretty subtle. I didn't even notice it on first tasting but it did leave a slight but distinctive malty aftertaste but not enough to put me off the taste. The major impact was just the overpowering sweetness of the drink. It was incredibly sweet - reminding me of a Nestle milkshake when my seven year old has gone overboard with the powder! I only had a small glass of this stuff and that was plenty for me as I couldn't have drunk a large amount of this in one go. I also prefer my milkshake to be nice thick and creamy whereas this drink was fairly thin and runny, although the chocolate taste was pleasant enough. I even caught a (very) slight hint of Mars bar when drinking this, finding a hint of the nougat filling somewhere in amongst the sweetness and malt. If you're expecting this to provide the liquidised essence of a Mars bar, I think you'll be disappointed but as a fairly average chocolate milkshake this will do the job.

I dare say we'll purchase this again at some point, preferably when it's on offer as we paid £1.79 for a 1 litre carton which is pretty pricey. The kids loved it meaning I don't really get a look in, even though this would be far too sweet and not creamy enough for me to enjoy on a regular basis.

Ingredients: Semi skimmed Milk (74%), Water, Glucose Powder, Whey Powder, Sugar, Cocoa Powder, Flavouring, Emulsifier (E471), Barley Malt Extract, Salt, Cane Molasses, Stabilisers (Carrageenan, Guar Gum)
(Heat Treated)

Allergies Information
Contains Barley Malt Extract, Gluten, Milk, Whey Powder.
Suitable for vegetarians.

Summary: Helps you work, rest and play