Mélange Vitalité Matinale

When testing this, I used cold organic oat milk as my preferred base. It is recommended to use 5g of this Morning Vitality powder per cup, which is 1 flat level teaspoon of powder. To get a reasonable depth of flavour from this, the key is not to add too much milk. Just over half a standard sized mug, which would only be around 250-300ml. I wanted to make enough for 2, so I opted for a little more milk blended with a flat 7.5g scoop of powder (1.5 teaspoons). Mixed at this ratio, one sachet of this powder is enough for exactly 20 decent sized full mug of drinks for 1 person, or 20 smaller half sized mugs for 2. I think ideally this drink would best be made using warm milk. It does dissolve almost fully in cold milk, but there was just a very small amount of grittiness towards the end of the cup. This powder can also be added to smoothies, overnight oats, or yoghurt, etc, although it is recommended not to exceed the daily 5g dose, which I slightly do to be able to taste it. I blend mine in my Ninja coffee machine frothing jug, adding the powder, and setting the machine to plant-based cold foam. The resulting drink is thick, creamy, well blended, and very drinkable. It is naturally sweet enough not to need any other form of sweetener added. The overall flavour is smooth and subtle, with a hint of warming spice that feels similar to the warmth you get from ginger. On checking the ingredients list, which was quite difficult to do given how tiny the font size used is, I could see there is no ginger in this drink, so the warmth I was feeling was from the other spices included. This drink does give me a little boost and stops me from feeling hungry for an extra hour or 2. It’s not all about flavour and fullness though, the ingredients in this powder could support overall and long-term health benefits. Looking further into the ingredients, firstly, what stood out is that every single ingredient is organically produced. The resealable foil pouch proudly displays the European green leaf organic certification symbol, as well as a VeganOn logo. To give energy, the powder contains rice protein, Maca powder and natural coconut sugar. This is blended with equal amounts of 7 different organic mushrooms, each of which have different medicinal effects on the body. These are Reishi, Chaga, Shitake, Maitake, Lions Mane, Cordyceps and Tremella. Finally, a range of anti-inflammatory spices are included, in the form of turmeric, true Ceylon cinnamon and black pepper. If you had wanted to take all of these ingredients as a supplement, this is a much nicer and cleaner way to consume it, rather than popping a pill. It's probably cheaper than buying capsules too, so offers good value compared to buying the different core ingredients separately.

I picked this blend up for my husband, who had been searching for something to steady his mornings without another cup of coffee. His impressions have been consistently positive. He found the flavour genuinely appealing — warm chai spicing with cinnamon carrying the turmeric, sweetened just enough by the coconut blossom sugar to avoid the earthy bitterness he feared. It dissolves cleanly into oat milk without clumping, he noted, which spared him the whisking he had expected. The energy it provides he described as even and unhurried, with none of the sharp rise and fall that caffeine delivers. He remarked that the ingredient list reads honestly, with recognisable components rather than vague proprietary blends. A pleasant, thoughtfully composed powder he now prepares daily.

My first impressions of this multi ingredient drink is how on earth to read what's in it and how to use it. Simply put, the back of the package is covered in text in different languages, and to get everything to fit the print has been made very small and difficult to read. I have taken enlarged photos of the ingredients and directions to make things easier to see what you are getting, also a photo of the recommended 1 spoonful stirred into a glass of water. It looks like a muddy puddle, and this is really for the hardened health followers, as the taste profile is quite strong and harsh. I'l expand on this a bit more. There is a dominant taste of turmeric and cinnamon. THis is surprising, as although they are both very strong ingredients and are not uppermost in the percentage list. There is also a nice balance of coconut sugar, but the addition of black pepper does catch in the back of the throat. The mix will stir into water or milk quite well with a teaspoon, although there is a noticeable amount of particles that are in suspension and not soluble in the liquid. It's actually a rather warming drink and leaves a spicy taste in the mouth after drinking. I would prefer this on cold mornings as opposed to thinking of it as refreshing.

The serving size is 5g, so it is worth keeping expectations realistic. This is not a proper protein shake or meal replacement. The rice protein amount is fairly small, and the mushroom blend is split across several different mushrooms, including reishi, shiitake, chaga, maitake, lion’s mane, cordyceps and tremella. That sounds impressive, but each one is only present in a modest amount once divided up. I do like that the ingredient list is mostly whole-style powders rather than a long list of sweeteners, gums and fillers. Maca, turmeric, Ceylon cinnamon, coconut sugar and black pepper all make sense in a chai-style blend. The black pepper is a useful pairing with turmeric, although the coconut sugar means it is not completely unsweetened. Taste-wise, this is earthy, warming and quite spice-led rather than like a sweet instant chai. It works better mixed into warm milk or plant milk than plain water. Overall, I like the ingredient approach, but I see it as a small daily wellness drink, not something that will suddenly transform energy or focus.

I started using this because I wanted something small to add to my mornings without feeling like I was drinking a full protein shake. It has a soft chai taste that mixes nicely into warm milk or yoghurt and it doesn’t go gritty, which is usually my worry with powders. I like that it gives a steady bit of energy rather than anything dramatic. It just helps me feel a little more awake and settled. The maca and mushroom blend seem to give that calm focus and the turmeric and cinnamon make it feel cosy. It is only a tiny scoop, so it doesn’t feel heavy or like you’re forcing down a supplement. I’ve just been adding it to my usual routine and it fits in easily.