**REVIEW** Boulders Miracle Berry Powder

A bit of brand confusion

The first thing you should know is that although this miracle berry powder is labeled "Boulder", the mailing package was marked as being sent from Sweat Freaks.

Sweet Freaks, Boulder, Zobo Red...
Identity crisis

I think that Sweet Freaks is the actual name of the brand/seller. It's all a little confusing because this powder (labeled as being from New Zealand) and brand seem to be associated with the Zobo Red brand powder (labeled as being "grown in the USA". Also, the ebook Sweet Freaks: drinks edition (miracle berry recipe book) promotes products from Sweet Freaks, Boulder, and Zobo Red in addition to the Flavornaut brand. I'll be referring to this item as being from Boulders (though the ordering info shows it as being sold by Zobo Red).  This is what I received in the mail:

Since I've had mixed results with other brands of miracle berry products - freeze-dried berries and tablets - I decided to start with zero expectations this time. Right off, I was pretty underwhelmed by the package size of this product. It was so thin that I wondered if I was getting some kind of letter instead of the actual powder.

More product confusion

I went back to check the product info on Amazon for the size and servings amount. There was some confusion there also. This is what is shown on the Amazon product page:

This is what is on the back of the actual package:

In the Questions section at the bottom of the product page, this is how another customer responded to the query about the serving size:

This is what I saw when I looked inside the package. 

It's kind of hard to tell, but while there is not a lot of product, there is more than what this photo shows. I didn't want to mess around trying to get a better photo and end up spilling any of the powder. The texture is not as fine as talcum powder and reminds me of very finely ground cornmeal. The taste of a small amount on my tongue has a slight sweetness to it. It's pleasant and sweeter than the dissolving tablet I've tried. There is a small amount added "to stabilize" the powder but I have no idea what arrowroot tastes like so...

Mberry effect on coffee (in general/any brand)

One thing I discovered from my previous use of miracle berry is that while it did nothing to sweeten the taste of my coffee, it did have an effect on the taste of it. At the time, I was drinking my coffee with lots of sweetened creamers. The miracle berry flattened the taste so much that it made the coffee unpleasant, in my opinion. Now that I am drinking my coffee black (whole other story there), I was concerned that the berry effects would ruin that too. Just in case, I held off trying out the berry until much later in the day when I would be finished with my final cup of coffee.  It had zero effect on the black coffee. At least now I know that I can use the berry at any point during the day and still have my coffee (as long as the coffee is black and unsweetened).

Taste tests (of products to date)

For comparison, of all the miracle berry products I've used so far the best one and my absolute favorite: 1 Richberry's freeze-dried halves. 2) Still effective but much less so were the freeze-dried berries from Snozzberry Farm. I initially thought the berries were fresh because they were kind of sticky to the touch but now I think they felt like that from being old and stale. They also shorted my order of berries by quite a lot. 3) The least effective product were the tablets from MiraBerry (currently not available). I will be doing a post showing how all the products compared in taste-testing  But basically, the Boulder powder was, at best, only mildly effective.

• Greek yogurt (non-fat, plain) tasted like... Greek yogurt, non-fat and plain. The powder took softened the sour notes just by the tiniest bit. I doubled up on the powder and, while the yogurt was not as sour, it still was not something I wanted to eat without adding fruit or sweetener.
• Greek yogurt (w/lemon juice) tasted a little better but I don't know if that was from the powder or just the added lemon.
• Goat cheese (plain) this seemed to taste worse with the powder. There was no sweetening or softening of the sharp flavor.
• Goat cheese (w/lemon) had no change in flavor
• Lemon water & ACV water had no sweetening change in taste at all. The ACV had a different taste but I can't put my finger on what it was. It was still too strong to sip though.

I started out using about .5 grams of the powder for the above results. When I doubled up the dose to try the plain yogurt and goat cheese, there was no improvement. There's not enough powder in the package to double or triple doses anyway. It would be too expensive even if it worked.

Used 6 of these  little dessert spoons to get the
3 grams (0.1oz)

0.5 grams per spoonful

Remember the serving size listed on the back of the package? There was no way I was going to get 25 servings from the bag I received. I was running out just getting the tastes tests done. If I had liked this powder, I wouldn't want to $13 per bag that would not last even a few days. That would be like having a drug habit, wouldn't it? I mean, I don't know what people pay for drugs, but if it was $13 a bag, I'd be out of luck.

Bottom line

In my opinion, I don't think this powder is worth it. I went back and read reviews written and questions asked and answered by customers. There were only 16 reviews currently and 2 of those (including my own) are negative. The rest are really positive. I have to think the reason is that not everyone does well with certain forms of miracle berry. I hope those glowing reviews are not the result of cheating the system (either by getting free products or being otherwise compensated to say positive things).

Personally, I get a much better effect from the berries. Even the worst berries delivered some results for me. Tablets would be my second choice. I  haven't yet reviewed one of the tablets I've tried.The company is tweaking their product and I will review it when they have the new items up for sale. I have to admit that the tablet  gave a nice effect. It just was not as strong  and it wasn't long-lasting at all, wearing off after only 15 minutes or so and I told the seller who gave me a sample box. The company is tweaking the product and I will review it when they have the new items up for sale.

Along with Snozzerberry Farm brand, I just cannot give a good review to Boulders. Because I based my grovery budget and eating plan around the berries, I used the refund from Snozzberry to go back and purchase more of the Richberry product. I will stick with them until something better-priced or more effective comes around.

Peace

--Free

P.S.: Sorry for any typos/errors. It's been a rough couple of days and I wrote this post over a 2-period.

**REVIEW** MiraBerry Miracle Berry Tablets

Last week when I reviewed the amazing Miracle Berry in freeze-dried form, I mentioned that I would be getting a chance to try the tablets. These are the MiraBerry tablets I am reviewing:

I was kind of excited. The first time I checked the product page, the MiraBerry tablets were described this way: "each tablet is made with approximately three miracle berries" Uh, no way. The freeze-dried berries I tried were game-changing. While I loved the idea of getting the same taste-switching effect from something in a tablet form, I wasn't sure about the hype. As awesome as they are though, the freeze-dried berries are tricky to carry in your purse if you don't want to crush them.

The tablets, I figured would be easy. Like packing some Midol or Excedrin, right? Absolutely. The tablets certainly are conveniently packaged. Not only are they in a box, but the tabs are individually protected. This is good. And... that's about it for the positives.

Now, I don't want to badmouth all brands of Miracle Berry tablets but I was really disappointed with these. I went over and read a bunch of reviews for various brands of tablets. Looks like, with most tablets, it's a kind of hit or miss deal, regardless of who makes them. People generally seem to either really love the effect or are totally disappointed. I don't know. I might at some point try a different brand of tablets.

The worse thing about these tablets is that they took forever to dissolve - I timed it out at over 5 minutes and there was still icky residue on my tongue. In contrast, the freeze-dried berries just kind of melted with my saliva. Also, they tasted nice. These tablets were seemed to be made of compressed grit and have very little taste. The slight taste they have is nasty.

I had planned to try the tablets with the same items as with the berries: lemon water, straight lemon, apple cider vinegar, and some hot sauce. I never got past the lemon water. From the first sip, I knew that the tablets were nowhere near as effective as the berries. I even added 2 more tablets to see if that would help. They took so long to dissolve that I think the effects of the first tablet had worn off...

Even with the 2 tablets, the lemon water tasted pretty much the same as it does without any enhancer. No way was I going to do straight lemon or any of the other stuff.

So these tablets were a bust.

Now to be fair, I have also read some negative reviews of the freeze-dried berries but the negatives usually are to do with customer service and not the berries. One customer felt their bag had been short a few berries and another was annoyed that their package arrived damaged. Negative reviews about the tablets were similar to mine - all about the effectiveness.

I also have to commend the seller of these tablets. Once I let them know that I was unhappy with the product, they issued a full refund. Good customer service matters. I have to point out that my review was the only one (as of today) for this particular brand. So there's that.

Here's the thing: these berry products are, I believe, really useful in some cases. For myself, I cut so much sugar from my diet on the days I used the berries. I didn't think that I was taking in that much sugar every day because I've been using Monk Fruit sweetener a lot of the time. It's the sugar in all those dessert-like coffee creamers I love that was bad. When using the berries, I was cutting back on my coffee and drinking more lemon-infused water. I find it so much easier to drink the lemon-water than to drink lemonade. When I drink lemonade - you know, sugar-sweetened lemon-water - I add too much sugar. Yeah, I know, I need to be more disciplined.

The main thing I like about using the berries is that it just cuts the sugar totally out of a beverage. No artificial sweeteners or possibly dangerous substitutes but just sugar-free. Sadly, the tablets did not compare with the berries.

If I get a chance to try a different brand of the tablets, I will post a review.

Peace
--Free


P.S.: I have just now noticed that the seller has submitted the following comment to my online review:

Thank you for that review! We are processing your refund - I believe you'll enjoy our powder much more! The pills require a lot more processing and we find it not as effective as the powder or actual berries; however, there has always been a curiosity and demand for the pills, which we felt necessary to provide. Our powder is simply pure berries crushed and mixed with a small amount of organic arrow root to keep from clumping. We did our best to make sure it's as close to the eating the berry as possible. Finally, we removed the language about each pill taking three berries. Even though it's true, it's not a good comparison. AS A NEW SELLER, YOUR REVIEW IS WORTH GOLD TO US. THANK YOU!!!

I thanked them for their honesty and I have to admit that I might even try their powder. Also, the product has been removed from sale.

Not sure where my emotions are lately, but some of these lyrics seem to fit

**REVIEW** Miracle Berry Anyone?

So I had been hearing so much about the Miracle Berry that I just had to go ahead and try it in some form. Apparently, I came to the party late. Really late. Let's do a little background first.

The Miracle Berry comes from the Synsepalum dulcificum plant. Say that fast just once and I'll dance at your wedding. This is what the plant and berry look like:

from Wikipedia.com

The story goes that West Africans would eat the berry to make certain foods more palatable. And, of course, once an outsider saw this, the found a way to make money from it.

Now that the berry has become trendy, people are using them in freeze-dried or tablet forms to have "flavor-tripping parties". The fresh berry is supposed to give the best effects but has such a poor shelf life that the freeze-dried and tablet format is most popular. Also, you need a really healthy bank account to afford the actual berries. You can buy a plant and wait a couple of years for it to bear the fruit.

The flavor-tripping part comes in because, after eating the berry and coating your tongue with it, sour things become sweet. Lemons and limes taste as if sugar has been added, hot sauces become honey-hot (or so I hear), and naturally sweet fruits become even sweeter. That is for the flavor trippers who will move on to the next trend mentioned on social media. For some people though, the Miracle Berry has a more useful quality.

Some cancer patients and other folks who have a loss of taste (and appetite) may benefit from using the berry. Apparently, it not only tricks the tastebuds but also heightens their ability. I hope I said that correctly. For other people - say, those who need to cut back on sugar intake for weight loss or other more potentially serious reasons - the berry is pretty useful. I fall into this latter category. How many menopausal women in their late 50s don't? Ten women. That's how many. Trust me. There are already cookbooks featuring the berry, like The Miracle Berry Diet Cookbook by Homaro Cantu. People jumped on the trend before it even got a good start. Just like with any other trend that has come around so far, there are no miracle diets no matter what people say. All (non-surgical) weight loss requires some measure of discipline.

Anyway, I have been suffering through a routine of having a glass of lemon water in the morning and before bedtime. For some reason, it helps settle my nervous stomach. And, supposedly, it helps with weight loss. Supposedly...  It's going on 3 weeks and while I think the drink helps me feel better, it's been a struggle. So I got some of these freeze-dried berries to try out.

Only brand I've tried so far, but I like it

I have to say that I am surprised at how pricey the berries (in any form) can be. I chose this particular item mainly because it was a 2-pack for the same price as other 1-pack deals. It seems to be common for the berries to be sold in halves in and quantities of 10 or 20 halves. Tablets seem to cost more but I will be trying some of those also.

It's suggested that the berries work best and have a longer effect if you cleanse your palate beforehand. I went all out and re-brushed my teeth and rinsed with a lot of warm water before taking the first berry. Remember, the berries are halved so I used one half just to see how well it would work

The red outer skin you can spit out. The rest can be swallowed.

First thing I did was set out my tasting cups. I had my mixture of 1 part lemon to 1/2 part water in one cup. In the next cup, I had a capful of straight lemon juice (bottled concentrate). The third cup was a capful of straight apple cider vinegar. The last cup was a capful each of lemon juice, lime juice, ACV, and a teaspoon of raw honey stirred in.

The berry half softens really quickly with saliva and is easy to move around on the tongue. I had planned to swish the pulp for a really long time to increase the effect but... Nah. The berry quickly begins to melt away and is gone in less than 20 or 30 seconds. There is a little bit of residue of the skin or shell but I just swallowed that.

I was surprised that the berry wasn't super sweet itself. Maybe that's because it's freeze-dried and melts away so fast?

First, I tasted the lemon water mix. And... I will be doggone if it wasn't kind of nice. There was a tangy bite to it, but it was just sweet enough that I liked it. Next up, I worked up the nerve to try the straight lemon juice. Guess what? This tasted even better than the lemon water. I think that the tangier or more sour the drink, the better the Miracle Berry works. The cup of the ACV was my warning. Yes, it was sweet and pleasant - on the tongue - but as soon as the fumes hit my throat, my eyes watered. As I mentioned, just because you're tricking your tastebuds, you're still ingesting acidic stuff. I was careful to just sip some of the final mixture. Again, because this was a lot more sour and acidic, the berry seemed to go into overdrive. Still, I had that mild throat burn with the lemon, lime, and vinegar. The honey did not help that at all.

So, yeah, you can have fun with sour stuff, but only until it hits your throat. Apparently, swallowing the berry pulp didn't help coat that area enough.

I am not a lover of very spicy things so the best I could do was to try some Frank's hot sauce. I tapped a little from my finger to the center of my tongue and... Hot damn! It was still too spicy!. However, there was a tinge of weird sweetness. It was sort of what I imagine a really spicy honey sauce to taste like. I'm not a fan. I only eat a mild hot sauce when I have cheese or some other dairy to pair it with.

Of course, one of the things I do wish I could enjoy is black coffee. I do alright with a really good black coffee, but it's rare that I make a cup so well that I can stand it without creamer and sweetener. Sadly, the Miracle Berry does nothing for cutting the bitter taste of black coffee. Nothing at all. Too bad. If I could do black coffee, I could lose weight like nobody's business. I can almost live on nothing but coffee. Unfortunately, my coffee is just one half a calorie away from being a full-on dessert. On the other hand, I did find that the Miracle Berry helped boost the sweetening power of the Monk Fruit I sometimes use in my coffee. I will have to experiment with mixing up my own milk, vanilla extract, and Monk Fruit creamer to use with the Miracle Berry. That could be my way out of always using the calorie-heavy flavored creamers I so love. I'm talking about you, Sweet Italian and Vanilla Caramel coffee creamers!

Now here is where I can tell you that the effects of the berry only lasted just around 15 or 16 minutes that first time. I know because when I took another sip of the lemon juice that had just been so nice, I made a face that I would not want to be photographed. The tart was back.

I took another half berry so that I could taste test a few more things. I tried a sweet pepper and it was SO good. Yum. It wasn't so much sweet as it was highly flavorful. Red grapes and red cherries were so sweet that I almost couldn't stand it. It's as if they hyper-sweet took away from the overall taste of the fruits.

Cranberry juice is another of those things that we women try to drink on a regular basis. Again, I struggle with drinking it. With the berry, the juice was still tangy-on-the-verge-of-sour but so mellowed that it was pleasant.

So I can say that I like the berry best for the way it changes the taste of really sour things. I wasn't crazy about the way it made sweet fruits taste. It changed the core flavor somehow. The cherry wasn't just super sweet, it also lost some of its flavor, if that makes sense. The grapes just became too over-sweet.

The one thing I didn't have on hand to try is goat cheese (which is supposed to flavor-trip to tasting like a cheesecake) and greek yogurt. I can't wait until I restock on groceries. Just imagine going for a week eating and drinking nothing but greek yogurt, lemon water, and salad with raisins or grapes.

I have read about some people who used Miracle Berry to detox from sugar for a couple of weeks.I have seen a lot of articles like this one talking about various benefits of using the berries. Just ditching sugar is on my list of goals. Also, I like the idea of being able to substitute the berry's effects for using artificial sweeteners. So far, I haven't heard anything negative about the Miracle Berry. I'm sure if I look hard enough I can find something but, for now, I think I will like having some of the fruit around all the time.

When I get the Miracle Berry tablets, I hope to try more items - especially the yogurt and goat cheese. Come to think of it, I wonder how yummy some goat milk creamer would taste in my coffee after eating a berry? Hmmm...

I will be sure to update if I get a chance to review other brands of the Miracle Berry.

Peace
--Free

This used to be one of my favorite work-out songs.