Unflavoured Hydrolyzed Collagen in Coffee, Oats and Baking: What's In It and How to Use It

A 5 g scoop that disappears into what you already eat

One scoop is 5 g, once a day. You don't need a shaker or a new habit, just something you already drink or eat every day.

What's in it, and what the label does and doesn't tell you

The label lists the amino acids in each 5 g scoop. Collagen is unusual: three amino acids, glycine, proline and alanine, make up most of it.

• Glycine: 1.8 g
• Proline: 0.7 g
• Alanine: 0.6 g
• Glutamic acid: 0.4 g
• Arginine, aspartic acid, serine: 0.2 g each
• Leucine, isoleucine, valine, lysine, phenylalanine, threonine: 0.1 g each
• Tryptophan, histidine, methionine, cysteine, tyrosine: 0 g

Allergens: the product contains none of the listed allergens, and there's no "may contain" warning on record.

Two things people ask us about most, "Is it pure?" and "Where is it from?", aren't answered by the product data we can quote here. We'd rather not guess. On sourcing, we prioritise Canadian suppliers wherever we can. For the ingredient list or the source of the collagen, ask the team in chat and you'll get a straight answer.

Does it change the taste or texture?

For most people, no. Of our 232 reviews, 50 mention taste and 48 of those are positive, with comments like "Doesn't affect the taste" and "Mixes easily, no taste." Mixing comes up 51 times, 49 positive. A few reviewers mention texture, all positively: "it doesn't clump" and "Smooth and mixes well."

If you're sensitive to taste, try it first in something with a strong flavour of its own, like dark roast coffee or cinnamon oats, then work back to plainer foods.

How to use unflavoured hydrolyzed collagen in coffee, oats and baking

The directions on our Bulk Hydrolyzed Collagen page say 1 scoop (5 g) once a day, mixed well in 1 to 2 cups (250 to 500 ml) of liquid, used for at least 4 weeks, stored somewhere cool and dry. Here's how that looks in real food.

Does hot coffee "waste" collagen? We haven't seen evidence that it does, and "hydrolyzed" simply means the collagen has already been broken down into smaller pieces so it dissolves easily. If you want to play it safe, let a freshly boiled drink sit for a minute before stirring it in. For more on what holds up in the oven, see our guide to cooking and baking with protein powder.

Collagen vs whey: why it isn't a protein shake replacement

Put a scoop of collagen next to a scoop of our Whey Protein Concentrate (Unflavoured & Unsweetened, 30 g serving, 24 g protein) and the difference is clear.

Collagen has almost no leucine and no tryptophan, so it doesn't count as a complete protein. That matters for muscle. In a randomized trial in older women published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (trial registration), Oikawa and colleagues gave participants either whey or collagen: whey raised the rate at which their muscles built new protein, and collagen didn't. The researchers linked the difference to whey's much higher leucine and essential amino acid content.

So if you're over 40 and trying to keep muscle, or you're in the gym to build it, your whey shake (or a complete plant protein) does that job. Collagen can sit alongside it, in your morning coffee, not instead of it. For how the pieces fit together, see building a simple supplement stack for strength training.

Which size makes sense: 300 g, 1 kg or bulk

At one scoop a day, the servings count is also the number of days a bag lasts.

Our take: start with 300 g to make sure it fits your routine. If it does, the 1 kg on subscription is the lowest cost per serving we sell, and you can set it to arrive every 30, 60 or 90 days, then skip, pause or cancel from your account. The bulk bags make sense if two or more people in the house use it, since 5 kg is close to three years for one person.