I just got an email saying the new formula of Huel with have tea in it. Unfortunately, I will order once more before Dec 18, then I will have to say goodbye to Huel forever. I thought I would use Huel forever. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and part of our belief is to not consume tea, coffee, or alcohol.
With Huel changing from a great simple formula, to including tea, I must say goodbye. Something I never thought I’d do.
Are you sure the unflavored and unsweetened Huel will contain tea?
Also, isn’t the proscription against tea and coffee about the caffeine? I doubt Huel would be reformulated across the board to contain caffeine - ads much as some might like that, there are medical (and religious) reasons why that wouldn’t “work”
Maybe a Huel rep can clarify about the tea?
All v3.0 Powders will contain kombucha tea powder (including U/U). We’re just waiting on test results to confirm the caffeine content, if any.
The Mormon issue isn’t about caffeine. It’s about following scripture and the ban – as clearly stated in the original message.
I am not Mormon, but I have a lot of friends who are – and they are big hot chocolate drinkers. There’s a scripture ban on “hot drinks” but that has been modernly interpreted as meaning only coffee and tea.
Correct, the problem is not the caffeine. It’s the tea itself.
Green Tea, Iced Tea
Green tea and black tea are both made from the leaves of the exact same tea plant. The only difference is that the leaves in black tea are fermented and in green tea they’re not. They’re both tea and against the Word of Wisdom. Some drinks have tea in them but don’t advertise that fact, so always check the ingredients. Also, iced tea is still tea.
I understand that, of course, everyone will have their own beliefs and some are happy with the addition of kombucha tea. I just am frustrated that something I’ve used to replace all my meals with great success is no longer an option. I’d be happy to pay the higher price and am okay with the other formula changes, I just wish the kombucha was either an add-on or a flavor option so those that did not want tea could continue to consume Huel.
I agree, it is odd to disassociate an entire religion from your product just because you want add some “tea” to a production that has, so far, been excellent, popular and worthy.
I think this is more about Huel, perhaps, wanting to add caffeine to their product and not, explicitly about making an argument in favor of a tea.
Oh, the woe – once we know! SMILE!
I don’t think it’s about the caffeine – Dan said a few replies up that they are waiting on the test results to confirm the caffeine content “if any,” which definitely sounds like it’s not the explicit reason for adding kombucha. Kombucha (and more widely tea) has health benefits that are pretty numerous, and as for tea itself, something like 2 billion people drink it every day. I’m pretty confident they’re not worried about making a pro-tea argument, since there are many of those 
But why make an anti-Latter Day Saint product just to satisfy the vague like to add tea to a product that didn’t previously need that additive?
This is the space where spec meets reality, and I will be bemused if Kombucha ever makes a debut in Huel. The religious alienation isn’t worth the minimal gain.
It’s not anti-Latter Day Saint (neither is Starbucks, for that matter), it’s just a product with tea in it. It just so happens that Mormons can’t consume tea. Not Huel’s fault. Most of the world drinks tea.
@metafiction Agree with everything you’re saying. Huel does not have a responsibility to make a product that’s tea-free and they’re welcome to make changes.
However, since Huel was tea-free to being with and was being used by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Huel has since made changes to their formula, I wanted to weigh in and let them know how the change effects some of their current customers.
I’d imagine if Huel went from Kosher to non-Kosher through formula change as well that we’d hear from people that were impacted by that change also requesting accommodations. Same as if Huel went from Vegan to non-vegan, etc. People that are using Huel have usually being searching for a product to fit their needs and, once you find one that is working for you, you want to be able to stick with it.
In Huel’s defense, I don’t think they were intentionally seeking to isolate a religion when revising their formula. Adding tea or coffee is a very natural way to boost antioxidants along with many other health benefits. Other competitors are doing it, OWYN does it with their chai meal replacement.
Hi @hueler I’ve read your message about leaving Huel due to the addition of Kombucha. Good news… v2.3 will be available for a while to buy in the new Huel outlet page on Huel.com. The outlet page will be live in the next few days, simply scroll down to the footer where the link will be added.
My estimate is that we will have about 2-3 months stock, but it’s tricky to know for sure and availability will vary between flavours (some will be shorter, some longer).
If we see significant orders of v2.3 around the time the stock runs out we may consider creating more stock.
@Julian-Huel That’s good news, because it looks like there are a number of different reasons that people are concerned about the kombucha. For me it’s both the histamine and caffeine (keeping an open mind until testing is completed). For some it is the fact that they would much prefer to dose their own probiotics. And for others it is the religious issue. I’m glad there will be an option for awhile at least.
This is unfortunate. I was disappointed with the Vanilla flavor changes, and now I won’t be able to purchase any at all. @Hueler I’m with you.
Finally canceled my subscription. Too bad we couldn’t ‘vote’ for original vanilla by purchasing a lot of the old stock. Well, guess it’s a nice strategy for them: they can get rid of (most likely) discontinued products more quickly by making alienating customers feel a bit less alienated.
Returning to say that I am actually a fan of dosing my own probiotics as well (they are not an essential nutrient after all and the food itself contains prebiotics naturally) – it would be a clean move for everyone overall, if possible of course, to provide both a with kombucha and a without kombucha option, though I’m sure this is being considered by @Dan_Huel et al
Wow! Good for you mate. But why did you feel the need to share this here? Are you somehow hoping that Huel ingredients would conform to your beliefs? Just stop drinking it then 
Geeze don’t be so short, Alibassirone
If you’ve grown to love the ease and healthy nutrition of Huel then they change to a formulation your religion says you cannot have, it’s a big deal.
I still can’t understand why the restriction against tea exists. I understand kosher and halal directives for food safety. I thought “no tea” was about the caffeine due to some psychological/psychoactive affects - but if caffeine is ok in a chemical concoction like Cola then its not even about health.
Ok, so i googled…
Herbal tea seem ok as long as they are not hot
Doctrine&Covenants 89:9-12
In the case of kombucha “tea” may be a misnomer anyway if its properly a colony of bacteria and fermentation that’s effectively eating the green tea. In that case, you’re consuming the bacteria that consume the tea - and that is more akin to the animals eating corn and we eat animals (D&C 89:12-13)
Maybe this isn’t a proper forum for this conversation, but if you have a conversation with your church authority on this, please do follow up here.
@Hueler
He felt the need to post here for the same reason that others have posted regarding the changes - feedback. Nobody is demanding that Huel conform to their specific demands. They are an independent company and should do what they think is best for their long term viability. We are just offering comments for Huel’s consideration.
I have loved Huel. I love the idea of having a (near?) perfect food that is quick and easy to make. They are perfect for my lunches at work as a nurse, and I have a Huel every day for breakfast. I like how Huel is simple, yet complete.
To me, the idea of having probiotics be an add-on option, like the flavors, sounds great. This is just my opinion. Huel is great. I just thought I’d be consuming it for decades… I will buy it while I can.