TEMPT, THE NEW HEMP MILK BY LIVING HARVEST - WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!
Chocolate Hemp Milk by Living Harvest has been an all time favorite in our household for the past 6 months or so. If allowed, my 4 year old would drink it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and desert. He absolutely LOVES it. Packed with essential nutrients such as Calcium, Vitamin D, Iron and more, I certainly have not minded his indulgence. That is until Living Harvest decided to change their look and call their hemp milk TEMPT.
With the new logo design came a whole new taste, which i might add is easily distinguishable, and a slash in the wholesome nutrition provided by the milk. The once rich, thick and creamy milk has been replaced by a watery like consistency which is far from being delicious. Evaporated Cane Juice (aka Sugar) has replaced brown rice syrup, the vitamin content has decreased to such an extent that some of the vitamins have taken a 50% cut, and the price - you guessed it, it went up! How do you take a product that is close to being perfect, ruin it, and expect it to make a larger profit?! What a disappointment the new TEMPT by LIVING HARVEST is!
As our hemp milk stash approaches the end, its time to try and replicate the milk so that my son can keep on indulging.
30 Responses to “TEMPT, THE NEW HEMP MILK BY LIVING HARVEST - WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!”
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We’re thankful that you’ve been using our product for such a long time and excited that your son loved our product. We’re saddened that the changes that we made aren’t to your liking, but we can assure you that we take your opinion very seriously and will consider it for any future changes to our chocolate hempmilk. We had tried to create a smoother taste, one that a number of customers had called and requested, and in doing so were able to increase the omega 3&6 and cut the total sugars by using a blend of Organic Evaporated Cane Juice and Brown Rice Syrup. than before and we were able to cut the total sugars (and calories) by using a blend of brown rice syrup and organic cane which significantly lowered the calories from 210 to 105 per serving. Thank you for being a loyal customer, if you’d like to give us a call to discuss further we can be reached at 503.274.0755. My personal extension is 207.
-Peter
Okay, now I must preface this with the truth that my daughter loves cane sugar. Would have it daily if she had it her way. However, whenever we find a milk that she loves, and they change the sweetener from brown rice syrup to cane sugar, she suddenly abhors the milk. Such a bummer. Twice this has happened and twice I have looked at the container to find that cane sugar was now listed among the ingredients. Sadly this happened with the milk from Living Harvest (but she does love the frozen dessert!).
I just found your blog when looking around to see if others had noticed the taste change too. I was sadly disappointed to find out that with the new packaging they had also changed the taste. We still drink it, but don’t find it nearly as good as the previous formula.
My partner and I were very dissapointed when we tasted the new hemp milks. It is not richer or creamier than the old ones,as your web site proclaims; quite the opposite. We thought it tasted like a watered down version of the original. The rice syrup gave it a special richness and sweetness. You took a very special product and made it into a mediocre one. Your original milks were far superior to anyone elses hemp milk; now they all taste the same; forgettable.
I emailed them today and told them they lost a customer. The difference in taste was a shock to the system. At first I thought it was spoiled or something until I looked at the ingredients.
Whomever thought this was a good idea needs to stop coming up with ideas.
Now I have to go hunting a new breakfast beverage. So long and thanks for all the fish Living Harvest. It’s just so mind boggling that you would take a great product and tinker with it. History has not been kind to such endeavors.
I have had the opportunity to speak with Peter from Living Harvest and I was pleasantly surprised how sincere he was while listening to the complaints and concerns of their new hemp milk formula. Hopefully Living Harvest will take all the negative feedback seriously and we will soon see the original formula back on the shelves. Peter provided me with some coupons for their other Hemp products such as Tempt Frozen dessert (dairy-free ice cream) as well as their hemp protein. I have yet to find the ice cream in my local stores, but I cant wait to try some out. When I have something to say about the ice cream I will like to offer some coupons to my readers to see what their opinions will be. In the meantime, we have turned to a different hemp milk source- Pacific Natural Foods. Honestly, their quality of milk is very comparable to the old Living Harvest formula. Unfortunately they do not carry it in the Chocolate flavor and we are trying to adjust to the vanilla one. Their ingredients are great, by my standards, and they actually provide 10 % more calcium then Living Harvest. Hopefully they wont touch their formula and we can continue enjoying the rich and thick taste. Oh, and if you visit their website, there is an option to print a coupon for Pacific Natural Foods, you get a $1 off your purchase
Is it just me, or was the redesign of the packaging a major mistake as well? The old packaging was much more visually appealing and stood out on the shelf; not to mention you could actually tell what the heck you were buying. The new box blends in with all the others and is much harder to pick out the product and style names at a glance (hempmilk and vanilla, for example). I can’t actually speak to the taste as only my daughter drinks it, but she hasn’t mentioned anything to me (of course she’s 2, so that doesn’t really mean much).
I actually really like the addition of brown rice syrup (I try to avoid conventional sugar), but I did immediately notice the new watery texture. I totally agree that the old packaging was far, far better than the new packaging. And yeah, once the packaging changed, the average price per carton seems to have increased.
I totally agree that the Tempt LH milk was such a disappointment. I have an autistic son who is very ritualistic and he can totally tell when I try to serve him something that is new/different. I compared the labels and saw that they were different, but since they are not making the old version anymore, I bought it anyway. He took one drink and that was it. It was pushed away and no other sip was taken…
http://www.greenourkids.com is very informative. The article is very professionally written. I enjoy reading http://www.greenourkids.com every day.
Totally agree with you. I loved the original formula. I can’t drink it anymore. I hope they get enough of feedback that they change back to the original formula. Till then I’ll have to try something else. So sad! Why do they mess with a good thing. A sugar free version may work and you can add your own agave.
Yet another bummed customer here. The new milk is watery with chunks floating and tastes worse. It also has much lower protein content, costs more, and the new design looks generic and not as good as the old design. Bailing and switching to Soy.
Another fantastically disappointed former customer. The change is awful, across the board. I went from two to four cartons a week, to not having bought since the change. I just tried it again, after many months, bleh. For the love of hemp, go back.
I don’t know about their hemp milk, but I was very pleasantly surprised by Living Harvest’s Tempt Vanilla Bean frozen dessert. I think the texture is good and the taste is on par or better than soy. I’m really impressed by the taste, especially since the sugar content is on the low end compared to other frozen desserts (only 9g per serving).
I think that you need to let it sit out for a little bit to warm slightly to get the texture at an optimal level.
We cannot agree more. Our hearts (& daily smoothies) were badly broken by the Living Harvest flavor change. What was once dark and earthy is now light and empty.
…such is the world.
Thank you for this post and commiseration.
Thank you! I wondered if anyone else noticed, too. I am just about to write the company and complain. Maybe if we all do, then they will bring back the old formula or sell it separately like Coke Cola did back in the 80s. The new LH ‘Tempt’ recipe is watered down tasting like soymilk or even somewhat fishy! The reason my kids and I drank this (mixed w/rice milk b/c of price) is, not only b/c of dairy allergies, but for it’s frothy consistency like cowmilk. We also loved the nutty flavor, and that it didn’t have a bong water taste like one of its competitors.
First time for a hemp product, I tried the Tempt Coffee Biscotti frozen dessert and was totally blown away with the taste, texture, and ingredients. Immediately sent them an e-mail, heard back from Peter, and was planning to try their other flavors, along with their hemp milk. But then I got wind of warnings about carrageenan, and now I’ve discovered that carrageenan is one of Living Harvest’s new additions, along with their new packaging. I avoid dairy products, and I’ve decided to avoid carrageenan also. Living Harvest has a great concept, and I hope they will reconsider the changes they’ve made.
I totally agree with all the disappointments. I had run out (we used to go through a case a week), so I purchased the new Tempt. I started to gag the first time I tasted it. Realized along with ugly cartons, came ugly taste! I was so mad I shot off an email to them, and basically got a “this is what our customers wanted” response. Bull! The person who changed this should be fired, immediately! For the time being, using Pacific hemp milk with Green & Black’s cocoa powder. Pretty good match, but not exactly the same.
Having a similar disappointment with the new recipe. I presume the fishy taste is the additional omega whatevers. Does anyone know is there is also an imminent price increase?
whole foods has it on sale now, but our food-buying club experienced a 50 cents hike.
TEMPT frozen dessert/chocolate. warning get reay for some very bad flatulence. We had some late in the vening twice and all night and into the morning weal had bad flatulence. A friend experiencd the same from a TEMPT flavor. What gives? I mean it was bad. I usually avoid hemp products because they are high in fat. Fat not worth the goodstuff since I include a variety of nuts in my diet. To each their own is best.
I just stumbled on this site…and just have add that this family of 5 completely agree - the change over to Tempt was a disaster.
We have made the switch to Pacific, it’s the next best thing to the original Living Harvest.
I love the New Coke/Coke Classic analogy. Hopefully Living Harvest Classic will be hitting the shelves again someday…
Lots of Great information in your posting, I bookmarked your blog so I can visit again in the future, All the Best
i agree they water down the new version and expect you to keep buying it,i cannot believe these jerks in there corporate offices.i need to find another hempmilk manufacturer.
I drink a lot of non-dairy milk, and I not only like the new Tempt better than the old one, I think its the best non-dairy product on the market. I liked the old version, too, but I mostly used it in smoothies because it was too thick - almost chalky. The new version is much smoother.
And the ice cream is now my favorite non-dairy desert. Coconut Bliss is really good but so expensive.
I don’t understand the negative comments. Looks like a smear campaign.
Wow! I have only recently tried Hemp milk and decided that I loved it! And, as I’ve learned through reading this, what I have been drinking is the new formula! It kind of makes me a little sad that I won’t know the glory of the original formula (which must be freaking outstanding)… At least not until when and if they resurrect it… I guess I should count myself lucky that my taste buds don’t know the difference!
Wow I haven’t read a single good review on the new “Tempt”. I never actually had the opportunity to try the old formula that everyone claims was so amazing - I’ve only tried Tempt & I still love it! Guess it all depends which one you try first…
Chocolate Fudge ’scream… MORE than Tempt-ing!!! mmmmmmmmm MMMMMM!!!
sorry… that’s all i can say…. my mouth is full… :p
and there are MORE flavors?? bring ‘em!!!
carrageenan — what’s the problem? made from seaweed… totally vegan sub for gelatin.
works for me! thanks to all for info.
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I just tried Tempt Frozen dessert (dairy-free ice cream) for the first time (and LAST TIME). I had the mint choco-flake (not a chip).
First of all it tasted more like a really strong toothpaste! Really strong, unpleasant mint.
I agree with others above about the flatulence. I never have had food create flatulence in my like this product did.
I love other non-dairy ice ‘creams’ (like coconut bliss) and will gladly pay more for a product that actually tastes good.
Sorry, “Tempt”, you got me once, but never again.
And I love mint, I should add.
I bought a case of the original Unsweetened Vanilla and am still working on it. I am saddened to hear that it has been changed.
I loved the thickness of the milk. From what is being discribed it is sounding like a watery rice milk
I also liked the original packing. I jumped off the shelf at you and was easy to find and grab. I don’t like the idea that I will have to hunt it down in a sea of similar looking containers (that is IF it still tastes good to me).