It's what's inside that counts

Leucine is one of the nine amino acids classed as essential – the ones that have to come from food. Pea and rice protein already contain some, and we add extra as pure L-leucine. The 'L' is the form found in food proteins: amino acids come in mirror-image L and D versions.

Fun fact: leucine was first isolated from cheese, back in 1819. Now it's in a shake made without dairy ingredients. Life's funny like that.

Total leucine per 40g, lab tested: Vanilla Ice Cream 1.76g, Magic Mocha 1.48g, Strawberry Milkshake 1.76g, Barista Blend 1.91g (scaled from its lab-tested 30g values).

Valine is another of the nine essential amino acids, and the second of the three BCAAs. Like leucine, it's already in pea and rice protein, and we add a little extra as pure L-valine.

The name comes from valeric acid, which is named after the valerian plant. So yes, there's an amino acid in your shake named after a flower. Go on, tell your friends.

Total valine per 40g, lab tested: Vanilla Ice Cream 1.01g, Magic Mocha 0.87g, Strawberry Milkshake 0.99g, Barista Blend 1.06g (scaled from its lab-tested 30g values).

Isoleucine is the third branched-chain amino acid and another of the nine essentials. It has exactly the same atoms as leucine, just arranged differently. Chemists call that an isomer – hence the 'iso'.

It's naturally present in pea and rice protein, and we top it up with pure L-isoleucine. Leucine, valine and isoleucine together are the added BCAAs on our label.

Total isoleucine per 40g, lab tested: Vanilla Ice Cream 0.90g, Magic Mocha 0.76g, Strawberry Milkshake 0.91g, Barista Blend 0.99g (scaled from its lab-tested 30g values).