Astreas Energy Truffle: Premium Performance Chocolate with Cognizin® Citicoline

Premium chocolate meets nootropics. The Astreas Energy Truffle pairs Cognizin® citicoline with award-winning 70% Valrhona dark chocolate by master chocolatier Michael Recchiuti. 100 calories, 3g added sugar, real cognitive support.

The Astreas Energy Truffle combines Cognizin® citicoline from Kyowa Hakko with award-winning 70% Valrhona dark chocolate crafted by master chocolatier Michael Recchiuti, whose confections The New York Times has named among the best boxed chocolates available. At 100 calories per sphere with only 3g of added sugar, it's a compact, functional snack built for the desk, the gym bag, or anywhere you need a clean performance boost.

Cognizin® and Caffeine Combine for a Smarter Snack

The formula's centerpiece is Cognizin®, Kyowa Hakko's patented form of citicoline designed to support brain health, cognitive function, and healthy neurotransmitter levels. Beyond that, there's also 100mg natural caffeine inside, and algae oil is used as a novel omega-3 DHA source. This area is growing rapidly: We've covered Cognizin in formats ranging from pre-workouts to RTD beverages, with the Mosh Bar offering the closest functional food comparison in our archives.

A Performance Pedigree Built in Space

The team behind Astreas is unusually credentialed for a functional food startup. Founder Shahreen Reza previously served as Deputy Head of Global Business at Palantir and trained in a Michelin-starred kitchen. Chief Medical Officer Scott Parazynski is a NASA astronaut Hall of Fame inductee, a Stanford-trained physician, and the first person to both fly in space and summit Mount Everest. Formula development falls to nutritional biochemist Joey Savage, with former NASA Space Food Systems Manager Vickie Kloeris (who led ISS food systems for nearly three decades) contributing space nutrition expertise. Astreas Spheres have traveled to the International Space Station and flew on a Virgin Galactic mission.

The full ingredient breakdown is below, but first, check availability and our video, then let's get into the science:

Astreas Energy Truffle Nutrition Facts

• Calories - 100

• Total Fat - 7g

  • Saturated Fat - 2g

• Total Carbohydrate - 6g

  • Dietary Fiber - 1g

  • Total Sugars - 4g

    • Added Sugars - 3g

• Protein - 1g

• Vitamins and Minerals

  • Iron - 1mg (6% DV)

Astreas Energy Truffle Ingredients

Each 1-piece (17g) serving provides the following:

• Cognizin® Citicoline

  Cognizin® citicoline is Kyowa Hakko's patented, fermentation-derived form of cytidine 5'-diphosphocholine (CDP-choline), a naturally occurring compound central to brain phospholipid synthesis and neurotransmitter production. What separates it from most choline sources is that it delivers two biologically active components in a single molecule: choline and cytidine. Both cross the blood-brain barrier readily and serve as precursors for phosphatidylcholine, the dominant structural phospholipid in neuronal cell membranes.^[1][2]

  Before going further, realize that we don't have the full dose disclosed here, but it comes before caffeine in the label, meaning it's at least 100mg. Our guess is 125mg per serving. Many studies discussed below utilized 250mg or even 500mg, so understand that those doses won't be matched unless eating multiple servings in a day... which isn't really a stretch!

  How It Works

  Once absorbed, choline enters pathways that support acetylcholine synthesis, the neurotransmitter most directly tied to attention, learning, and memory. Cytidine converts to uridine in circulation and contributes to membrane phospholipid turnover and synaptic signaling. Citicoline has also been shown to support dopamine and norepinephrine levels in the central nervous system.^[3]

  

  Cognizin® Citicoline is dubbed the The Brain Choline not just because it provides choline, but because it also supplies cytidine, which is also needed for the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine

  Attention, Memory, and Vigilance

  Citicoline's cognitive effects are well-documented across multiple domains. In a randomized, double-blind trial of adolescent males, 28 days of Cognizin® improved attention (p = 0.02) and psychomotor speed (p = 0.03) compared to placebo, with higher doses predicting greater accuracy on attention tasks and reduced impulsivity.^[4] A separate 40-person placebo-controlled study found that 500mg daily for two weeks significantly improved psychomotor vigilance and visual working memory in healthy volunteers.^[5]

  Longer-term data are encouraging too. A 12-week randomized controlled trial using 500mg Cognizin® daily found significant improvements in episodic memory and composite memory scores in healthy older adults compared to placebo, with 99 of 100 participants completing the full study.^[6]

  So now you have a better excuse to eat your chocolates!

  Imaging data at higher doses confirms strengths

  Beyond neurotransmitter and cognitive support, research using phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy found that six weeks of Cognizin® supplementation significantly increased phosphocreatine (+7%), beta-nucleoside triphosphates (largely ATP, +14%), and the phosphocreatine-to-inorganic-phosphate ratio (+32%) in the frontal lobe's anterior cingulate cortex, a region closely linked to attention and executive function.^[7] Notably, these bioenergetic gains were more pronounced in subjects receiving the lower 500mg dose than those on 2000mg, suggesting citicoline doesn't follow a simple "more-is-better" curve.

  Long story short: Citicoline appears to strengthen both the structural scaffolding and the energy reserves the brain draws on during sustained cognitive effort.

  

  Synergy in the Astreas Formula

  Citicoline's role here isn't isolated. Caffeine's adenosine receptor antagonism drives the arousal signal; citicoline contributes the neurochemical substrate and bioenergetic headroom to sustain it. L-theanine brings calm, focused alertness that rounds out the combination without sedation. Together, the three form a stack with complementary mechanisms across attention, energy utilization, and cognitive composure -- the kind of coverage that makes sense for a product designed to perform across both the boardroom and the gym. We'll also discuss the phospholipid connection with the DHA from algae oil too, so keep reading.

• L-Theanine

  L-theanine (γ-glutamylethylamide) is a non-proteinaceous amino acid found almost exclusively in green tea. Unlike most calming ingredients, it crosses the blood-brain barrier intact and generates measurable alpha wave activity in the occipital and parietal regions of the brain within 40 minutes of a 200mg oral dose, supporting relaxation without inducing drowsiness.^[8] Its primary mechanism involves modulating glutamatergic neurotransmission: antagonizing NMDA, AMPA, and kainate receptors while inhibiting glutamine uptake, which in turn elevates brain GABA levels and promotes a calm, focused mental state.^[9]

  Clinical research supports 200mg to 400mg per day for stress and cognitive benefits.^[10][9] The real strength here is the pairing with caffeine: a systematic review and meta-analysis found moderate effect sizes favoring combined caffeine and L-theanine for alertness and attentional switching accuracy in the first two hours post-dose.^[11] Haskell et al. further showed the combination outperforms caffeine alone on working memory reaction time, sentence verification accuracy, and "tired" ratings.^[12] Alongside the 100mg caffeine from InnovaBean® in this truffle, L-theanine supports the kind of clean, sustained mental output the Astreas formula targets.

• Natural Caffeine (100mg) as InnovaBean®

  

  Kyowa Hakko USA earns 4th patent for Cognizin Citicoline, further validating visual attention & cognitive performance benefits. New IP covers methods for enhancing attention, motor function & processing speed.

  InnovaBean® delivers natural caffeine via a water-extraction process from green coffee beans (Coffea canephora, robusta), using no solvents. The resulting molecule is chemically identical to synthetic caffeine anhydrous, with the same physiological activity from a fully traceable, sustainable source and no nasty synthetic byproducts.

  Caffeine's primary mechanism is competitive blockade of adenosine A1 and A2A receptors in the brain, which suppresses the inhibitory signaling that drives fatigue and reduced arousal and promotes increased dopamine and norepinephrine activity.^[13][14] The result is improved alertness, vigilance, and reaction time.

  At 100mg, this dose falls below the 3 to 6mg/kg threshold typically associated with physical performance gains, but cognitive benefits are well-documented at lower intakes.^[15][14] Caffeine may support both the alerting and executive control attention networks, with benefits extending to complex cognitive tasks rather than simple reaction tests alone.^[16]

  Astreas' recommendation to avoid this truffle within 3 to 4 hours of bedtime is well-supported: research found that caffeine consumed even 6 hours before sleep produced measurable sleep disruption.^[17]

• Valrhona 70% Dark Chocolate

  Valrhona 70% dark chocolate contributes more than artisan flavor here. Founded in 1922 in Tain l'Hermitage, France, Valrhona is a certified chocolatier whose couvertures are trusted by professional pastry chefs worldwide for their rigorous single-origin sourcing and direct producer relationships.

  The science behind dark chocolate's health benefits

  

  The functional component is the cocoa's flavanol fraction, concentrated in the monomeric compound (-)-epicatechin. This polyphenol stimulates endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), increasing nitric oxide (NO) availability and supporting healthy vascular tone. A meta-analysis of 18 intervention arms found cocoa flavanols improved flow-mediated dilation by 1.17%.^[18] A Cochrane review of 35 trials reported small but statistically significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (-1.76 mmHg each) from flavanol-rich cocoa products.^[19]

  Epicatechin also supports cognitive health. The COSMOS-Web trial found cocoa flavanol supplementation restored hippocampal-dependent memory in participants with lower habitual flavanol intake, suggesting a nutritional depletion-repletion model for flavanol-driven memory benefits.^[20]

  The chocolate also delivers theobromine, a mild methylxanthine that adds a complementary layer to the 100mg caffeine from InnovaBean®. Alongside the algae-oil DHA and Cognizin® citicoline, it rounds out a formula that covers vascular and cognitive support from multiple angles... in a format that happens to taste like dessert.

• Algae Oil

  Algae oil adds a direct, fish-free source of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the long-chain omega-3 most concentrated in the human brain. Algae are the primary DHA producers in the marine food chain, and algal oil cuts out the intermediary entirely, delivering the same nutrient without the contaminant concerns associated with some fish-derived oils.^[21]

  

  DHA is a structural component of neuronal cell membranes, where it supports healthy phospholipid bilayer fluidity and synaptic membrane integrity. A randomized study found algal-oil DHA raised plasma phospholipid DHA by approximately 80% and erythrocyte levels by approximately 25% at 600mg/day, matching results from an equivalent dose of cooked salmon.^[22] The US FDA has affirmed algal-oil DHA as GRAS for food use.^[21]

  Beyond brain structure, algal-DHA also supports healthy cardiovascular function. A review of 16 published clinical trials found that 1 to 2g/day of algal-DHA significantly lowered plasma triglyceride levels by up to 26%, with more pronounced reductions in subjects with elevated baseline triglycerides.^[23] A separate randomized, double-blind, six-week trial at 1.52g/day produced a 21% net reduction in triglycerides versus controls, along with a favorable shift in LDL particle size toward larger, less atherogenic types.^[24] Algal-DHA was well-tolerated throughout both study programs, notably avoiding the fishy taste and GI complaints common with fish-oil alternatives.^[23]

  We don't know the dose, so the studies above may not apply, but it goes to show incredible ingredient selection. There's added synergy, as well:

  Solid Synergy with Citicoline

  There's a nice synergy with the Cognizin citicoline in this formula, too. Citicoline supports healthy phosphatidylcholine synthesis in neuronal membranes, and DHA is a primary fatty acid those same membranes incorporate. The two work along complementary structural and functional pathways: citicoline supplying the choline head group for membrane phospholipid assembly while DHA contributes the fatty acid backbone that keeps those membranes fluid and responsive. Together, they address both the chemical and structural dimensions of what healthy brain cell membranes need.

How and When to Use

• When to take it: Any time of day works, though avoid taking within three to four hours of bedtime given the caffeine content.
• With or without food: Works as a stand-alone snack or alongside a light meal.
• Other notes: Astreas recommends taking your sphere about 15 minutes before a workout or focus session. Each truffle is individually wrapped and doesn't require refrigeration, making it easy to carry without planning ahead.

Who It's For

• Professionals and students: The single-serve, zero-prep format fits naturally into work sessions, study blocks, or any task that demands sustained mental output.
• Active adults: At 100mg natural caffeine and 100 calories, it's compact enough to work as a pre-workout snack without meaningfully disrupting macros.

Conclusion: Cognizin® Citicoline Finds a New Format

The Astreas Energy Truffle puts Cognizin® citicoline into a format we haven't covered before: a hand-crafted artisan chocolate truffle made with Recchiuti's award-winning technique and premium Valrhona chocolate sourced from France. The 100-calorie, low-sugar profile keeps it practical, and the individually wrapped format means it actually travels.

The team behind the brand is worth mentioning again. A CMO with five Space Shuttle missions and seven spacewalks, nearly three decades of NASA space food systems leadership, and a New York Times-recognized master chocolatier -- that's not a typical supplement brand founding story, and the product quality reflects it.

We've been tracking Cognizin's expansion into new delivery formats for years, from pre-workout powders to canned beverages like Neutonic and Staed Energy. Astreas moves the ingredient into the premium food channel entirely, producing something that takes the chocolate as seriously as the nootropic inside it. Keep an eye on PricePlow for Astreas pricing and availability updates as the brand grows.