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Chris Bumstead has four pre-workouts on the shelf, and two of them get compared more than the rest: Thavage and Essential. One is loud and scalable, the other is the steady daily driver. Here is how they actually differ, so you buy the one that suits how you train rather than the one with the cooler label.
The short answer
- Pick Essential if you train most days, want a clean 200mg caffeine hit and do not want to think about dosing.
- Pick Thavage if you want the full experience: bigger pumps, stronger focus and the option to go from one scoop to two.
- Pick Essentials Charged if you like Essential's simplicity but want a much harder stim kick for early mornings.
- Pick Thuper Pump if you train late or want to stack a stim-free pump on top of your usual pre.
If you are new to stimulants, Essential is the smarter first tub. You can always move up.
Thavage: the loud one
CBUM Thavage Lemonade and the rest of the Thavage line are Chris Bumstead's flagship pre-workout. The key idea is a flexible one-to-two scoop dose. One scoop gives you a controlled lift. Two scoops is the full-send session for heavy leg days.
The formula has two halves. The pump side stacks citrulline, Nitrosigine and agmatine. The energy and focus side layers caffeine with Alpha-GPC, L-tyrosine and huperzine A. That combination is why Thavage feels more intense than a caffeine-only pre: you get the stim, but you also get the locked-in focus people chase.
Every gram is printed on the label, so there are no proprietary blends. The tub is listed at 40 serves. Flavours range from classic citrus to novelty picks like Christopher's Secret Stuff. We are not ranking them here, so if you want that, read Thavage flavours ranked.
Who it suits: experienced lifters who want one tub that can handle both a normal day and a big day. It is also the one to pick if focus matters as much as energy.
The trade-off: it costs more per tub than Essential, and the two-scoop dose is easy to overdo. Treat two scoops as the ceiling, not the starting point.
Essential: the daily driver
CBUM Essential is the stripped-back version. Six active ingredients, every dose on the label, and 200mg of natural caffeine. It gives you a solid pump and endurance base with drive that lasts the session, without the stimulant load of a hardcore pre.
That makes it easy to live with. You can take it four or five days a week and still feel it, and you are less likely to be lying awake if you train after work. Flavours include Orange and Essential Blue Raspberry, and each tub is listed at 30 serves.
Who it suits: people who train often, beginners, and anyone who prefers a steady lift over a big spike.
The trade-off: if you are used to high-stim pres, 200mg may feel mild. That is where Charged comes in.
Where Essentials Charged and Thuper Pump fit
Essentials Charged is Essential turned up. CBUM Essentials Charged swaps in 350mg of caffeine anhydrous, layered with Dynamine and theobromine for energy that hits quickly and holds, plus Alpha-GPC for focus. Same transparent label, much bigger kick. For context, European food safety guidance treats about 400mg a day as the upper limit for healthy adults, so one serve of Charged uses most of that. Skip the afternoon coffee on those days. We break the pair down properly in Essential vs Charged.
Thuper Pump is the odd one out because it has zero caffeine. CBUM Thuper Pump Sour Watermelon is built around 8g of citrulline and 5g of creatine, with nitrates and Alpha-GPC for the mind-muscle side. Use it for night sessions when you do not want stims near bedtime, or stack it with Thavage or Essential when you want a bigger pump without more caffeine.
The four CBUM pre-workouts at a glance
| Pre-workout | Stimulants | Serves per tub | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thavage | Caffeine plus a focus stack, 1 to 2 scoops | 40 | Big sessions, scalable dosing |
| Essential | 200mg natural caffeine | 30 | Daily training, beginners |
| Essentials Charged | 350mg caffeine anhydrous plus Dynamine | 25 | Early mornings, stim lovers |
| Thuper Pump | None | 20 | Night training, stacking |
Which to buy first
Most people should start with Essential. It shows you how you respond to a CBUM formula without throwing a big stim load at you, and the price per tub is friendlier. If after a few weeks it feels too gentle, you have two clear paths: Charged for more caffeine, or Thavage for more pump and focus.
Go straight to Thavage if you already use stronger pres and know your caffeine tolerance. Start at one scoop for the first week anyway. The whole point of the flexible dose is that you can save the second scoop for the days that need it.
Add Thuper Pump later, not first. It is a great stacker, but it makes more sense once you have a stim pre you like.
One more rule of thumb: if you train in the evening, lean stim-light. A 200mg dose at 6pm is a lot kinder to your sleep than 350mg.
Where NZ Supps fits
We stock the full line of CBUM pre-workouts, plus the rest of the CBUM range if you want the fat burner or other products from the line. CBUM sits under the Raw Nutrition banner, so our guide to the Raw Nutrition range is worth a look if you want to see how it all fits together.
Still weighing up strength levels across brands? Browse our high-stim options or read the pre-workouts ranked by intensity guide. Both help you match a formula to the kick you actually want. And if you would rather answer a few questions than read another comparison, the quiz narrows it down fast.
FAQ
Is CBUM Thavage stronger than CBUM Essential? Yes, in practice. Thavage has a bigger pump core and a layered energy and focus stack, and you can take one or two scoops. Essential keeps things simple with six actives and 200mg of natural caffeine, so it feels steadier and easier to use every day.
How much caffeine is in CBUM Essential? CBUM Essential has 200mg of natural caffeine per serve. If you want more, Essentials Charged steps up to 350mg of caffeine anhydrous plus Dynamine and theobromine.
Which CBUM pre-workout is best for beginners? Start with Essential. It has a sensible caffeine dose, every ingredient is on the label, and it is easy to judge how you react. If you want to try Thavage, start with one scoop rather than two.
Can I stack Thuper Pump with Thavage or Essential? Yes, that is what it is built for. Thuper Pump is stimulant free, so it adds pump and a 5g creatine dose without adding caffeine. Just count any creatine you already take so you are not doubling up for no reason.
Are CBUM pre-workouts Informed Sport certified? Thavage, Essential and Essentials Charged are listed as Informed Sport certified on our store. If you are a tested athlete, check the certification on the product page and the batch number on your tub before you compete.
