the brand is spring valley. I don't guess it really matters the brand. The supplements that I buy at walmart seem to do just as good of a job as the ones I have gotten at the health food store in the past. As far as taste....Idk. What I have always taken has been in capsule form, so unless one breaks apart in the process of getting from my mouth to my belly, I really don't know. I'd go ahead and up my dosage to at least 2k mg a day and see how that suits you. You should be able to tell a significant difference if you bump it up to 3k