Milk Alternatives for Coffee (Tested & Compared)

Almond, Oat, Coconut or Soy. Which alternative milk is best for coffee?

Dr Adam from our Coffee Science & Education Centre compares 14 popular brands to see which varieties have the right texture, taste & stability to make great espresso coffees (like flat white, latte & cappuccino).

Key sections in this video:
0:00 Introduction
0:28 Why Milk Alternatives?
1:40 Almond Milk
2:05 Why some milk varieties curdle
3:22 Soy Milk
4:44 Oat Milk
6:15 Coconut Milk
7:05 General Recommendations

I know this barely scratches the surface of brands & varieties on the market...apologies in advance for all those we couldn't include.

For those watching from outside Australia, many of these brands likely won't be available, however the general recommendations remain the same.

Products Tested:
- Bonsoy
- Happy happy soy boy
- Vitasoy Soy milk original
- MilkLab Almond
- Almond breeze barista blend home
- Almond breeze unsweetened
- InsideOut unsweetened Almond
- Australia Own Barista Almond
- Oatly
- Minor figures oat milk
- Vitasoy Oatmilk unsweetened
- MilkLab Coconut
- Pure Harvest Coco Quench (Coconut)
- Vitasoy coconut milk unsweetened
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Full Article: Coming Soon
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[www_mariie]

Oat milk changed my life when it comes to coffee. I dont even actively avoid dairy but i litterally can't enjoy a latte if the milk in it isn't oat lol

[ElBoyoElectronico]

Since I don't like normal milk, I was amazed by the taste of oatmilk.

[adamwaz]

That's interesting. I'll have to try oat milk. I tried unsweetened almond milk and it was horrendous and un-drinkable. Thanks for that 👍

[Deathsead]

So after coming to Australia two things happened, I found out about the joys of Coffee to the point that my mates got me a formidable machine to brew my own and secondly, I found out that I am suddenly lactose intolerant after like 26 years of my life. One of the amazing Barista's at a cafe I regular (Morning Owl) recommended me to make the switch to Oat milk and it has literally changed my life. I no longer feel bloated or have the need to rush to a toilet and can finally continue to enjoy my Latte's in peace.
P.S idk why but with oat milk I'm able to taste more of the coffee notes (fruity etc) as opposed to full cream.

[sarcasm-]

At some point, as dairy was giving me some stomach issues (mild to moderate milk protein allergy, seemingly), I tasted some replacements.. Almond was drinkable but went back to milk after.. But when I tried the Oatly barista oatmilk, I genuinely started feeling it was quite a bit better than with milk. It kinda has a bit creamy vibe to me and it works to soften even a strong cup really nicely. Glad to see it "scored" well here.

Definitely recommended.

Oh and did try at least a few, cheaper oatmilks but they imo felt more watery and had a much "sharper" oat taste to them... So would prefer milk over a cheap oatmilk. Idk how Oatly has managed to make the often strong oat taste way less in the way of the coffee taste

[imizzyma]

i don’t own a coffee shop nor do i work in a coffee shop but this is one of the most interesting videos i’ve ever watched

[theoldaccount]

That was very informative, thank you. I have the problem with curdling as well. One thing I noticed, milks that are stable under heat and with hot chocolate start curdling when you add Cinnamon. As far as I remember, Oat and Coconut are stable with Cinnamon, others aren't.

[donnasitio]

I usually try with full cream milk, but i amazed with coconut milk, the smell when i drink the coffee is really good, the taste are also so good.
Gotta try oat milk someday.

[cassandrabatesglover]

For Unsweetened Almond milk, I’ve found So Good has been the best for making coffee. Does froth and doesn’t curdle.

[giodc]

Espresso drinker here. Really hate milk unless in ice cream or cheese. I tried some oat milk at work today and i have to say it is quite nice. I am going to look for Oatly in supermarkets and give it a shot at home.
Thanks for doing the work for us :D

[justaprttykitty]

I CAN NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THEY DO NOT HAVE MORE SUBSCRIBERS.

[trishabriggs]

oh my god this is exactly what ive been looking for!! this has all the brands im curious about thanks so much for this 💛

[annestanton]

hi great video, ive recently experimented myself with soy and almond milk in my coffee.. the soy curtled quickly when it came straight from the fridge into the hot coffee....so i tried letting the soy or almond get to room temperature, poured it in the the cup first and then poured the coffee in to the color that i like for coffee. It works pretty good, almond definatly tastes better in coffee for me! I should add that im currently experimenting with vanilla flavoring too, i put a drop or two in my two cup of water before pouring it into the coffee machine..and a touch of salt to the grounds...its quite nice

[odaritsu]

I have tried soy, almond, pea, oat, macadamia etc but I've always preferred Oatly Barista

[angelaconan]

I am currently using brand 137 degrees Unsweetened Almond Milk and Pistachio Milk, which both work relatively stable and have an amazing taste which give my freshly ground coffee an extra level of nutty flavour. As I find non-dairy milk are slightly challenging to work with latte art, I usually mix them with whole milk, but for anyone who prefers alternative milk, I do recommend 137 degrees. They also have a wide range including walnut, cashew, oat, coconut.=)

[sherrymangas]

Our shop has seen an increase in Oat and a huge decrease in Soy. Coconut and almond just sucks in hot espresso drinks so we use the in iced lattes. Interesting to her the sweetened is better so I'll just stock that.

[TronKyLam]

This is just my opinion working with these type of milk. It's funny that at our place, we used to use a lot more soy milk than almond milk. However, when Covid lock down started, the demand for Almond milk increased a lot and we ended up using more Almond than Soy. Oat is a new trendy thing that appears to get more and more popular these days as well. I tried to work with Coconut, and the smell was so beautiful, but I just lightly over heated it once and I could obviously taste the burn taste right away. So my idea is, whoever wants to drink Coconut milk should not ask the barista for the coffee to be extra hot.

[floearthling]

Great video...Oat milk is also the more sustainable version!!
And in my opinion, all plant alternatives are healthier than dairy✌

[BruceWalkerPhotography]

Terrific overview and study -- thank you very much for this! I'm looking forward to seeing your follow-up with health, sustainability etc.

I have become a huge fan of oat milk. I can't steam it at home (no espresso maker), but I can use my Blendtec to heat and froth it with a 3 minute "hot soup" cycle. I use that to create cafe misto for myself.


My go-to oat milk brand here in Canada is Elmhurst Milked Oats, Barista Edition.

[TheFinalMB]

I’ve always been a fan of soy milk, even before I was vegan and chugged litres of milk a day I would always get a soy latte or a soy cappuccino if I was out and about, so for me you can’t go wrong with stocking it in your fridge.
That being said I was really quite impressed by Oatly. I’ve tried other oat milks at home and didn’t really enjoy their flavour but for some reason I’ll have to figure out Oatly just seemed to be really quite good (in coffee anyway).

Also I can’t believe I’ve never seen this channel before, absolutely 100% some of the best coffee content I’ve seen on YouTube, definitely deserve more subs :):)