This is amazing. It works incredibly well with espresso, creating the perfect balance between the flavours of the coffee and milk. Sproud Barista tastes like dairy-based coffee drinks in a good, wonderful way. Instead of testing the milks in iced lattes or iced filters, I decided to conduct the review in cold brew.
Cold brew has its own unique taste profile and brings out something quite different from the milk when compared to espresso-based cold drinks. Just as the foam and liquid were separate entities in the espresso-based test, Almond Breeze takes a while to properly blend with the cold brew, but it never really mixes in fully. It tastes almondy, but not overly so, and leaves a hint of a bitter aftertaste. You essentially need quite a bit more of the milk to make the drink taste better, but that would then overtake the coffee.
Moreover, this separates a little as it sits, with tiny strands of what I can only guess is the tapioca starch used as a thickening agent. Just by appearance, this milk looks thick and creamy in texture.
It smells incredible, but not overpoweringly coconutty. But while there are hints of oat in it, this resembles watered-down cold brew with a splash of milk a lot more than an equal parts composition. This tastes very interesting. Good Hemp Barista is slightly sweet as well, and, frankly, adds a completely new dimension to the coffee. Minor Figures turned out to be amongst the best plant-based milk for cold brew coffee too.
And as you drink more, the acidity is just a touch too much. But the thing this milk does really well is blunt out any bitterness in the cold brew, whilst making for a completely homogenous drink. This is not at all acidic, which is what you look for in cold brew. But this is very creamy in mouthfeel, more so than any of the other milks in this test.
Unlike Oatly, Oaty Bruce is, well, pretty oaty when it comes to cold brew. While it makes for a nice drink, it is highly watery in texture, even with the double amount of oats in the milk. Going with the theme, Provamel is the oatiest of them all. And when added to cold brew, it makes for a super acidic drink. It does get better as you drink it, and turns out to be quite refreshing and light. But the acidity is just way too high and distracting.
Along with Minor Figures, this is one of the best. It mixes in tremendously well and never separates, producing a quality drink. The flavour is quite neutral and there is no trace of that chemical aftertaste present in the espresso test.
Apart from some minute traces of bitterness, this is a fabulous pairing with cold brew. It tastes good, but the sweetness of the oats overtakes any flavour lent by the almonds.
It also takes focus away from the coffee, which is a shame. Sproud Barista blends beautifully with cold brew. The end result is a balanced, delicious drink. As is the case with our other ultimate showdown tests, I wanted to look at the ingredients, price and availability of all these plant-based barista milks. Accessibility, affordability and composition are key to the success of any product.
This almond milk contains 2. Alpro Barista Coconut is virtually a blend of soy and coconut. With a base containing 2. This is quite hard to find. Califia Farms is very accessible. Apart from online retailers, Good Hemp Barista is stocked at some superstores, like Tesco and Waitrose. The only other ingredients are an acidity regulator, emulsifier and stabiliser, and the short ingredient list explains the steeper price.
This is the hardest milk to find. The only way you can get your hands on some is by visiting a coffee shop that stocks it, which is also a great way to support independent stores. You can find one nearby with this handy map. One way to get it online is through Ozone Coffee Roasters. Minor Figures is finally making itself more visible. Oatly is the most widely available barista plant-based milk in the UK.
I briefly talked about the ingredients Oaty Bruce uses and banks on. The fact that the milk can hold its own through rigorous testing with the cleanest of labels is a testament to the brand. Where can you find it? The barista oat milk has a slightly lower amount of oats than the average, with 8. It also contains sunflower oil, agave fibre, pea protein and sea salt.
No acidity regulator here. Its non-barista counterparts are everywhere, but as a six-month-old milk, the brand is treading carefully before moving into mainstream retail. The Rebel Kitchen Barista Mylk uses Even though it is marketed as an almond milk, its oat content is way higher than the almonds. Sunflower lecithin and sea salt are the other two additions. As a health-conscious brand, you can find the Rude Health Barista Almond at most health stores.
Unprocessed milk falls into the former category and processed milk into the latter. Butterfat, the primary type of fat found in milk, is a pretty hefty globule. This triglyceride an ester made up of three fatty acids is so large and heavy that it weighs down air bubbles, making foam collapse. Butterfat is usually broken up in the homogenising process, to prevent a layer of fat forming on the top of your milk and eventually forming a solid layer when chilled — a common phenomenon in unpasteurized farm-fresh milk.
Since fat globules are so huge, it physically blocks the other solubles in the water from reaching your tongue. In other words, it coats your tongue and forms a film that repels certain flavours. To best understand this effect for yourself, try making three cappuccinos: one with non-fat milk, one with whole milk, and one with half-and-half.
Try to identify which one tastes more of coffee. Recent scientific studies have shown that the reason why fatty foods taste so satisfying has very little to do with the actual flavour of fat, but instead with the mouthfeel of it. Imagine drinking unsalted melted butter… now imagine the taste of cold butter spread over hot toast. That creamy mouthfeel is what seals the deal, baby! Human tasters working for food companies report on the sensation of fat by rubbing their tongue against the roof of their mouths.
And based on these quantitative studies, high-fat food items like cheesecake, chocolate ganache and cream sauces all register as immensely satisfying — just because of the way it feels when in contact with the mouth. Credit: EdibleGeography. Something else you should know about fat is that, while is does block off certain flavours, it accentuates others.
In a study of how flavor is released in low-fat versus high-fat ice cream, food scientists found that fat could have different effects depending on the flavor. Cherry, for example, becomes less intense in the presence of fat, but the opposite is true for vanilla. Flavour is made up of these things called volatile components , and fat affects how these volatile components reach your tongue. Some flavours like to stick to fat and so make for a more prolonged release.
This explains why adding milk to coffee brings out certain nutty, or caramel-esque, flavours. Make it a habit to read milk labels. I urge you to go to a supermarket and literally read every single different milk carton. It also has a higher fat content and added sodium. Barista milk, on the other hand, was a type of milk specifically designed to be used with coffee. Hence the higher protein content more stable foam and less fat to draw out more of the flavours of the coffee.
Taste wise you could quite easily notice that the soy milk has been developed with the focus in usability. There was a lot of grain, bean and kind of cardboard flavours that we experienced from the cappuccino that we tasted. We felt that the taste was quite artificial and it was lacking natural flavours. On the plus side the mouthfeel was very creamy and the after taste was long lasting. Oat has been THE plant based milk during last few years.
After foaming and steaming the milks started to fizz right away which was strange. Again I tried two temperatures, 55 and 65 and the milks were able to handle both of them. Latte art wise the results was quite ok and the only problem was that I needed to pour a bit harder to make the patterns. Mari explained that the oat milks do have quite a little protein in them which causes problems with microfoam.
With the lack of protein the small bubbles start to combine with each other creating bigger bubbles which we can see with bare eyes. Mari pointed out that the lack of body can be explained with lack in protein and fat which both have a big effect on the mouthfeel. Aftertaste was neutral. In overall, the milk dominated the espresso a bit but it left some room for the flavour of coffee. There is no artificial or oat flavour and the overall flavour is really neutral.
That was actually a bit of a surprise because the milk looks like vanilla sauce the one you put on top of apple pie when you pour it into your pitcher. Good work Planti! Next up; Alpro Coconut for Professional. Despite of the name, the product is mix of coconut and soy milk.
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