milk
DAIRY FREE
Alternatives to
With flavour benefits, as well as health benefits, to be had from milk alternatives, cafés and coffee shops can appeal to more customers if they are prepared to experiment a little. THE MOST POPULAR April 2021 market insight from Mintel revealed that up to one in three Brits now drink plant-based milk. As a result, most high street coffee shops routinely offer customers a choice of the four main plant milks - oat, almond, coconut and soya as standard - although oat milk in particular has officially become the UK’s plant-based milk of choice according to this data. Oat milk most closely resembles dairy milk in terms of taste which could help explain why sales doubled between 20192020 (in fact, oat milk has overtaken almond as the most popular vegan choice). Thus, with barista oat milks making up a third of all sales, oat milk is rapidly becoming the go-to, dairy-free option for barista-style coffee. Glebe Farm PureOaty Barista, for example, has been developed to act as a good partner for barista quality coffee. When steamed, it transforms into a velvety milk froth that doesn’t split or curdle - every barista’s worst nightmare – claim the company, being used to create traditional lattes, cappuccinos and hot chocolates, or even speciality matcha
20 CAFÉ LIFE | THECAFELIFE.CO.UK
and chai lattes. Taste-wise, it works by offering a creamy taste and pleasant mouthfeel to complement the popular bitter notes of any coffee. As a growing market with numerous oat milk giants importing their oat drinks into the UK from Europe, choosing the best products for coffee lovers can be challenging. Beyond taste, texture and mouthfeel, another key area to consider is the importance of a brand’s environmental credentials, suggest the company, with dairy-free coffee seekers often keen to know what brands are doing to help the environment too. Glebe Farm claims to be Britain’s first and only production plant, all of their oat drinks, including PureOaty Barista, being grown and made entirely in the UK, meaning they have the lowest food miles compared to other dairy alternative providers sourcing their ingredients from overseas. One of the potential drawbacks of oat milk, however, can be its relationship
with gluten, point out Glebe Farm. Whilst most people assume that the oats in their oat milk coffee is naturally gluten-free, they could well have been grown near wheat and processed in facilities that also handled wheat products, meaning they are often cross-contaminated with gluten. Therefore, with the rise of gluten-free food and drink consumption, it’s also important to choose a product for oat milk coffee drinkers that guarantees gluten-free oats, feel Glebe (all of Glebe Farm PureOaty is completely glutenfree and made from just four natural ingredients - British gluten-free oats, sunflower oil, water and salt). PICKIER PALATES There is no doubt that consumers are becoming more educated in coffee and other food related items in general, and whilst some outlets may dread customers’ increasingly ‘picky palates’ and ‘diva demands’, Bru Coffee & Gelato, whose head office is based in Leicester, believe that it is their role, and the role of others in the sector, to respond to customers’ evolving taste buds and to celebrate customers’ increased knowledge and confidence when ordering their brew. Junaid Makda, managing director at Bru Coffee & Gelato says that they love responding to bespoke customer requests. “It’s always great to meet people who are as passionate about their coffee as we are. One of the reasons
