Alternatives to milk plant-based popularity.

Alternatives to milk

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 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

that our customers return time and time again is because of our signature 100% speciality arabica blend coffee, which more enthusiastic and educated coffee drinkers recognise and appreciate immediately,” he says.

“This confidence and knowledge of the product, directly leads to more bespoke requests being made and this is something that we celebrate and take as a real compliment. There are so many

interesting ways that you can adapt or tweak your coffee, it would be a real shame not to take advantage of them!

“We’re always looking for ways in which we can adapt in line with consumer demands and habits - if we have the ingredients in, we will always try to accommodate them.

“Last year’s Allegra Project Cafe Report highlighted that latte is purchased by the most consumers in the market, followed by cappuccino and flat white with hot chocolate being purchased fourth in line, ahead of Americano. Coconut, almond and oat dairy alternatives are consumed more than the traditional soya dairy alternatives, their research found, as consumers opt for flavour benefits from their milk as well as health or dietary benefits. Similarly, consumers are more likely to customise their drink with a syrup than they are sugar or cream, it was also found.”

At Bru Gelato, oatly barista is the most popular milk alternative, they report, with hazelnut the most popular syrup, although consumer tastes also vary depending on the time of year (gingerbread taking over the most popular syrup spot throughout the autumn and winter months, for example).

SPUDS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

“We work hard to really understand what our customers want, and we take great pride in our menu and the way in which we respond to changing customer demands throughout the year,” adds Junaid Makda.

“We’re also always open to new suggestions from customers and trying out new products that come to the market. For example, we recently tried out potato milk as a sustainable alternative to other milks already available. The customer feedback was unanimous: it looks like milk, the texture’s like milk, but unfortunately it doesn’t taste like milk!

“Experimentation is great fun and it’s a great way to stay agile and to keep ahead of the competition. It doesn’t always BARISTA TIPS

work out as hoped, but sometimes you can create something really special and unique.”

According to Jenny Irvine from Pure Package - a healthy recipe box delivery company based at Covent Garden market, London - potato milk is on the rise as a more sustainable plant-based alternative to dairy milk.

Potato farming produces considerably less carbon dioxide than dairy farming, using half the land required for the same amount of oat milk, it is claimed. This type of milk is also being fortified with vitamin D, calcium, and folic acid, she points out, and Pure Package reports that it is already selling potato milk in three styles - original, barista, and unsweetened – to cater for developing demand.

With plant-based milks now being part of the mainstream offer, baristas in turn need to make sure they are preparing them correctly for the hot beverage menu as they do perform differently to dairy milks when heated.

Rohan Pitumpe, head of training at Miko Coffee, has the following advice for baristas when they are prepping plant-based milks for the speciality drinks menu.

1. There are a lot of alternative milk brands on the market now, including innovative ‘barista style’ varieties. These all have different formulations with varying protein and fat levels, and this affects how the milk performs when heated. It’s important to experiment with the different brands on offer to find a plant milk that works for you. 2. When heating plant-based alternatives, the temperature to aim for is between 50-60°C, after which there is a tendency for the milk to split. Keep a close eye on this step, as plant milks heat up very quickly and continue to heat even after texturing. 3. Plant milks are more likely to curdle when used with coffee that has a higher acidity level. It may be easier to use a blend that has been roasted to a lower acidity to avoid this issue. 4. This rule applies to dairy and nondairy milks alike. Always use fresh, cold milk – as this will allow enough time for stretching and texturing of the milk. 5. Again, another rule that also applies equally to dairy milks. One of the most important tips is to pour the milk as soon as it is ready to avoid the micro-foam separating from the milk. If this happens, the milk will come out first followed by the foam.

To reduce the chance of this happening, try agitating the milk excessively before pouring. Swirling the milk reduces the likelihood of foam sticking to the jug and homogenises the mixture to make it smoother for pouring, while stopping excessive drainage of foam. 6. Swirling the milk in the jug before pouring also reduces the crema and carbon dioxide which stabilises the acidity level. This in turn can also prevent the milk from splitting.

Best practi ce

“The ability to prepare milk to a professional barista standard is essential for today’s speciality coffee menu,” says Maxime Herbaut, sales operations manager, La Cimbali.

“Whether creating impressive latte art or perfectly textured milk for cappuccinos and other milk-based espressos, a certain level of skill is required.

“The good thing is that milk preparation is easy to master as long as you follow a few basic rules. And once you’ve mastered the perfewct pour, just practice, and then practice some more.

“One of the most common problems that our after sales trainers see when visiting customers is a dirty or blocked steam arm due to lack of cleaning. Purge, steam, clean purge is the most important part of preparing steamed milk. But based on our experience in the fi eld, here are a few tips to help baristas deliver perfectly textured foam every time.” 1. Always use fresh milk because it tastes sweeter and creates a creamier texture when steamed. The higher the fat content, the creamier the milk becomes. As it ages, milk can develop bacteria making it harder to steam and texture. That’s why fresh is always best. 2. Use cold milk straight from the fridge. The colder the milk, the longer it takes to heat up. This creates more time to stretch and texture the milk. The longer we texture, the smoother and more velvety the milk becomes. 3. Stretching/aerating is the process of introducing air into the milk and this increases the volume and produces the micro-foam which is needed for latte art and cappuccinos. Adding air enhances the overall sweetness and texture of the milk too. The more air you add, the more foam you create, and different volumes of foam are needed for each type of drink. Stretching must be done before the milk is warm, before 40°C to avoid big bubbles After that, good texturing is key to smooth milk. 4. Banging the jug on the counter two or three times is good practice to pop any micro bubbles and then a good swirling of the jug keeps the milk and the foam mixed/texturised together until ready to pour. 5. When working with non-dairy milks, remember they have a ‘splitting point’ which can be as low as 60°C. Play it safe by pre-heating the serving cup to a higher temperature and then only steam your milk to around 60°C. As long as your timing is ok, the drink should then maintain a higher temperature by the time it is ready to serve, even though you have decreased the milk temperature a little. 6. Plant milks don’t always work so well with coffees that have a high acidity as they can be prone to curdle. To avoid this, switch up your coffee to a less acidic blend. 7. Iced beverages are more popular than ever and many recipes feature cold milk foam which is a thick and creamy ‘topping’ which is perfect for layering over lattes, iced cold brew and nitro coffee etc. The foam doesn’t blend into the coffee but rather sits on top and is best made using lower fat dairy milks or barista standard plantbased milks as the higher protein content helps create a more stable and robust result. 8. Remember, everything starts with a good espresso. If the barista gets this wrong then the coffee is never going to taste great, irrespective of how impressive his/her milk prep skills may be!