Alt-Milks On Test

Non-dairy alternatives to milk have seen a huge rise in popularity, but which work best with speciality coffee?

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In the words of Mark Kurlansky, author of Milk! A 10,000-Year Food Fracas, dairy is “one of the most argued-over foods in human history”. One minute it’s essential for good health, the next it’s branded an environmental killer. But while that argument may never be settled, one thing is for sure: the past decade or so has seen the arrival of a whole range of exciting and diverse alternatives to milk.

Until the late 2000s, the only real alternative to milk for those with lactose intolerance was soya (or soy) milk. That came with its own health controversies – too much can be bad for those with thyroid disease and is said to cause fertility problems – and it wasn’t always easy to find. Few people actively chose to drink soya milk anyway; doing so was seen as an oddity. But something has changed. Around the world, plant-based alternatives to milk – also known as “mylks” – now form an industry estimated to be worth $16 billion. According to market research company Mintel, UK milk sales have increased by 30% since 2015. It seems the consumption of mylk has shifted from dietary requirement to lifestyle choice.

So why are people drawn to the alternatives? According to the British Nutrition Foundation, only about 5% of the UK are thought to suffer any degree of lactose maldigestion, but far more people than this have been choosing non-dairy alternatives. This is partly because of the general rise in plant-based diets, but people also choose mylks for health reasons: most are lower in saturated fats than cow’s milk (and other animal-derived products such as goat’s milk), while rice and coconut mylks rarely cause allergic reactions, and almond is a better source of vitamin E than dairy. Another key reason for switching to mylks is the increasing evidence that dairy farming is harmful to the environment.