Coffee fedi, help me out!
I’m getting more and more milk/lactose intolerant as I get older, but lactose free milk is too sweet for me.
I don’t sweeten my coffee, and even lactose free milk with no sweetener else makes my coffee too sweet.
So, what do I replace my milk with when I order coffee?
I used to know a guy that put butter in his coffee
I recall that being a recommendation when doing the keto diet. That and coconut cream in coffee.
Bit of an acquired taste I think.
Who hurt him?! That sounds… interesting…
It’s a thing in South East Asia. Usually sweetened with condensed milk. Not bad actually.
Doesn’t that still have lactose anyway? Not very helpful.
Although I wonder if margarine would work the same…
Different people have different lactose intolerances. I can eat cheese or butter, but milk will run right through me. From healthline.com;
Butter is very low in lactose. For example, 1 cup (227 grams) of butter contains only 0.1 grams of lactose ( 1 ). For this reason, butter is well tolerated in most lactose-free diets. Only those who are highly sensitive to lactose may experience symptoms.
I have a really hard time with this whole thing, because I got told I’m lactose intolerance based on the results of an endoscope I underwent for (possibly) unrelated reasons. I didn’t have (or at least didn’t notice) any of the typical symptoms of lactose intolerance.
So I’ve cut out straight milk and cream, and only eat ice cream or milk/thick shakes with lactase tablets, but I still eat hard cheese the same as normal, as well as milk chocolate. And because I don’t get the runs or anything like that, I don’t really know if I should be eating the things I am.
Ultimately, your body is your body, and you kinda have to figure out how it reacts to stuff.
Margarine is just emulsified fat and stableizers
This is going to be a personal preference. Nobody can tell you what milk you like. You’ll want to talk to your barista. Explain your problem and ask advice. You may even try out a few of the milks they have to determine what you like. Arrange a tasting even, at a quiet time for the cafe.
You want to pick one of the common milks (like soy or oat) as your preference. You don’t want to get addicted to rice milk and then find it isn’t available at 90% of cafes.
People can’t tell me what I will like, but they can tell me what the like, and that will help me choose.
It’s not just about taste either. Someone pointed out for example that oat milk has less of an environmental impact than almond milk, and that sort of thing helps me make a choice when I go exploring alternatives :)
For me, Oat is probably the first in line after dairy as far as flavour goes. Soy and almond I find can vary wildly depending on brand used. Some are OK.
If black espresso is off the table for you, give cold brew a try. In summer I always have some in the fridge. Goes well straight, with milk and even with soda water.
I agree, oat for a flat white is great. Soy for iced coffee is amazing, better than milk original.
vegan barista milk? https://us.oatly.com/products/barista-edition-oatmilk
The Target brand is exactly this for 1/2 the price.
I’m not a coffee drinker, but I did recently get told by doctors that I’m lactose intolerant and have mostly cut out regular milk from my diet.
I went from taking milk with my tea to having tea black. Took a couple of weeks to get used to it, but I no longer miss the milk.
For cereal, I went with lactose free milk. I hated it at first, but forced myself through it for a while. I think by the time I was 2 L through I had mostly come to “accept” it, but after about 12 L or so I got to the point where I no longer noticed how sweet it is.
Either of these, or both of them (use LF milk but much less than you’re used to), could be viable options for your coffee. It’s about giving it time to see if you can adapt.
Another option which I personally never tried is to go with plant-based milk substitutes. Soy, oat, almond, cashew, pea, etc. This video presents some facts about each as well as an entirely unscientific small-scale (at least 7 people, very likely 9, probably not much more than that) taste test. Their results said that soy is probably the best option, being the cheapest (at least in the US, where they did their test), and 2nd best both for nutritional value and in their taste test. It was also the best for foaming/frothing, which I gather might be important in coffee? Oat came second, winning both taste and foam, but being less nutritional and pricier.
If environmental impact is a factor for you, oat is probably best. Almond emits less carbon, but also uses by far the most water of any dairy substitute, while oat is 2nd best in carbon and also 2nd best (with a huge gap to 3rd place) in water use. With how important water scarcity is in Australia, I figure that makes oat the winner here.
I’ve been drinking lactose free milk most of my life, but I’ve avoided it in my coffee, because it’s too sweet. But now, even the small amount of lactose I have in my coffee is starting to hit me, and I don’t want to switch to lactose free milk for coffee. It completely spoils the flavour with its sweetness
So seeing all these responses, Oat is starting to look good. The reduced impact is a pretty good reason, given that all of the alternatives will likely taste weird to me to start with :)
Going to be personal choice, but just you buy soy milk in Sainsbury’s, don’t expect Tesco to be the same. Am in UK but just change the names for your locale.
I found out a few years ago that I’m not good with dairy, aftervsuffering for about 50! I’ve settled on Tesco Oat Milk. Others don’t taste right and some are awful. Oat has leat environmental impact, but like others have said, you need to be able to get the stuff where you live.
Or just go naked. I have Earl Gret tea at work as we don’t have Oat milk there. Or green tea.
It’s going to take a while before you settle on one. Might cost you as well if a lot of it goes down the drain 🤷
Or just go naked. I have Earl Gret tea at work as we don’t have Oat milk there. Or green tea.
I’ve replaced most of my coffee with yerba mate, which is great, as it has no milk, but packs more of a taste punch than green tea. But I still start my day with a coffee or two, and I don’t want to give that up :)
I think I’ve settled on Oat though. Lots of people suggesting it, and it’s less of an environmental issue than almond
I’d seriously just try every single option until you figure out which you like the most!
The thing is, I don’t really like any of the options I’ve tried :P
That’s probably just because I’m not used to them though.
I alternate between periods of black coffee and coffee with oatmilk. I go with Pure Harvest unsweetened. I never see cafes using it but maybe it’s no good for steaming.
It’s mostly cafes I’m worried about. At home, I’ve got a lactose free milk from my local grocer that isn’t too sweet. But the cafes all seem to use really sweet lactose free coffee.
It’s sounding like oat milk is the way to go. Lots of people like it, and it’s less of an issue for the environment. The biggest issue will be me making myself stick with it until it tastes normal to me :)