Many coffee drinkers won’t go without frothy milk on top of their coffee, even if they can’t really tolerate cow’s milk. For this reason, plant-based milk alternatives have become popular in recent years.
Although soya milk was the original substitute for cow’s milk, it has since fallen somewhat into disrepute and new vegan milk alternatives are now appearing as coffee foam. “Our business used almond/rice milk and oat milk for many years”, says Shem Leupin, one of Switzerland’s leading coffee experts. “Now we’re just focusing on oat milk”. The reason for this is simple: Oats are also grown in Switzerland, while almond and rice products always have to be imported. “What’s more, almond milk is incredibly sweet”, says the expert.
Leupin is a coffee roaster at Stoll and runs Coffee on Grüngasse 4 in Zurich together with a partner. The establishment serves selected premium coffees. Leupin prefers to drink his coffee straight up. Especially filter coffee. “But I’m not going to tell anyone how they should drink their coffee”, he adds. Many people take milk in their coffee out of habit. But according to Leupin, guests will also choose a cappuccino or latte to make their coffee last longer. Naturally, the mouthfeel is also different when a fattier milk is used.
When it comes to the foam, Leupin knows you can’t beat animal milk as it stretches further. His final word: “If you want a good coffee, never use UHT milk. Pasteurized milk gives the drink a much better flavour”.