Brief History of Oat Milk
Oat Milk found its way into the coffee industry with the increase of dairy alternative products. According to a recent report by Mintel Research, since 2013 about half of all Americans have been purchasing plant-based alternative milk instead of regular milk. These substitutes have risen in popularity after the increase in diet trends and public health concerns with the consumption of cow’s milk. A study done by the University of Virginia’s medical department states that “worldwide sales of non-dairy milk alternatives have more than doubled between 2009 and 2015! Meanwhile, consumption of cow’s milk has dropped 13% in the US over the last five years”. Based off of this it seems likely that we may be ditching cow’s milk as the milk of choice in America.
Now more than ever we’re seeing a growing number of customers who are choosing to drink plant-based milk alternatives, as a lifestyle choice or because of medical reasons. As a result, the current lineup of milk varieties available will continue to expand around the US. While almond, soy, and coconut remain as the most popular milk alternatives, oat milk has been around since the 1990s. Oat milk was created in Sweden at the University of Lund by students who were looking for an alternative for those with both lactose and nut allergies. Today, Swedish company Oatly is the world’s most famous supplier of the cereal-based milk, but many milk brands offer their own take on oat milk. We currently offer Organic Pacific Oat Milk as an alternative at Trove Coffee!
Oat Milk vs Cow’s Milk
The same study done by the University of Virginia’s medical department reported that compared to regular cow’s milk, oat milk is low in cholesterol and saturated fat while also containing more protein and fiber than other milk alternatives. Many of the benefits that come with consuming oat milk have to do with the amount of fiber in the product. Fiber helps to satisfy your hunger so drinking oat milk may even help fill you up faster. Oat milk also contains greater amounts of sugar in it because it’s manufactured from a carbohydrate which is broken down into simple sugar, making it somewhat higher in calories. While oat milk is the perfect alternative for those with lactose or nut allergies, it definitely does not serve as an appropriate alternative for children because oat milk lacks certain necessary nutrients like calcium for developing growth.
What is Oat Milk?
To put it simply, oat milk is milk that is produced from oats. Oat milk is made by letting steel cut oats or oat groats, which are clean and toasted oats, soak in water, mixing them, then draining it through cheesecloth or any loosely woven cloth to create a concentrate. During the extraction process, most of the vitamins and minerals remain in the pulp since oats are naturally more absorbent than other milk alternative bases. It’s crucial that the oats are properly blended when making oat milk so a larger amount of oats can pass through the cloth. This will allow for the milk’s nutritional value to be enhanced while also adding to its density and giving it an overall creamier composition.
Oat milk has a subtle flavor, but is rich in its essence, making it perfect for traditional hot beverages such as lattes and cappuccinos. The taste is very delicate, it foams to perfection, and it blends so smoothly with fresh espresso and added syrups. Oat milk is notable among baristas because it doesn’t separate when making coffee beverages. This makes it the perfect alternative for any iced drinks such as iced coffees, iced lattes, and iced macchiatos. Aside from these characteristics, there’s research that has even found a connection between weight loss due to the increased intake of fiber that’s found in oat milk. It also has high amounts of vitamin E, iron, and folic acid! There’s definitely a lot to know about oat milk and milk alternatives, to learn more check out Moo-ove Over, Cow’s Milk: The Rise of Plant-Based Dairy Alternatives.
-MQ