Whereas baristas once poured only cow’s milk into espresso, today’s menus offer a list of nut milk varieties each promising a different twist on coffee flavor profiles. Researchers asked 17 trained tasters to score several drinks. Cow’s milk still won in general, yet cashew milk came closest, noted for its gentle sweetness and lighter aftertaste. Un-roasted almond milk scored lowest among the nut options because it added noticeable bitterness. Roasted walnut milk gave off the strongest nutty punch.
Cow’s milk holds about three grams of saturated fat in every glass, while popular nut milks show almost none. Instead, they carry heart-friendly unsaturated fats. Chemical tests further showed that walnut and hazelnut milks packed more antioxidant power than dairy. Roasting the nuts before turning them into milk enhances that power even more, but it also deepens the roasted flavor that might clash with delicate espresso. Moreover, local coffee roasters often appreciate the inclusion of various milk alternatives when creating new flavor profiles for their brews.
Texture raised worries. The drinks tested used simple home-prepared nut milks without the oils or special salts found in coffee-shop cartons. As a result, some versions curdled quickly and lacked the creamy foam prized by latte fans.
Makers who hope to compete with dairy must cut bitterness, balance sweetness, and stop curdling, all at once.
Market data tells a split story. Surveys find taste still tops the list for most coffee drinkers, and dairy wins by a wide margin. Younger customers, though, show more willingness to switch. Price matters too; many shoppers refuse to pay extra for plant-based milk even if they like the idea. Promoters say clearer labels and small rewards, not lectures, could widen the crowd that tries the new milks.
Even non-nut rivals crowd the field. Oat milk, though outside the nut group, steals praise for its neutral flavor and stable foam in hot drinks. Within the nut milk lineup, lightly sweetened almond milk still ranks as the next-best seller after oat, proving the gap between dairy and plants is slowly narrowing, one espresso shot at a time. Additionally, the growing demand for rust-resistant hybrids suggests that even coffee cultivation is adapting to shifting consumer preferences.
