Our taste test comprised (in alphabetical order):
- Almond, unsweetened (13kcal/100ml) Alpro
- Cashew (23kcal/100ml) Alpro
- Coconut, unsweetened (14kcal/100ml) Alpro
- Hazelnut (29kcal/100ml) Alpro
- Hemp (26kcal/100ml) Good Hemp
- Oat, unsweetened (40kcal/100ml) Alpro
- Pea (34kcal/100ml) Sproud
- Walnut (25kcal/100ml) Valsoia
OBVIOUSLY there are loads more - rice, soya, macadamia, tiger nut, blended, flavoured, sweetened, organic...
I use almond as my go-to all-purpose non-milk because it's the lowest calorie and has virtually no flavour. My mum drinks a glass of milk plain and prefers cashew as it's creamy but is okay with oat (which is good as cashew isn't so easily available).
I have been asked many times for my opinions on the 'best' plant milk but it comes mostly down to individual taste so I really recommend trying as many as you can. Also, I would recommend anyone new to plant milks to do the following:
A. If you use large quantities would it be a more economical idea to make your own? Especially if you want to reduce your waste or live in an area that doesn't offer carton recycling... Incidentally we use plastic shot glasses for my mum's meds so they will be reused many times. You can always use glass or paper cups.
B. Think how you use milk. Do you drink it plain, have a dash in coffee, pour it over cereal? The difference in flavours can make a huge difference and you will need to taste test the milks as you use them - especially for hot drinks as some separate and *TMI alert* I vomit with hot soya milk.
C. Where are you at in life? Look at the calorie counts, sugar or protein content depending on what matters to you.
D. Alpro milks are frequently on offer (3 for £3, usually) so stock up for a taste test economically.
Our rankings went as follows:
Dad
1. Hazelnut* / Walnut*
3. Pea - as the only one who could tolerate Pea milk he took it home!
4. Cashew*
5. Oat
6. Almond
7. Hemp / Coconut - which he dubbed "arsenic and cyanide"
Daughter
1. Cashew*
2. Hazelnut*
3. Walnut*
4. Oat
5. Almond
6. Pea
7. Coconut
8. Hemp
Me
1. Cashew* / Walnut*
3. Oat
4. Hazelnut*
5. Almond - despite being my go-to it is bland, nothingy and not nice on its own
6. Coconut - watery and white, didn't even realise how much I disliked it, shan't buy it in future!
7. Pea - with the comment "bloody weird NO" definitely not worth the 2nd highest calorie count
8. Hemp - with the comment "bleuuuu socks ICK"
*As the same three milks made all of our top 4 I will discuss those in a little detail.
Cashew (Dad's # 4, daughter's #1, my joint first)
As someone who hasn't had cow juice in over 7 years it's not the easiest to say but to me Cashew is the closest to dairy milk. Coconut is very white; hazelnut & walnut are rather brown. Coconut & almond are rather watery but Cashew has a hint of creamyness. Also, unlike hazelnut, walnut, coconut the flavour is pretty neutral meaning it's a great all-purpose choice. (For the record, almond milk doesn't taste of almonds. Before I first tried it I was terrified it'd be like liquid marzipan!)
Hazelnut (Dad's joint 1st, daughter's #2, my #4)
As above, hazelnut is a bit on the brown side and tastes, unsurprisingly, of hazelnuts. Hazelnutty coffee or hot chocolate would probably be just fine but in tea? Probably not. Fortunately I loathe tea. Actually, I don't like hazelnuts but I like this milk. Weird, huh?
Walnut (Dad's joint 1st, daughter's #3, my joint 1st)
Again, brown. Again, strong walnut flavour. I have since tried this as a latte and it was DELICIOUS. Like hazelnut I think it'd work better in particular contexts: with muesli? Great! To make a strawberry blancmange? I kind of think the pepperyness of the walnut would make that pretty gross but I could be wrong.
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