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How do oatmeal milk lattes suddenly rise? can oatmeal milk really replace milk as a latte?

Published: 2025-12-24 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2025/12/24, Just a few years ago, it was hard to find oatmeal milk in any coffee shop. Today, oatmeal milk, as a new online celebrity, is full of coffee shops of all sizes. In the United States in 2017, only 10 coffee shops sold oatmeal milk; fast-forward to 2019, that number soared to 3500. While this kind of super quantitative change is exciting, we can't help but care about what it is.

Just a few years ago, oatmeal milk was hard to find in any coffee shop. Today, oat milk, as a new online celebrity, is full of coffee shops of all sizes. In 2017, there were only 10 coffee shops selling oatmeal milk in the United States; fast-forward to 2019, and that number soared to 3500.

This super-quantitative change, while exhilarating, makes it interesting to ask what makes oatmeal milk different from other milks, and how baristas exploit its full potential.

What is oatmeal milk?

This balanced, slightly sweet, smooth milk substitute shook up the coffee world. So, how is oatmeal milk made?

Oat milk is made by mixing it with water and grinding it into a viscous liquid. During this process, certain amounts of enzymes are added to speed up the breakdown of carbohydrates in oats, which helps produce natural sweetness.

The mixture is filtered to remove coarse fiber, leaving a smooth, thick liquid that is basically oat milk. Vitamins and minerals can also be added to increase the nutritional value of oat milk. Thereafter, it is pasteurized, which ensures safe drinking and extends shelf life.

Believe it or not, oat milk has been sold commercially for more than 20 years. Pacific Foods began selling oat milk in the United States in 1996, and Oatly began producing oat-based beverages in Sweden in the 1990s. What makes it take consumers so long to catch the train?

Consumer behavior has changed over the past few decades. A growing number of vegetarians are showing a greater interest in and willingness to consume non-dairy beverages, including oat milk. Globally, the number of vegetarians continues to rise as people become more interested in environmental protection and healthy lifestyles. In Britain, the number of vegetarians has risen from 150,000 to 540,000 in the past decade. The vegan diet they advocate means that "dairy products" that can replace milk become a necessity in the daily diet.

2017-2019 Sales of oat milk in the UK grew 71% in 2019, while in the US retail sales of oat milk grew to $29 million in 2019. This year, Starbucks, Peet's Coffee and Dunkin Donuts announced they would add oatmeal milk to their menus.

Oatmeal milk VS milk

Oatmeal milk is a good alternative for people who cannot drink milk because it does not contain most allergens (If the oatmeal used is gluten-free, the translator inserts a sentence: Foreigners have a magical constitution that will be allergic to many strange things. The "gluten" here refers to the protein in wheat. Intuitively speaking, it is the gluten washed out from the cold skin that everyone got from morning to night some time ago. You think, you think about how unhappy life is when eating cold skin without gluten.), Examples: lactose, soy and nuts. Oat milk is usually rich in vitamins and minerals, as well as soluble fiber, which is good for the digestive system.

Oatmeal milk tends to have a thick texture and creamy taste, and most people consider it more like milk or whole milk than other milk substitutes. It's usually a little sweet, but not the plain sweet of sucrose.

oatmeal milk mixed with coffee

Oatmeal milk interacts with coffee just as milk interacts with coffee. If the ratio of oat milk to coffee is right, it can balance the taste, flavor and sweetness of coffee, and it works well with coffee with complex fruit flavor and bright acidity.

Because of its similarity to milk, oatmeal milk can be whipped and flowered, provided that milk can be whipped and flowered. When whipping oatmeal milk, it can also be heated to 55-65℃. In order to stabilize the foam as much as possible, more air needs to be added to the oat milk than milk, which will help create a smoother texture and retain its shape longer.

Oatmeal milk warms up faster than regular milk, so it may be helpful to use a thermometer to watch how quickly the temperature rises. After beating, let the oatmeal milk sit for 40 seconds before pulling, which will make the coffee texture more balanced. When pulling flowers, it is recommended to make some durable and time-consuming patterns.

The article was reproduced at the Food and Beverage Intelligence Bureau.