The Best Vegan Milk That Doesn’t Curdle In Coffee (UK)
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Looking for vegan milk that doesn’t curdle in your coffee? I’ve got heaps of UK recommendations for you to avoid the dreaded curdling that you can get with some types of plant-based milk.
When I first switched to vegan milk, the biggest barrier was finding a brand that didn’t split or separate in my coffee.
I don’t drink coffee that much. However, I like a cup in the morning to fire me up for the day. And yet with every vegan milk I tried, each curdled in my morning coffee, like this:
This curdled milk situation was absolutely not cutting it for me.
I tried so many kinds of vegan milk in the quest to find something that didn’t curdle at the mere mention of the word coffee. From rice milk and soya milk to almond, hazelnut and coconut milk, all of them seemed to curdle.
Then I thought maybe the problem wasn’t the milk, and that the problem was actually me. Specifically, in that perhaps my coffee-making technique was all wrong. So I tried all of the tips.
I tried heating the milk before using it (a total faff). Waiting for my coffee to cool (torture, when all you want is a drink of coffee). Pouring the milk into my coffee over the back of a spoon (tedious). You name it, I tried it. No matter what I did, the pesky milk still curdled.
Thankfully, after a lot more trial and error, I’ve found the trusted plant-based brands that don’t curdle at the mere sight of a hot drink. Here’s what I found:
The Best Vegan Milk That Doesn’t Curdle In Coffee
After years of trying different types of plant-based milk, I’ve now firmly landed on oat milk. I’ve found that most brands of oat milk don’t curdle in coffee. While I’ve got a whole post dedicated to which oat milk is the best in terms of ethics, here’s a rundown of my favourite tried-and-tested vegan milk brands that definitely do not curdle in coffee.
MOMA Barista Oat Milk
MOMA is one of the brands that we use most often. The barista oat milk version is nice and creamy, froths up well when you want a frothy coffee, and doesn’t curdle in any circumstances.
MOMA Original Oat Milk
Whilst barista versions of vegan milks are less likely to curdle, we often buy the MOMA Original oat milk and haven’t had any issues with splitting or separating. It’s a little thinner than the barista version, but still tastes good in tea and coffee.
Califa Farms Barista Oat Milk
Like many households, we vary what oat milk we buy based on what’s on offer. Especially at the moment when the price of food is so high. As such, I don’t stick with MOMA, and we quite often buy Califa Farms.
I’m drinking a cup of coffee as I update this post, and it’s got Califa Farms Barista Oat Milk in it. It’s lovely and creamy and doesn’t curdle. You can just pour it straight into a steaming hot cup of coffee, and you’re good to go.
Minor Figures Barista Oat Milk
Minor Figures is another milk that we regularly buy when it’s on offer. It’s another one that I love, and have zero issues with using it in hot drinks or my cereal.
Oatly Barista Milk
Oatly Barista Oat Milk is another good vegan choice to avoid curdling in your coffee. It’s got a nice thick, non-watery texture and a pleasant taste that doesn’t overpower your tea or coffee, and crucially, it doesn’t split or separate.
Asda UHT Oat Milk
If you’re looking for budget-friendly milk, then I’m a big fan of Asda’s UHT Oat Milk. It performs just as well as the more expensive brands. Do completely avoid the fresh oat milk at Asda, though – it’s a complete abomination!
Morrisons UHT Oat Milk
Again, Morrison’s own brand UHT Oat Milk is a great budget-friendly choice. I’d buy this more often if a Morrison’s supermarket was closer to us. It’s creamy, tastes good, and doesn’t split or separate. Similar to Asda, though, whatever you do, don’t buy the fresh oat milk. It’s absolutely vile.
Aldi UHT Oat Milk
This is one of the cheapest oat milks I’ve found, but it’s good. It doesn’t curdle or separate and tastes good. I often buy this in bulk when I’m near an Aldi!
Oato Oat Milk
We tried out oat milk deliveries to our door for a little while and had Oato delivered to us in glass bottles. This is a great vegan oat milk that doesn’t curdle in coffee and tastes great, too. Plus, there’s zero plastic involved.
We only stopped getting deliveries as the company we used to deliver the milk didn’t have a great online system. We’d try to pause the milk deliveries if we were going away, yet they’d still deliver. We ended up with a lot of wasted milk. I think other delivery companies are better, so unless you live in West Lothian, like me, then you probably won’t end up in this situation!
Why Plant-Based Milks Curdle
Before I landed on oat milk, I wanted to know exactly why many plant-based milks curdle. In case you’re interested too, I found the reason that plant-based milk tends to curdle in coffee is down to three main factors. These being the acidity of coffee, the milk’s protein content, and whether or not any stabilisers and emulsifiers have been added to the milk.
Here’s the full breakdown:
Acidity of Coffee
Coffee is naturally acidic, and when it’s hot, its acidity becomes more pronounced. This acidity can cause the proteins in vegan milk to coagulate and separate from the liquid, resulting in curdling.
Protein Content
The protein content is also a factor. Plant milks react differently in coffee because of how their proteins behave under heat. Soy milk or almond milk, for example, are higher in protein, and those proteins are more sensitive, which makes it more likely to curdle. Oat milk has less protein and more natural carbohydrates that help keep it smooth, so it’s less prone to splitting.
Stabilisers and Emulsifiers
Some commercially produced plant-based milk brands, particularly ‘barista’ blends, contain food-safe stabilisers or emulsifiers to prevent splitting and separating.
Carrageenan, gellan gum, guar gum, xanthan gum, rapeseed oil, and soy lecithin are common stabilisers and emulsifiers found in many types of plant-based milk. If you spot any of these on the label, then your milk substitute is unlikely to curdle.
My Top Plant-Based Milk Resources
I’ve got loads of other plant-based milk resources for you to help reduce your food waste – helping you save money and help the environment:
- How to freeze oat milk
- Guide to freezing coconut milk
- Guide to freezing rice milk
- If you get your oat milk delivered, then here’s how to keep your milk cool on your doorstep in summer.
Do check them out! And if you are a tea drinker, then you might like this post on the plastic-free teabags to know.
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You can also buy the Oatly Barista Milk in Tesco stores. Like most people I struggle with the curdling but will now try this version.
I’m giving vegan a go this week and I just can’t get past the curdling (I drink about 5 hot drinks a day and it’s breaking my heart that I can’t get a good cuppa!!). Will definitely give this a go xx
Ah! Thank you for this. I committed to vegan a few months ago and the non-curdling, plant-based milk has been elusive for me. I tried to modify my homemade almond milk to no avail. Though, I think I will continue to test recipes. Until, if ever, I find success, I can pick up the version you suggest at my local Waitrose. Thanks again! -PK-
There is a new vegan milk which is nicer than cows milk in coffee and does not curdle. It is long life Alpr ‘caffe’ and is a soya milk flavoured with caramel and coffee. It is pretty healthy too. It lightens your coffee colour a little but not as much as cow’s milk. It is beautiful. I have seen it in large Sainsburys and waitrose. I do let the coffee cool a little and it has never curdled.
We use Alpro wholebean we get it in 500ml uht cartons from ocado and it’s brilliant doesn’t curdle in hot drinks I have used it to bake as well the carton size is perfect if you only want it for hot drinks the flavour is lovely and no sweetness either. I am a bit concerned about the uht packaging we do pop it in the carton bin at the recycling plant and hope it’s recycled but would love it if you have any more info on uht packaging.
Thanks – I like milky coffee and was looking for a plant milk that would not curdle in the coffee substitute I use. I will try all these suggestions.
My pleasure Fran!
I think the reason why soya milk and other plant milks curdle in coffee is because of the acidity. But in my experience, it’s only certain types of coffee where this happens, possibly because some coffees are more acidic than others(?) For example, plant milks don’t seem to curdle in the coffees available at Starbucks.
My experience with Oatly Barista is the same as yours. My friend gave me a tin of coffee which caused soya milk and regular Oatly to curdle, but not the barista edition. So I now only use that one for coffee.
I think the Alpro for Professionals is the same as Oatly Barista. It’s been modified so as not to curdle. But I’ve never tested that one myself.
Hello, Wendy. This is my first time commenting, although I’ve been a fan of your blog for a while. I’ve found that the Alpro soya single cream works really well in coffee. It has quite a rich taste, and I’ve never had any problems with it curdling.
That’s possibly the only thing I haven’t tried Elaine! I will give it a go if I have problems getting hold of Oatly! I had never thought about trying cream in my coffee but it sounds pretty good! And thanks for saying hello! ;)
I only occasionally drink coffee, but I find Alpro hazelnut milk is usually fine and doesn’t curdle; I wonder if it’s because I buy the UHT version? Don’t know if that makes a difference. As for Rosie’s comment – I’ve seen some coffee shops use Alpro ‘for professionals’ version, which I assume is similar to the Oatly one in the article, and they both likely have something added to them to prevent curdling.
Most milks I’ve tried have been the UHT versions and curdled, although in saying that I can’t remember if I’ve tried the hazelnut Alpro. Hmm. Oatly has a plant based oil added to it and an acidity regulator to help prevent curdling – perhaps Alpro professional has the same? I wasn’t aware of Alpro professional -it’s always handy having a backup!!
When I switched to vegan milk I just gave up and switched to black coffee because I couldn’t find anything that didn’t curdle. I’m still not entirely sure how coffee shops use Alpro and it doesn’t curdle – I guess it’s something to do with heating it but I can’t really be bothered with that hassle at home.
You are braver than me Rosie – I tried black coffee and black tea and could not get used to the taste! I tried heating Alpro in the microwave, and I also I tried leaving the coffee to cool a little and it just curdled every time! And yes, so much hassle just for a cup of coffee!!
Hey ive found that the longlife unsweetened Alpro Wholebean Soy Milk never curdles and ive been using it for years and thankfully is cheaper and more widely available than the oatly barista. all the other Alpro Soya milks do curdle though!