Vegan Coffee Specialities

Plant-based milk alternatives bring lifestyle and variety to the drinks menu.

For more and more people, mental and physical well-being as well as the desire to consume responsibly and conserve resources play an important role in their lifestyle. Enjoyment with a clear conscience is becoming increasingly important. For this reason, many are reducing their consumption of meat and animal products or even doing without them completely. This social change is making plant-based foods increasingly popular and is also boosting the market for vegan milk alternatives based on soya, oats, almonds, peas and other plant varieties.

What is your favourite way to drink coffee?

There are countless answers to this question. After all, individual coffee preferences are as varied as the people themselves and are also influenced by current lifestyle trends. One trend that is currently keeping the coffee industry busy is the increasing demand for speciality coffees prepared with plant-based milk alternatives. The increasing popularity can be attributed to various factors - from the desire for a healthier diet to ecological aspects or simply the desire to try something new. Whether in a restaurant, at a hotel breakfast or in the office: oat cappuccino, soya latte and other vegan coffee creations are now part of every contemporary drinks menu.

Monika Oeggerli | Trainer Schaerer Coffee Competence Centre

Animal or plant-based? Both are possible

As a coffee machine manufacturer, we have been working intensively on this topic and have developed technologies that enable these trendy drinks to be prepared automatically. With Schaerer Twin Milk, for example, two types of milk/vegetable drinks can be stocked and vegan coffee specialities can be conveniently added to the drinks menu. But which plant-based drinks harmonise particularly well with coffee and what about the foam quality? The experts at the Schaerer Coffee Competence Centre have taken a closer look at the four popular plant-based drinks made from soya, oats, almonds and peas and have put together an overview for you on the following pages.

Plant-based milk alternatives are booming

The growing global demand for plant-based drinks is underpinned by surveys, market analyses and trend studies. The report "Non-Dairy Milk Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2019-2024" (1) by Arizton, for example, considers a global market volume of more than USD 38 billion to be likely by 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14 per cent in the period from 2018 to 2024. The industry analysis by Data Bridge Market Research (2) also provides a similar result: it forecasts growth of 11.4 per cent for the global market for milk alternatives in the period from 2021 to 2028. The younger generation in particular, also known as Generation Z or post-millennials, is driving this development. According to the Euromonitor Health and Nutrition Survey (3), 54 per cent of Generation Z avoid meat and other animal products. This compares to 34 per cent of baby boomers.

In addition to the conscious decision in favour of plant-based foods, the increasing number of people with lactose intolerance is also driving up demand. According to the Plant Milk Report (4) by ProVeg e. V., 75 per cent of the world's adult population is lactose intolerant.

Importance for speciality coffees

Today, coffee is much more than just a stimulant. The versatile drink has developed into a trend-oriented lifestyle product that coffee drinkers use to emphasise their individuality and attitude to life. The increasing popularity of vegan foods is also reflected in the growing demand for speciality coffees based on plant-based milk alternatives.

A cappuccino please - but vegan!

People who order their coffee today expect the best quality and a wide variety from which to choose their personal flavour favourites. With vegan milk alternatives, new coffee creations can be added to the drinks menu and a larger customer base can be tapped into. The market now offers a wide range of vegan milk alternatives. The experts at the Schaerer Coffee Competence Centre took a closer look at the four popular plant-based drinks made from soya, oats, almonds and peas.

The popular plant-based drinks for coffee specialities

The soya, oat, almond and pea drinks often used for coffee specialities are generally available as sweetened and unsweetened variants. Each of these milk alternatives is characterised by its individual taste, aroma, consistency and foamability and influences the taste and appearance of the speciality coffees prepared with them. The fat content is also responsible for the creaminess; soya and pea drinks in particular, but also almond drinks, contain more fat than oat drinks in the unsweetened, natural variant*.

For the best results: The barista version

Manufacturers offer special barista editions to achieve a higher foam quality in plant-based drinks. Stabilisers are added to these variants to ensure a better foam result and thus the desired foam stability for the respective coffee speciality or even to enable latte art creations. The stabilisers also ensure that the plant-based drink retains its consistency when combined with coffee. This is because the acidity of the coffee or too great a temperature difference between the coffee and the plant-based drink could cause the drink to flocculate.

Soya drinks

Flavour profile

Depending on which manufacturer produces the soya drink, the products can differ significantly in taste, flavour and consistency. Some taste neutral, others are sweet and cereal-like or have a bean-like, nutty or earthy flavour. The soya drinks are also characterised by a long-lasting aftertaste. The consistency can vary from watery to creamy.

Harmony with coffee specialities

Foam formation

As pulses, soya beans have a particularly high protein content and contain a high proportion of natural stabilisers and acidity regulators, which ensure good stability of the foam at temperatures of up to 65 °C. Soya beans also have a high fat content. In addition, the fat content of the soya drink makes the foam creamy and gives the coffee-soy drink a nice texture. Thanks to these properties, soya drinks can also be used to design creative latte art motifs.

Oat drinks

Flavour profile

In the production of oat drinks, the cereal starch is converted into sugar. This process gives the milk alternative a slightly sweet flavour even when unsweetened. Oat drinks also have a subtle to pronounced cereal or nutty flavour.

Harmony with coffee specialities

The light sweetness, cereal note and creamy consistency of oat drinks bring the coffee to the fore and perfectly round off the flavour profiles of coffee specialities. Oat drinks are therefore also well suited to lightly roasted, fruity and acid-accentuated roasts. Another advantage of oat drinks: Thanks to their creamy texture, the drinking sensation of oat drink coffee specialities is similar to those prepared with cow's milk, making them ideal for introducing customers to new drinks.

Foaming

Oat drinks tend to have a low protein content. In order to achieve a stable, even foam result, the oat drink must therefore be frothed for longer. However, thanks to their high stability even at higher temperatures (higher than cow's milk: 65 °C), oat drinks can be heated for longer without causing unpleasant flavours.

Almond drinks

Flavour profile

Almond drinks are characterised by a rather watery consistency. In terms of flavour, these milk alternatives are quite sweet and have a nutty aroma. Sometimes the drinks can also have a slightly bitter, long-lasting aftertaste due to the almonds.

Harmony with coffee specialities

In speciality coffees, the slightly bitter almond flavour and comparatively high acidity can overpower the flavour profile of the coffee. In terms of flavour, the milk alternative harmonises well with light roasts, for example, to which it lends its popular almond aroma.

Foaming

Almond drinks are very difficult to froth due to their protein density. The foam layer tends to be thin, large-bubbled and very temperature-sensitive - the foam often collapses at temperatures above 55 °C or when mixed with coffee. This should be taken into account when developing recipes. There are also different barista editions of almond drinks, which can be foamed better depending on the recipe.

Pea drinks

Flavour profile

Pea drinks are usually made from water, pea protein, rapeseed oil and natural flavourings. Depending on the variety and manufacturer, sugar, emulsifiers and stabilisers are also added. The pea drink has a slightly cereal, nutty flavour with a slight sweetness. Depending on the manufacturer, the pea drink can also be described as slightly bitter, tart with a somewhat rough finish.

Harmony with coffee specialities

In combination with coffee specialities, the high fat content of the pea drink contributes to a particularly creamy and velvety consistency of the drinks. The pea drink therefore complements coffee very well and at the same time gives it plenty of room to develop its individual flavour.

Foam formation

Compared to soya drinks, pea drinks have a high protein content. This makes them particularly easy to froth. At a temperature of around 65 °C, a nice, firm and creamy foam consistency is achieved - ideal for a stable foam result and the creation of latte art.

Twin Milk & Best Foam™ - the dream duo for vegan coffee specialities

Whether it's a classic with cow's milk, vegan alternatives or trendy drinks such as cold-brewed or flavoured coffee specialities: No compromises should be made when it comes to beverage quality. Schaerer coffee machines offer the certainty that the various drinks are always prepared with the same quality in a reliable process, regardless of whether the machine is operated by staff or by the guest themselves.

Best Foam™ milk system

The Best Foam™ milk system enables the preparation of milk-based coffee specialities at barista level - regardless of whether it is cow's milk or a vegan alternative such as oat, almond, pea or soya drinks. From espresso macchiato to flat white and cappuccino.

It's all about the setting

The patented Best Foam™ milk system heats the milk or plant-based drink with steam in barista style and delivers excellent foam quality. Silky, shiny, extremely creamy and stable: the resulting foam is the perfect basis for vegan coffee creations. The special advantage of Best Foam™: the "Easy Setting" principle allows customised recipes to be stored with variable temperatures and foam consistencies - hot or cold, from very liquid to solid. This allows the most important parameters to be set precisely to the base product used, thereby achieving optimum foaming results when using vegan milk alternatives.

The rule here is: simply try it out

The experts at the Schaerer Coffee Competence Centre have had good experiences in their tests with soya, oat and pea drinks (Barista Edition) and rated the milk foam prepared with Best Foam™ as good. However, as each variety and the different manufacturer brands behave differently, it is currently not possible to give a generally binding recommendation. The following therefore applies: The foam result of each milk alternative should be tested before use to check whether it meets your own quality requirements.

Schaerer Twin Milk

It has two 4.5-litre milk containers, allowing you to store cow's milk in one container and a plant-based drink in the other. When selecting the respective coffee speciality, the correct variant is automatically used and flows into the cup at the desired temperature and foam consistency. The under-counter cooling unit with two 10-litre containers can also be used as a Twin Milk system for high-traffic areas. However, as the Twin Milk system is not dispensed via two completely separate systems, there is a risk of cross-contamination. We therefore recommend an intermediate rinse when switching between the variants.

Schaerer steam wands for even more variety

In addition to the Powersteam steam wand for manual foaming, Schaerer offers the two steam wands Autosteam and Supersteam. Both make frothing much easier: Autosteam has a temperature monitor that automatically switches the system off once the set temperature has been reached, thus preventing the milk from overheating. However, the froth consistency must be monitored manually. The Supersteam steam wand, on the other hand, offers fully automatic milk foaming. The desired temperature and froth consistency can be set individually and as soon as these are reached, Supersteam stops frothing.