TJ's Vanilla-flavored Coconut Milk Non-Dairy Beverage

I'm still trying to find a milk alternative I really like. My criteria for the perfect milk alternative are: it has to taste good alone, mixed with hot coffee, and on cereal. Ideally, it will also be a good source of protein and calcium, and low in fat and sugar. As you may know if you've been following along my quest, I've tried and reviewed soy, almond, rice, and hemp milks. I've also tried oat and hazelnut milks. While none of these were *terrible* and many had notably good qualities, none quite met all of my criteria, either. So... I'd been wanting to try a coconut milk for a while, preferably vanilla flavored, but it's still not super widely available in stores. This is another product I really wanted to like.

Appearance: It's really bright white - whiter than dairy milk. As you pour, it seems like a similar consistency to dairy milk.

Taste: Wow. This stuff is weird. The flavors are really strong and really separate. I was hoping for a harmoniously blended, creamy vanilla-coconut flavor. Instead, I got: Vanilla. Sugar. Coconut. Chalk. I tried it on my corn-based cereal this morning, which has a pretty distinct flavor, but the coconut milk's flavor was so overpowering that I couldn't taste the cereal. I had to dilute it with some dairy milk just to be able to finish it. If the weird flavors hadn't been so strong, it might have been tolerable.

Mouth-feel: This was just as weird and disconcerting as the flavor. It was simultaneously watery and creamy.

Nutrition: 90 calories, 5 g saturated fat, 1 g protein, 7 g sugar, and 100 mg (about 10% RDA) calcium per 8 ounce serving. I'm not super impressed by those numbers. They've also added vitamins A, D, & B-12; folic acid; magnesium; selenium; iron; and zinc -- all of which are nice.

Overall: Really disappointing. I've tried a few frozen coconut milk desserts and vanilla coconut yogurt and really liked them, so I am very surprised by this. I really don't like giving bad reviews to any vegetarian product, but I don't recommend this one. I thought it was pretty awful. Maybe there's a better brand out there? I hope...?

Allergens: Coconut, "natural flavors"
Ingredients of concern: Carrageenan, "natural flavors"
Vegan

Living Harvest/Tempt Hempmilk, Chocolate flavor

I first tried Living Harvest Hempmilk about a year ago. It was the sweetened vanilla flavor, and I really wanted to like it. It tasted sweet and creamy and good at first, but left an unpleasant bitter aftertaste that I just couldn't look past.

Since then, Living Harvest Hempseed products got a makeover when they merged with the Tempt brand. While the new packaging looks very boring and generic (they call it "modern"), the taste does seem to have improved. They claim it now has more omega fatty acids, less sugar, and a smoother taste.

Of course, I can't really compare apples to apples here. I hadn't tried the chocolate flavor before, and I haven't tried the new, improved vanilla -- but there does seem to be a difference in texture between the old vanilla and new chocolate and, most importantly, there is no detectable bitter aftertaste!

It has a sweet, cocoa-y, nutty flavor, and the creamy texture you'd expect from chocolate milk. It's dairy- and soy-free and has lots of omega fatty acids, but is higher in calories and fat than other milk substitutes while only having 1g of protein per serving. It is also a bit pricier than other milk alternatives.

While it doesn't rate quite as high for me as chocolate Almond Breeze for flavor, it is a close second. It makes another great alternative to dairy and soy. The company also makes other hempseed food products, including a frozen dessert (which comes in several flavors), hemp protein powder, and hemp oil.

Oh, and one last thing: Sorry to break it to you, but this is HEMPMILK, not POTMILK. It has no THC and won't get you high. ;)

Living Harvest/Tempt Official website

Protein Source: Hemp seed
Allergens: Cocoa?
Vegan

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze, Vanilla Flavor

Almond Breeze almond milk comes in three flavors: Original, Vanilla and Chocolate, all of which are also available in Unsweetened varieties. I have only tried the sweetened Vanilla flavor.

It's comparably priced to soy and rice milks, but may be slightly harder to find.

It's also comparable nutritionally, although like rice milk it has significantly less protein than soy milk -- only 1g. Also, almonds are high in vitamin E, and one serving of Almond Breeze gives you 50% of your daily recommended amount.

The thickness of it falls somewhere in between -- thinner than soy milk, thicker than rice milk. The flavor is pretty good, too. Sweet but not too sweet. It definitely does taste like almonds, but it's not overkill. Good for dessert, coffee, and cereal, and the plain unsweetened variety might be useful for some savory dishes.

** 2/25/09 Edited to add: I tried this on cereal, and it was delicious! It is by far my favorite milk alternative for cereal that I've tried.

**3/7/09 Edited to add: The chocolate flavor is SO GOOD! Go buy some now!

Allergens: Almond, soy (soy lecithin)
Vegan

Rice Dream Organic Rice Drink, Original Flavor, Enriched

Rice milk is another popular milk alternative, and has a few things going for it over soy milk:

+ Rice milk is dairy-free and soy-free. Lots of veg*ns already get plenty of soy from other sources, and may prefer a soy-free milk substitute to avoid soy overload (that's not a technical term, btw).

+ Rice milk is white, like traditional cow's milk.

+ Rice milk has a thinner consistency, more like fat-free milk. That could probably be a positive or negative, depending on personal preference, but I generally prefer it over the thickness of soymilk. I have heard others describe it (negatively) as "watery".

+ The rice-iness of it would make it a good choice for use in both savory and dessert recipes.

Rice milk does have a couple of drawbacks:

- It tastes like rice. It's really kind of like drinking liquid rice.

- It has much lower protein content (1g per serving, in this particular brand).

- It may sometimes have a bit of graininess to it.

I have used this product to make mashed potatoes, with mixed results. The rice flavor was not obtrusive so the flavor was decent, but the creaminess that one usually expects with mashed potatoes just wasn't there, due to the thinness of the the rice milk. Margarine helped some, but it still just seemed off.

I have also used this product (in the Vanilla flavor) on cereal. It's not too bad, but you'd want to choose a cereal that goes well with rice flavor. Pouring it on Trix or Cocoa Puffs probably wouldn't taste too great, but it's decent on Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Allergens: ?
Vegan

Archer Farms Organic Soymilk, Vanilla flavor

Archer Farms is a Target-exclusive food brand. I found this soy milk in the refrigerated section of my local Target's grocery department and decided to give it a try.

It has a pleasant flavor, slightly sweet and vanilla-y on top of the usual soy flavor. The beige color may be off-putting to some people who expect their milk (or milk substitute) to be white. The texture is very thick and creamy, and feels a little sticky in your mouth. I guess if you're used to drinking whole milk or whipping cream or something, that might be okay. But I'm used to fat-free milk, so it's a little strange. Also, you don't want to shake the carton too much before you pour yourself a glass, or else it gets really frothy. Unless you enjoy that sort of thing.

As with many milk alternatives, this product has lots of extra vitamins and minerals added, has 6g of protein per serving, and is completely dairy-free.

It's good in coffee. And lately I've been enjoying having a glass with a late night snack. But I couldn't see myself wanting to pour it on my morning cereal -- it's just not the right taste and texture. If you're looking for a milk substitute to go in a dessert recipe (especially if the recipe calls for whole milk or half-and-half), this would probably be a good choice. It is also available in a Plain flavor.

Allergens: Soy
Vegan