Starbucks Debuts Almond Milk Latte! What Is Almond Milk and Does It Enhance Coffee Flavor?

Starbucks China Launches Almond Milk Option

Yesterday, Starbucks China officially announced that it will now offer customers a new plant-based choice: almond plant-based milk.

In fact, as early as 2018, Starbucks had already launched products made with almond milk. At the time, though, most Chinese consumers had limited awareness of plant-based milks and showed little interest, so those almond milk drinks disappeared from the menu after a while.

What is Almond Milk?

Like oat milk, almond milk contains no animal milk components. It is a plant-based beverage with zero lactose, zero milk fat, and high protein. Because of its full-bodied texture, milky white color, and the many marketing campaigns presenting these drinks as milk substitutes, such products came to be simply called "plant-based milks."

Many people may be unfamiliar with the name "badamu" (almond), since we usually just call them almonds, which are also a meal-replacement snack chosen by many fitness enthusiasts to keep in shape.

Among all nuts, macadamia nuts have the highest fat content at 76%, while peanuts and pistachios have the lowest at 44%. Almonds sit in the middle at 52%, made up primarily of oleic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid. Eating almonds supplies high-quality oleic acid, reduces the intake of other fats, creates a noticeable feeling of fullness, and provides a range of vitamins and minerals.

Popularity of Almond Milk

Among plant-based milks, almond milk is no less popular than oat milk. Before oat milk took off, almond milk's popularity in Europe and North America far exceeded that of soy milk. Later, after oat milk emerged as the rising star, demand for almond milk was no longer as high as for oat milk, but its market share still ranked second only to oat milk.

Oat milk overtook almond milk because its overall fat content is lower and because it won over a large group of consumers allergic to nuts.

In terms of taste, though, the richness and inherent flavor of almond milk pair better with coffee, creating no sense of discord while enhancing the coffee's overall richness. So although oat milk covers more consumer groups, it has not significantly dented demand for almond milk.

Growing Trend in Chinese Cafes

In recent years, many cafes at home have also embraced almond milk. Starting from 2021, a number of independent cafes began offering customers an almond milk option. The fact that cafe owners dared to make such a niche choice suggests they had noticed young consumers' love of nut snacks.

According to the "2021 Tmall Nut Consumption Trend Report," almonds are deeply loved by the post-90s and post-95s generations, which overlaps closely with the main consumer group in the beverage industry. In the "2022 Nut Industry Trend Insights," mixed nuts became the market mainstream; compared with buying a single type of nut, mixed nuts are more cost-effective and offer more variety.

The nut-consuming demographic is predominantly female, with younger consumer groups showing stronger purchasing power. The main motivations people give for buying nuts are supplementing nutrition and trace elements and maintaining a balanced diet.

Similarly, the consumer groups for innovative coffee drinks and plant-based milk products are mainly female. When a plant-based milk stops bringing consumers something fresh, new products are needed to keep iterating. As a product made from a popular nut, almond milk has gradually drawn attention in cafes.

The Latest Coffee Trend: Nut Products Take Center Stage

Compared with other plant-based milks, almond milk is more expensive, so not every coffee shop chooses to carry it. Still, we can see that a matcha-colored product has become popular in cafes recently: the pistachio latte or pistachio Dirty.

Compared with using almond milk directly, pistachio paste plus milk is more cost-effective. At the same time, pistachios hold a special place in many people's hearts, because eating too many in childhood was discouraged by adults, largely due to their high price, which left people with an inexplicable fondness for them.

Does Almond Milk Have the Potential to Become a Hit?

In the past, almond milk as a base was not widely used, limited by cost and production processes. With consumers' current focus on healthy eating and the increased demand for nut snacks, almond milk may represent a new trend.

Before Starbucks China partnered with Oatly in 2020 to launch a series of oat milk coffee products, many coffee shops were already offering oat milk options.

Starbucks' promotion further stimulated consumers' interest in plant-based milks, introduced more people to oat milk, and inspired the entire coffee industry and even the beverage industry to offer oat milk options.

The health trend is irreversible, and the popularity of plant-based products will continue. Starbucks' launch is also accelerating public awareness of almond milk, and with it its popularity.

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Since almond milk is nutty and full-bodied, the espresso behind a plant-based latte needs enough richness to match it. FrontStreet Classic Blend is the safest starting point: a medium-dark espresso recipe designed for espresso and moka pot use, it pulls a remarkably thick, fine crema even from a non-professional home machine, and its mellow, full-bodied profile suits lattes, cappuccinos, and Dirty without the coffee getting lost.

If you want the nut flavor front and center, FrontStreet Premium Blend is the best companion for milk. Built on a Brazil-plus-Colombia base, it brings complex nut notes such as almond, walnut, and hazelnut to a latte, smooth and creamy on the palate with a lasting finish. For those who want more crema and depth, FrontStreet Commercial Blend and FrontStreet Classic Blend each include a small amount of Robusta, which delivers more golden foam and instantly dials up the body and caramel aroma.

And if you would rather take the drink toward fruit, FrontStreet Strawberry Sugar, a fruity espresso blend of Colombian, Costa Rican, and Ethiopian Arabicas, brings a rose aroma with low bitterness and grape, raisin, and orange notes, so a latte or an Americano tastes sweet and distinctly different from the traditional nut-and-chocolate direction.