Although we’re not a vegan family, I personally have been trying to cut down on cow’s milk recently. I read a few things about it which put me off and I now don’t really enjoy it.

The biggest issue for me in cutting down on cow’s milk was tea and coffee. I drink both with milk and am particularly fond of lattes, so giving up milk was going to be miserable if I couldn’t find a decent substitute. Here’s my experience of taste testing the alternatives…

I tried rice milk first (Provamel and Rice Dream), which was ok to start with, but after a while the after taste in the tea started to bother me. I don’t mind it in coffee if there’s nothing else around but it’s not my favourite.

I was loathe to try out soya milk, as I remembered an acquaintance from long ago giving me tea with it in and it was vile. However I met some friends at a coffee shop recently and decided to give it another go, so ordered a soya latte. It was gorgeous!!! It’s lovely and creamy so I don’t know what the stuff was that I was given all those years ago.

I got our milkman to start delivering Alpro soya milk which really opened my eyes to how much milk I drink, as I had thought I didn’t consume very much. The rest of the family still drinks cow’s milk so my own consumption was separated from the rest of the household and the soya milk kept disappearing the fastest! I’ve had to eat humble pie and take back my complaints about my boys going mad with the milk on their cereal…

I prefer the sweetened but unsweetened is fine too, though I’m less fond of the Alpro chilled than I am of the long life version.

Unfortunately I’m not completely sure the soya milk agrees with me when I have it too often so I am just treating myself to it occasionally and have been experimenting with other milk alternatives again. I’ve tried coconut milk (lovely in cereal but not in tea or coffee) and I was recently sent a litre each of Provamel Oat and Provamel Almond to review, so this was great timing.

The Provamel Oat milk wasn’t really to my taste. It was ok on cereals but tasted far too “oaty” (strange that!) for tea or coffee. It didn’t go to waste, but I probably wouldn’t buy it myself. It would be good for those who suffer from a variety of intolerances or allergies though. It’s best on porridge and costs £1.59 for a litre. You can get more information about nutrition and ingredients on the Provamel website.

The Provamel Almond milk, on the other hand, was really lovely. Like the soya milk it is rich and creamy, and it also has a very slight almondy taste to it, which is especially nice in coffee and on cereal. It is however also very nice in tea. There is a little organically grown agave syrup added to it which makes it pleasantly sweet without being sickly.

Unfortunately it is a little more expensive at £2.99 for a litre, but I think I will still treat myself to it now and then.  Our Sainsbury’s doesn’t seem to stock it yet, but Goodness Direct does, so I can get it from there when I place an order for other things. If you’d like more details, please see the Provamel website.

Meantime I’m rotating the various different milks so that I can mix up those that I like the most with those that are better for me .

For those of you who are also cutting down on dairy or are lactose intolerant, what are your favourite cow’s milk alternates? Or do you just drink your tea and coffee black and do without altogether?