(New York) Replacing cow’s milk with plant-based drinks such as oat or soy drinks in your latte is no longer a fantasy reserved for “granos”. To reduce their environmental footprint, more and more cafes are favoring what is commonly called oat milk on their menu.
At the corner of 49e Street and very chic 5e Avenue in Manhattan, customers flock to the branch of the Blue Bottle chain. On the boards hanging behind the counter, the menu looks like that of any other cafe, with one exception: it says that all drinks are made with oat milk.
Barista Angela Cox says Blue Bottle made the switch two years ago. “We did a customer survey,” she says, “more and more were asking for plant-based drinks. Now it’s the norm. »
PHOTO KARYNE DUPLESSIS PICHÉ, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
At Blue Bottle, all drinks are made with oat milk.
It is still possible to order a latte prepared with cow’s milk. However, you have to pay an extra US dollar per cup.
A little further south in Midtown, the Stumptown café has also been using the oat drink in the preparation of all its coffees for the past year. However, the chain does not charge a fee to swap the plant-based drink for cow’s milk.
This way of doing things inspired Samuel Perreault. The co-owner of Paquebot cafés in Quebec attended the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) conference held last May in Portland, Oregon. The American chains Blue Bottle and Stumptown then explained why they were gradually eliminating cow’s milk from their offerings. Their arguments convinced Mr. Perreault.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Simon-Louis Brosseau-Fournier and Samuel Perreault, co-owners of the Paquebot cafés
Milk is the number one pollution in coffee. Since cow’s milk has a larger carbon footprint than oat milk, the change was natural.
Samuel Perreault, co-owner of Paquebot cafés
Paquebot cafés first stopped charging extra for coffees and teas prepared with plant-based drinks. A latte costs the same price, regardless of the milk chosen. Then, on 1er Last February, the company took the plunge: all its coffees are now prepared with oat milk unless the customer requires cow’s milk.
According to initial data compiled by the company, the use of cow’s milk has decreased by 12% in just one month in its branches.
Better tasting, but more expensive
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
At Paquebot, all coffees are now prepared with oat drink, unless the customer requires cow’s milk.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Paquebot cafés have stopped charging extra for coffees and teas prepared with plant-based drinks.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
To reduce costs and waste, Paquebot cafés now ask employees to weigh the liquid, as is already the case for beans.
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Dispatch cafes, in Montreal and Toronto, simplified their offering in 2017. They kept only two milk options: cow’s milk and oat milk.
“Oat milk is more environmentally friendly, but more importantly, it’s what customers prefer,” says owner Chrissy Durcak.
Dispatch sources its supplies from Dam, a Montreal company that markets its plant-based drinks in concentrate. Once the product is delivered, the barista must add water and mix. Sold in reusable containers, Dam’s products are zero waste, but they are also more expensive, notes Mme Durcak.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Dispatch now uses Dam products.
“It’s part of our philosophy to buy a local, high-quality product,” she explains. But we must keep our margins constant. This is why we charge about $0.80 more for coffees made with oat milk. »
The businesswoman is nevertheless looking for a way to remove the supplement, because on the other side of the border, this practice raises controversy.
Indeed, a complaint was filed in January against the Dunkin’ Donuts chain in California due to the $2 surcharge imposed by the company for coffees and teas prepared with plant-based drinks. The plaintiffs consider this practice discriminatory against people with lactose intolerance. According to an article published by the newspaper The Guardian, more than a third of Americans are lactose intolerant. This genetic disease mainly affects people of color, the article specifies.
A similar lawsuit was also filed against the giant Starbucks in California in 2022. The chain is contesting the motion. The case is still before the courts.
Lower the cost
PHOTO KARINE DUPLESSIS PICHÉ, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
St Kilda Cafe now produces its own oat drink using this machine.
In New York, near Times Square, the St Kilda café has found an innovative way to reduce the cost of its latte: the small café has been producing its own oat drink since the end of February.
“We didn’t want to charge any more fees,” explains Hunter Julo at St Kilda. We bought a machine to make our own oatmeal drink. »
At Paquebot, Samuel Perreault also found a method to reduce his bill for milk and plant-based drinks. Employees must now weigh the liquid, as is already the case with grains.
“When you make a latte, you always have too much,” he observes. We ended up throwing $10,000 worth of milk a year in the trash. »
Thus, a cortado requires 75 g of milk, a Flat White and a cappuccino, 130 g, while a latte contains 200 g.
At equivalent cost, the choice now remains a question of taste and value.