bAlmond Milk/b

Plain:

If you’ve ever eaten raw, unsalted almonds and felt thirsty after, you will know what drinking Blue Diamond Almond Breeze milk alternative is like. With it’s unsweetened flavor, there are no gimmicks here. It says it’s natural and it tastes natural. Almond milk also comes in vanilla flavor, which makes it a little less dry. If you opt for plain, add a little sugar: it makes the experience a tad more pleasurable.

With Cereal:

This is actually not a bad way to eat cereal. Adds a nutty flavor. Try it with Shredded Wheat or Cheerios. Probably wouldn’t be tasty with fruity cereals like Froot Loops.

With Coffee:

Almond Breeze is not quite a creamy enough substance to really sweeten a cup of joe.

bMaple Oat Milk/b

Plain

At first, delightful. The maple sugar oat milk is initially tasty: sweet, light and oaty. But the aftertaste leaves your throat a bit dry. In the spectrum of non-dairy extremes, it’s neither here nor there-it rests in the middle at “pretty good.”

With Cereal

Eat it with oatmeal. The “too much of a good thing” rule does not apply in this case. Yes, add oat milk to make the complete “oat-meal.” The sweet flavor of oat milk also tastes yummy with cornflakes and other mildly flavored cereals. Oat milk probably would not pair well with sweet cereals like Coco Puffs.

With Coffee

Oat milk actually works well as a coffee creamer. The dry aftertaste disappears in the coffee, and the maple sweetness is the perfect addition to your brew.

bVanilla Soy Milk/b

Plain

Delicious. It doesn’t taste like milk, but it does taste good. Unlike some dairyfree milk, the aftertaste is creamy-none of that chalky stuff. There is a reason soy is the most well known of the “Not Milks”-it’s the tastiest. Soy milk is so fantastic, it’s even manufactured it in juicebox size.

With Cereal

The perfect milk substitute.Anything goes here. Try it over Grapenuts with a banana or with granola.

With Coffee

Go for it. Soy milk is creamy enough for your wildest lactose- free coffee dreams. In fact, soy coffee creamer can be found at most local health food stores. Try it steamed in a latte at a coffeeshop or in an iced coffee beverage.

bVanilla Rice Milk/b

Plain

It’s subtle and really quite tasty, which isn’t a shock-you would have to do something terribly offensive to make rice taste bad. Rice milk is the perfect non-alcoholic night cap. It’s comforting and sweet. Warm it up, put a little honey in the cup and go to bed.

With Cereal

Rice milk falls on the watery side of the alternative milk spectrum. Still, if you like nonfat milk in your cereal you might not notice. If you’re typically a 2% drinker, rice milk will likely disappoint your Cheerios.

With Coffee

Not bad, although again not really creamy enough to flavor your coffee in an overt way. Also, it acts a bit chalky in coffee.

bHemp Milk/b

Plain

It’s grey. It is milk that is grey. It smells of the bracelets you made at day camp, a little bit like fish, and it tastes like liquid rabbit food. Hemp milk is a bad choice. It’s also grey. Don’t be alarmed even if you “shake well,” white lumps will float to the top and then settle at the bottom. Hemp bliss is a hemp miss. Whoever thought hemp was good for anything other than flea markets and macrameacute; probably smoked too much of the product beforehand.

With Cereal

iThe Beacon/i could not in good faith put this product anywhere near edibles. Try at your own risk.

With Coffee

Do not destroy your morning caffeine with this liquid nightmare.