Moon
The declared composition is 100% coconut milk, fat content is from 16 to 19%. The product is thick and leaves thick streaks on the walls of the glass. The smell is bright, sweetish, reminiscent of dry coconut flakes. The milk tastes tender, natural, rich, sweet.
Despite the only component in the composition, the aftertaste is slightly tart. I would n’t froth this drink instead of milk for cappuccino : it’s too fatty. At the same time, adding it instead of cream or using it in cooking would be a good solution.
Alpro without sugar
I tried two versions of milk from this brand – with and without sugar.
Sugar-free milk contains water, coconut cream, coconut water, tricalcium phosphate (a source of calcium), flavoring, several stabilizers and salt. The manufacturer defines “coconut cream” as “coconut flesh and water.” This amount of water explains the consistency and color of the drink: it looks like highly diluted milk. Only coconut crumbs remain on the walls of the glass. There is no smell at all, almost no taste. More like unsweetened coconut water with a slightly smoother texture.
Alpro with sugar
The option with sugar was surprising: usually manufacturers write about additional raw materials on the front side of the package, albeit in small print. Here, information about rice flour is indicated only in the composition itself. In addition, it includes coconut cream, sugar, tricalcium phosphate, stabilizers, salt and flavoring. Moreover, there is more sugar than rice. The milk is denser and a little closer in color to the real thing, but still faded. Unlike the previous version, this drink has a smell – not of coconut, but of sweet rice. The taste is also controversial: the first note is coconut flakes, but then everything is interrupted by sugar and flour.
It’s hard to imagine what you can cook with Alpro without sugar. The sugared version is fine for breakfast granola or just in coffee, but I can’t recommend it. I would n’t drink this milk just like that either.
Bite
Rice based coconut milk. Fat content – 1%, contains water, coconut paste and shavings, long grain rice, calcium carbonate, flavoring, salt and stabilizer, no sugar. The rice gave the milk a yellowish tint. It is liquid, but not too watery, and does not leave streaks on the walls of the glass.
One of the obvious disadvantages is that even after long shaking there were some rice flakes left inside. The smell of coconut is not strong, but slightly chemical. But the taste is unexpectedly rich: the rice is almost unnoticeable, and the milk is sweet, but not too much.
Such milk is unlikely to be suitable for fluffy coffee foam, but it can easily replace cow’s milk in cooking.
Nemoloko Barista
Rice based coconut milk with sugar. In addition to them, it contains a vitamin premix, stabilizers and salt. The rice gave the drink a yellowish tint and texture: the milk itself is not too liquid, it resembles regular cow’s milk, but there are a lot of rice flakes in the package – not very pleasant. To make the drink in the glass smooth and thick, I had to shake the packaging for about a minute. The coconut aroma is very weak. The drink itself is tasty, but you only taste the rice and sugar.
This milk is perfect for foam – but only if you strain it first, otherwise you will have to drink coffee with rice flakes. At the same time, it’s difficult to call it coconut.
Green Milk Barista
The name on the packaging is “Coconut Soy-Based Drink.” The composition does not include coconut pulp, paste or shavings – just “Coconut”. Other components are water, soybean grits, sugar, salt, flavoring and stabilizers. The milk is white with a slight tint of yellow, not very thick. After prolonged shaking, the density did not change. Reminiscent of cow’s in both texture and smell. The smell of coconut is faint, but natural, and the taste is still dominated by soy and sugar.
Like many Barista products, it froths well for coffee, but I thought there was too little coconut.
ACP
Ingredients: 100% coconut pulp, fat content: from 16 to 19%. The aroma is light but rich. The milk is very dense and leaves beautiful streaks on the walls of the glass. Surprisingly, despite the composition, it tastes very much like cow’s, and the taste and smell of coconut are similar. Usually milk without additional raw materials is richer and thicker – most likely it’s a matter of the batch. After shaking, the texture did not change, the drink did not become thicker.
Milk is definitely suitable instead of cream in coffee, and perhaps also for whipping. I’m not sure that it will greatly affect the taste in dishes: it is usually added to play with the contrast of coconut and other products, but for this it is not bright enough. But I think it will still provide the aroma.
Zinus Barista with banana
This is the only flavored drink in my review. The composition on the package differs from what is indicated on the card on the marketplace – this is annoying. For example, on the Internet they do not indicate that in addition to coconut, soybeans, rice flour and sunflower oil are added, and instead of concentrated banana juice, coconut powder is indicated on the box itself.
The aroma of banana is not bright, but rather chemical. The taste is interesting: the first note is banana, and it tastes natural, the second is coconut, very soft, almost neutral. The manufacturer added Jerusalem artichoke syrup as a sweetener. The drink is liquid and non-greasy, the texture does not change after shaking, and the rice does not form unpleasant lumps.
I would n’t cook with this milk : I’m not sure how the taste of banana will manifest itself when heated with other products. But if you are tired of regular coffee, this drink will definitely suit you.
“Scooter”
Samokat has two versions of the plant-based coconut drink. The first, 1 liter in volume, is based on rice flour, and the reviews about it are unflattering. The second, despite the volume of 0.3 liters, costs almost the same , but coconut is the only raw material in it, so I opted for it. It contains water, coconut cream, flavoring, cane sugar, citric acid and thickeners, also known as stabilizers.
Packaging: small glass bottle. The drink is liquid, but not watery, heterogeneous, but without flakes and pulp. At the same time, chips of chips remain on the walls of the glass. The smell is distinctly coconutty and sweetish, but the taste , despite the sugar, is not sweet at all. The milk is very smooth and quite neutral.
I expected approximately the same properties from Alpro as one of the most common brands of herbal drinks, but Samokat, which does not specialize in such products, pleasantly surprised me. This milk is universal, suitable for coffee, simple homemade dishes, and even for culinary experiments – although I would still give preference to brighter options.