What milk substitutes work in tea?

[Laura Corin]

Yes, the tea you drink all day if you are a Brit, not the other kind.

 

I'm thinking about trying the Eat to Live programme, but I can't see giving up my four or five (buckets of) decaff tea with milk a day. Are there any other milks that would stand up to hot tea? My local supermarket has various varieties of soya milk, but I might be able to find other options if I look.

 

Thanks

 

Laura

[DawnM]

Can you find a soy creamer? They are thicker than soy milk so you don't use much.

 

I drink milk in my tea as well. My husband puts in lemon.....ick, ick, ick!

 

Dawn

[Orthodox6]

Soy milk curdles in tea. (ick) Rice milk or almond milk do fairly well, my experience has been. Rice milk probably is a bit better because it is less creamy than is almond milk.

[DarlaS]

Whichever you choose, keep in mind refridgerated products *almost always* taste better than brik-paks.

 

Is there any such thing as a true non-dairy creamer? I'm going to go search amazon...

[Laura Corin]

Soy milk curdles in tea. (ick)

 

Hot soy milk is very common in China, but maybe it just can't cope with the tea. Or maybe the Chinese hot soy milk is different - it certainly has lots of sugar.

 

Laura

[nmoira]

 

Can you find a soy creamer? They are thicker than soy milk so you don't use much.

If there's a choice, try them all, as some are markedly better than others (even those by the same manufacturer).

[Matryoshka]

Are you looking for milk substitute = no lactose or milk substitute = no fat but not gross in tea/coffee?

 

If it's the latter, I discovered fat-free half and half when doing the South Beach diet, and it's all I use in my coffee now. It does have milk in it, which in my mind makes it much less disgusting that that Cremora stuff, which is pretty much corn syrup solids and white food coloring.

 

I do think the fat-free half and half may share the white food coloring (to avoid the gray-colored beverage that skim provides), but it tastes and acts more like creamer. It's got milk, teensy amount of cream, and yes it does also have a bit of corn syrup (I think this is the only thing in my diet that contains it or coloring, though). It's got some carageenan (I think that's a seaweed product?) for thickener.

 

But the fat and sugar is low enough per serving that it passed the South Beach test, which is pretty strict. Serving size is 2 Tbsp, though, if you drink milk with tea rather than the other way 'round, it might add up.

[LaxMom]

I make cooked chai with almond milk. It's yummy.

[Ellie]

I'd rather give up tea than give up putting milk in it. Really.

 

Mocha Mix is non-dairy and can probably be used in hot tea, but it is not available everywhere (not in Central Texas, for example). Coffee-Mate isn't completely non-dairy but is more readily available, and there is a low-fat variety. I like Coffee Mate as far as taste goes; it's all the chemicals in it that gross me out.:tongue_smilie:

[skaterbabs]

I like almond milk in tea. During the winter my breakfast tends to consist of a cuppa Lady Grey with milk and sugar, and without the milk it's just not the same. :tongue_smilie:

[Orthodox6]

Treehouse Foods produces Mocha Mix. I just looked at a 2007 annual report for Treehouse, which noted that Mocha Mix (produced in California) now is sold primarily in certain West Coast regions.

 

I remember seeing it sold in Texas Krogers for many years. The ingredients list, components of which I no longer remember, put me off from trying it.

 

I'd rather give up tea than give up putting milk in it. Really.

 

Mocha Mix is non-dairy and can probably be used in hot tea, but it is not available everywhere (not in Central Texas, for example). Coffee-Mate isn't completely non-dairy but is more readily available, and there is a low-fat variety. I like Coffee Mate as far as taste goes; it's all the chemicals in it that gross me out.:tongue_smilie:

[Kate in Arabia]

My dh will use condensed milk when he's having "English-style" tea; we get Rainbow brand, and they do have a fat-free variety - would that work?

[kellycbr]

Soy milk curdles in tea. (ick) Rice milk or almond milk do fairly well, my experience has been. Rice milk probably is a bit better because it is less creamy than is almond milk.

 

 

I've been using Vanilla Silk, an organic soy milk for 9 years and it has never curdled for me. I reluctantly started using it when DS was born and had colic. It didn't help the colic but I now prefer Silk to regular milk. It is sooo good! I hope they have it in your area.

 

Kelly

[kellycbr]

My dh will use condensed milk when he's having "English-style" tea; we get Rainbow brand, and they do have a fat-free variety - would that work?

 

My Grandfather used to do this, as well, and I remember it being very tasty.:)

 

Kelly

 

PS: Now that it's summer, I'm down from 6 cups of tea to 4.

[Caitilin]

he used plain unsweetened Silk soymilk in his tea. I think now he doesn't like it with ordinary milk anymore! :) I too would rather give up tea than the milk in it. :) Good luck on the journey!

Caitilin

[Orthodox6]

Silk brand is sold most everywhere around here, but I prefer to avoid Dean Foods products. (example here, just in case anybody has interest in such topics: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18228.cfm )

 

Agreeing, though, that the "curdle factor" shall vary from brand-to-brand.

 

I've been using Vanilla Silk, an organic soy milk for 9 years and it has never curdled for me. I reluctantly started using it when DS was born and had colic. It didn't help the colic but I now prefer Silk to regular milk. It is sooo good! I hope they have it in your area.

 

Kelly

[kellycbr]

Silk brand is sold most everywhere around here, but I prefer to avoid Dean Foods products. (example here, just in case anybody has interest in such topics: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18228.cfm )

 

Agreeing, though, that the "curdle factor" shall vary from brand-to-brand.

 

 

Thank you for that link. I had no idea they switched from organic to conventional soybeans. Having a background in food sales I am suspicious when a company isn't transparent about their food sources. I've seen too many good companies and just as many bad, unethical companies to know where I'd rather put my money. Darn! I'm going to have to try all those other icky soy milks to find another good one. I think I'll try a lemon instead.:D

 

Kelly

[Orthodox6]

Here are two charts which may interest you -- one ranking manufacturers of organic soy products (including soy milk), the other ranking manufacturers of organic dairy products.

 

http://www.cornucopia.org/soysurvey/

 

http://www.cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/index.html

 

I thought it interesting that Whole Foods' private label scored a 4 (out of 5) for dairy, but a 0 (zero) for soy milk !

 

I buy Organic Valley (4 in both categories) for both soy and dairy milks.

 

 

 

Thank you for that link. I had no idea they switched from organic to conventional soybeans. Having a background in food sales I am suspicious when a company isn't transparent about their food sources. I've seen too many good companies and just as many bad, unethical companies to know where I'd rather put my money. Darn! I'm going to have to try all those other icky soy milks to find another good one. I think I'll try a lemon instead.:D

 

Kelly

[kellycbr]

Here are two charts which may interest you -- one ranking manufacturers of organic soy products (including soy milk), the other ranking manufacturers of organic dairy products.

 

http://www.cornucopia.org/soysurvey/

 

http://www.cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/index.html

 

I thought it interesting that Whole Foods' private label scored a 4 (out of 5) for dairy, but a 0 (zero) for soy milk !

 

I buy Organic Valley (4 in both categories) for both soy and dairy milks.

 

 

Thanks once again. Very useful info. I'm still bumming about Silk.....

 

Kelly