Which vegan milk alternative is best for tea? You've got lots of choices today: almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, oat milk, soy milk, macadamia milk, walnut milk and the list goes on. We set out to find out which dairy-free milk substitute tasted the best with hot black tea and was thick enough to stand up to strong cuppa.
Finding a non dairy milk for tea is a challenge. Flavored creamers that go well in coffee mask the flavor of the tea. And, some vegan milk alternatives have a strange flavor that clashes with the natural rich, malty flavor of hot black tea.
The only way to know is to try them to find a substitute for milk in tea, but there's so many options! We picked 15 dairy-free vegan milks and tried them for you. We have some clear tasty winners to share!
Jump to:
- Our method of testing
- So Delicious Organic Coconut Unsweetened
- Milkadamia Latte Da Barista Macadamia Milk
- Pacific Foods Organic Oat Milk Original
- Califia Betterhalf Coconut and Almond Creamer Unsweet
- Califia Almond Milk Extra Creamy
- Organic Oat MALK Original
- Not Milk Whole
- Chobani Oat Extra Creamy
- Mariani Walnutmilk
- Silk Creamy Cashew
- Oatly Oat Barista Edition
- Simply Nature Aldi Organic Soy Milk Original
- Friendly Farms Aldi Oat Milk
- 365 Organic Unsweet Original Soy Milk
- Califia Oat Barista
- The best tasting vegan milks for tea
- ❓ FAQ
- 💬 Reviews
Our method of testing
The milks we chose to test were:
- vegan
- dairy-free
- plain, unflavored versions (no vanilla or other flavors)
- unsweetened, if available
- a variety of plant based milk options, some made of nuts, some oat and some soy
- from a variety of stores (Whole Foods, Aldi and HEB, our local supermarket. Many of these brands are also available at Walmart, Kroger, Randall's, Sprouts and online on Amazon)
- free of carrageenan
- a range of prices
The dairy milk alternatives we did not taste test are: hemp milk, rice milk, hazelnut milk, flax milk. We also did not use any flavored plant milks or non dairy creamers, as these alter the taste of tea and are better suited for coffee and lattes.
Do you have a milk alternative you think we should test for tea? Comment below and let me know!
The tea we chose to test these milk substitutes with was Yorkshire Gold Black Tea from England. This is a strong black tea that is popular in Britain. We brewed one tea bag for 10 ounces of water, for 5 minutes in water that was heated to 212 degrees F (boiling).
So, you could call this test the "best non dairy milk for yorkshire tea" taste test, but our recommendations will hold up to other strong black teas, such as: PG Tips, Campbell's Irish Tea, English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Scottish Breakfast, Assam, Nilgiri, Indian Masala Chai, Darjeeling, Earl Grey and Kenyan black tea.
What teas are good with milk? The teas that are best with milk added are: black tea, matcha and chai tea. But, you can add milk to virtually any tea, if you like the flavor: jasmine tea, matcha lattes, iced tea, boba tea, oolong tea, green tea, herbal tea, bubble tea, pu-erh tea and more.
Who are your taste testers? We're life-long tea enthusiasts who've tried a wide variety of teas from all over the world. In addition, we have won a local tea blending contest (that's how we got this beautiful floating Mono Tea Pot made in Germany). And, we've attended several tea classes by Tea Masters to expand our tea knowledge. Suffice it to say, we're daily tea drinkers like you who enjoy tea, know tea and want to help you have the best tea experience possible!
The method we chose for this tea tasting was that we poured a small serving of tea, added the milk (some tasters also added the same amount of sugar to each cup), then rated the milk in tea with the following criteria:
- Thickness - How well does the milk color the tea? Rated on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being worst (it barely colored the tea) and 10 being the best (it didn't take much to give the tea the desired color).
- Sweetness - How sweet is the milk? Rated on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being not sweet at all and 10 being very sweet.
- Taste - How well does it taste? Rated on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being worst (tastes horrible in tea) and 10 being the best (tastes amazing, finished the cup).
- Overall score - All things considered, how well do you like this milk for tea? Rated on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being worst (horrible, don't ever want to taste it in tea again) and 10 being best (perfect milk for hot black tea!).
We served water, saltine oyster crackers and vegan cinnamon cookies as palette cleansers. Some chose to rinse their cup out after each tasting, as well.
We brewed over 20 cups of Yorkshire Gold to finish this taste testing! The four tasters didn't actually drink all 20 cups, as many were tasted, then poured out. Regardless, we were full of caffeine by the end!
If you want to replicate a tea tasting of this sort, I would recommend not tasting more than 10 different milks, especially if you're tasting caffeinated teas with them.
These milks may be delicious when used for other purposes. These ratings are for how well this vegan milk worked for hot black tea. They are our opinions and you may enjoy them in your tea, that's great!
Onto the results, we've outlined how every brand fared to our rating system, along with some facts about pricing, health nutritional info and included ingredients. We hope this info will help you find your best alternative milk for tea.
So Delicious Organic Coconut Unsweetened
So Delicious Organic Unsweet Coconutmilk was $3.28 for 64 ounces, which makes it $0.05 per ounce. It has 45 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 4g total fat, 1g total carbs and 0g protein.
Ingredients: Organic coconut milk (filtered water, organic coconut cream), contains 2% or less of: vitamin and mineral blend (calcium phosphate, magnesium phosphate, calcium carbonate, l-seleomethionine (selenium), vitamin a acetate, vitamin D2, zinc oxide, vitamin B12), organic sunflower lecithin, gellan gum, organic locust bean gum, sea salt.
- Thickness - 1.3 out of 10
- Sweetness - 0.3 out of 10
- Taste - 0.3 out of 10
- Overall Score - 0.3 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? No. 👎🏻
- Taster comments - Tastes like soap. It's horrible. No.
In defense of this milk, I used it to make vegan french toast the day before the tasting and it worked well in that recipe. But, we would not recommend it for adding to your tea.
Milkadamia Latte Da Barista Macadamia Milk
Milkadamia Latte Da Barista Macadamia Milk was $4.69 for 32 ounces, which makes it $0.15 per ounce. It has 80 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 4.5g total fat, 8g total carbs and 1g protein.
Ingredients: Macadamia milk (filtered water, macadamias), cane sugar, calcium phosphate, potassium phosphate, potassium citrate, natural flavor, salt, sunflower lecithin, gellan gum.
- Thickness - 5.3 out of 10
- Sweetness - 7 out of 10
- Taste - 0.5 out of 10
- Overall Score - 0.5 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? No. 👎🏻
- Taster comments - Bitter aftertaste. Too sweet. Tastes like rubber, had trouble getting the taste out of my mouth. Bright white milk with little white bits in it.
Pacific Foods Organic Oat Milk Original
Pacific Foods Organic Oat Original was $3.49 for 32 ounces, which makes it $0.11 per ounce. It has 130 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 2g total fat, 25g total carbs and 4g protein.
Ingredients: Water, organic oats, organic oat bran, contains 1% or less of: gellan gum, sea salt, tricalcium phosphate, vitamin d2.
- Thickness - 4 out of 10
- Sweetness - 8 out of 10
- Taste - 1.3 out of 10
- Overall Score - 1.3 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? No. 👎🏻
- Taster comments - Gritty, separates in tea. Too sweet with a nasty aftertaste of chalk. Separates like miso paste.
Califia Betterhalf Coconut and Almond Creamer Unsweet
Califia Betterhalf Coconut and Almond Creamer Unsweet was $3.49 for 17 ounces, which makes it the most expensive at $0.21 per ounce. It has 15 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 1g total fat, 0g total carbs and 0g protein.
Ingredients: Almondmilk (water, almonds), coconut cream, sunflower lecithin, natural flavor, calcium carbonate, sea salt, potassium citrate, locust bean gum, gellan gum.
- Thickness - 3 out of 10
- Sweetness - 3.3 out of 10
- Taste - 1.3 out of 10
- Overall Score - 1.3 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? No. 👎🏻
- Taster comments - Strong toasted coconut/macaroon flavor. Looks thick but tastes watery.
Califia Almond Milk Extra Creamy
Califia Almond Milk Extra Creamy was $3.67 for 48 ounces, which makes it $0.08 per ounce. It has 60 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 3.5g total fat, 6g total carbs and 1g protein.
Ingredients: Almondmilk (water, almonds), cane sugar, calcium carbonate, sunflower lecithin, sea salt, natural flavor, locust bean gum, gellan gum, potassium citrate.
- Thickness - 5.8 out of 10
- Sweetness - 1.1 out of 10
- Taste - 2.3 out of 10
- Overall Score - 2.5 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? No. 👎🏻
- Taster comments - Bitter, weird aftertaste. The milk tastes fine by itself, but not good in tea.
Organic Oat MALK Original
Organic Oat MALK Original was $5.49 for 32 ounces, which makes it $0.17 per ounce. It has 90 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 1.5g total fat, 17g total carbs and 3g protein.
Ingredients: Filtered water, organic gluten free oats, himalayan pink salt.
- Thickness - 1.8 out of 10
- Sweetness - 5 out of 10
- Taste - 2.8 out of 10
- Overall Score - 2.5 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? No. 👎🏻
- Taster comments - Only 3 ingredients (so whole food plant based no oil approved), but strong oat taste, not pleasant in tea. Salty.
Not Milk Whole
Not Milk Whole was $3.98 for 64 ounces, which makes it $0.06 per ounce. It has 100 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 8g total fat, 4g total carbs and 4g protein.
Ingredients: Water, sunflower oil, pea protein, contains less than 2% of: sugar, pineapple juice concentrate, dipotassium phosphate, calcium carbonate, gellan gum, acacia gum, salt, mono calcium phosphate, natural flavor, cabbage juice concentrate, vitamin d2, vitamin b12.
- Thickness - 10 out of 10
- Sweetness - 3.3 out of 10
- Taste - 3.3 out of 10
- Overall Score - 3 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? No. 👎🏻
- Taster comments - Tastes like pineapple and coconut, could possibly be a good option for boba tea or sweet, fruity tropical milk teas, but this has not been verified. Very high in fat (2nd ingredient is oil).
Chobani Oat Extra Creamy
Chobani Oat Extra Creamy was $3.98 for 52 ounces, which makes it $0.08 per ounce. It has 140 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 8g total fat, 13g total carbs and 2g protein.
Ingredients: Oat blend (water, whole grain oats), rapeseed oil, contains 2% or less of: sea salt, nutrient extract blend (fruit sources), vitamin d2 (yeast extract), calcium carbonate, gellan gum, tricalcium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate.
- Thickness - 8.3 out of 10
- Sweetness - 2.3 out of 10
- Taste - 3.8 out of 10
- Overall Score - 3.8 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? Maybe 🤷🏻♀️
- Taster comments - Mild, neutral but bland flavor. We found the texture to be somewhat gritty with oat pieces floating or settling in tea.
Mariani Walnutmilk
Mariani Unsweetened Walnutmilk was $2.98 for 64 ounces, which makes it $0.05 per ounce. It has 40 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 3.5g total fat, 2g total carbs and 1g protein.
Ingredients: Walnutmilk (water, walnuts), contains 1% or less of the following: calcium carbonate, tapioca starch, sea salt, sunflower lecithin (an emulsifier), dipotassium phosphate, natural flavor, gellan gum, organic locust bean gum, vitamin blend (dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, ergocaliciferol, vitamin a palmitate), almond butter (almonds).
- Thickness - 7 out of 10
- Sweetness - 1.5 out of 10
- Taste - 4.3 out of 10
- Overall Score - 4.5 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? Maybe 🤷🏻♀️
- Taster comments - Tastes like walnuts, not very sweet.
Silk Creamy Cashew
Silk Creamy Cashew was $3.38 for 64 ounces, which makes it $0.05 per ounce. It has just 25 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 2g total fat, 1g total carbs and <1g protein.
Ingredients: Cashewmilk (filtered water, cashews), contains 2% or less of: almonds, vitamin and mineral blend (calcium carbonate, vitamin E acetate, vitamin a palmitate, vitamin D2), salt, locust bean gum, sunflower lecithin, natural flavor, gellan gum, ascorbic acid (to protect freshness).
- Thickness - 5.8 out of 10
- Sweetness - 3 out of 10
- Taste - 5.8 out of 10
- Overall Score - 6.3 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? Yes 👍🏻
- Taster comments - Somewhat neutral. Milk brings out tannins of tea, which is a good thing if you like that. Not too sweet but no bitterness.
Best low calorie, low sugar yet creamy vegan milk for tea!
Oatly Oat Barista Edition
Oatly Oat Barista Edition was $4.49 for 32 ounces, which makes it $0.14 per ounce. It has 140 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 7g total fat, 16g total carbs and 3g protein.
Ingredients: Oat base (water, oats), low erucic acid rapeseed oil. Contains 2% or less of: dipotassium phosphate, calcium carbonate, tricalcium phosphate, sea slat, dicalcium phosphate, riboflavin, vitamin a, vitamin d2, vitamin b12.
- Thickness - 6.8 out of 10
- Sweetness - 4.6 out of 10
- Taste - 6 out of 10
- Overall Score - 6.3 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? Yes 👍🏻
- Taster comments - Mild, neutral flavor. Slight bitterness.
Excellent oat milk option for tea!
Simply Nature Aldi Organic Soy Milk Original
Simply Nature Aldi Organic Original Soy was $1.99 for 64 ounces, which makes it only $0.03 per ounce. It has 100 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 4g total fat, 8g total carbs and 7g protein.
Ingredients: Organic soy beverage (filtered water, organic soybeans), organic cane sugar, calcium carbonate, organic natural flavor, sea salt, gellan gum, organic locust bean gum, vitamin a palmitate, ergocalciferol (vitamin D2), riboflavin (vitamin B2), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12).
- Thickness - 7 out of 10
- Sweetness - 6 out of 10
- Taste - 7 out of 10
- Overall Score - 7 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? Yes 👍🏻
- Taster comments - Mild, neutral flavor. May be too sweet for some.
Best cheap soy milk for tea, for those who like sweet tea!
Friendly Farms Aldi Oat Milk
Friendly Farms Aldi Oat Milk was $1.99 for 64 ounces, which makes it only $0.03 per ounce. It has 120 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 5g total fat, 16g total carbs and 3g protein.
Ingredients: Oat beverage (filtered water, oats), contains 2% or less of: hi oleic sunflower oil, calcium carbonate, tricalcium phosphate, sea salt, gellan gum, potassium phosphate, vitamin a palmitate, ergocalciferol (vitamin d2), riboflavin, vitamin b12.
- Thickness - 7 out of 10
- Sweetness - 7.3 out of 10
- Taste - 6.8 out of 10
- Overall Score - 7 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? Yes 👍🏻
- Taster comments - Mild, neutral flavor. Too sweet for some.
Best cheap oat milk for tea, for those who like sweet tea!
365 Organic Unsweet Original Soy Milk
365 Organic Unsweet Original Soy Milk was $1.99 for 32 ounces, which makes it $0.06 per ounce. It has 70 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 3.5g total fat, 3g total carbs and 7g protein.
Ingredients: Organic soy milk (filtered water, organic soybeans), calcium carbonate, sea salt, organic natural flavor, gellan gum, organic locust bean gum, vitamin a palmitate, ergocalciferol (vitamin d2), riboflavin (vitamin b2), cyanocobalamin (vitamin b12).
- Thickness - 6.8 out of 10
- Sweetness - 5.5 out of 10
- Taste - 5.5 out of 10
- Overall Score - 7.3 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? Yes 👍🏻
- Taster comments - Creamy, neutral flavor. Slight soy flavor detected.
Best everyday oil-free plant-based milk for tea!
Califia Oat Barista
Califia Farms Oat Barista was $5.29 for 32 ounces, which makes it $0.17 per ounce. It has 130 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 7g total fat, 14g total carbs and 1g protein.
Ingredients: Oatmilk (water, oats), sunflower oil, minerals (dipotassium phosphate, calcium carbonate, tricalcium phosphate), sea salt.
- Thickness - 9.3 out of 10
- Sweetness - 4.3 out of 10
- Taste - 8.3 out of 10
- Overall Score - 8.5 out of 10
- Would we recommend this milk for tea? Yes 👍🏻
- Taster comments - Mild, neutral flavor. Really, really good - nice and balanced. Very creamy.
Best tasting and creamiest dairy-free milk for tea!
The best tasting vegan milks for tea
The best tasting vegan, dairy-free milks for tea were:
- Califia Farms Oat Barista Blend - best tasting, smooth, mild, neutral flavor, balanced, thick. No added sugar or gums. Unfortunately, it's expensive at $0.17 per ounce, has added oil and is 130 calories per serving.
- 365 Organic Unsweetened Original Soy Milk - great taste, no added oil or sugar, comes in shelf-stable container, only 70 calories per serving and $0.06 per ounce.
- Friendly Farms Aldi Oat Milk - mild, neutral flavor with a natural sweetness (no added sugar) and cheap at $0.03 per ounce. On the downside, it has added oil and is 120 calories per serving.
- Simply Nature Aldi Organic Soy Milk - mild, neutral flavor, cheap at $0.03 per ounce, has 7 grams of protein per serving and is organic. Unfortunately, it may be too sweet for some with its added sugars and is 100 calories per serving.
- Oatly Oatmilk Barista Edition - mild, neutral flavor, no added sugar and is free of gums. Can be difficult to source in the US (often out of stock), has added oil making its calories per serving a high 140 and is pricier at $0.14 per ounce.
- Silk Creamy Cashew Milk Unsweet - somewhat neutral flavor that brings out the tannins of black tea, no added sugar, only 25 calories per serving and inexpensive at $0.05 per ounce. On the downside, it contains added oil and gums.
Honorable mention: Trader Joe's Organic Soy Milk in the shelf-stable container is not pictured because it was out of stock (an issue with Trader Joe's!) when this taste testing was performed. But! It is my go-to milk for tea and it has only 2 ingredients: water, organic soybeans. Can't get much better than that. It has 80 calories and 9 grams of protein per serving, is organic and has no added oils or sugar. At $0.06 per ounce, it is easy on the pocketbook, too.
Don't agree with the results? Do your own taste test and pick your favorites!
❓ FAQ
Soy milk and oat milk taste best in tea, hands down. Cashew milk was a surprisingly good option, too.
The best milk for tea is an organic soy milk (unflavored, unsweetened) or a creamy oat milk (also unflavored, unsweetened).
No. Dairy milk is an animal product and is not considered vegan. However, there are many vegan milk alternatives like: soy milk, oat milk, almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk and more.
Soya milk (soy milk) and oat milk tasted the best in yorkshire gold tea in this taste test! Cashew milk also was good.
You can put almond milk in tea, but it is not the best tasting. Try soy milk or oat milk instead! You'll find it to be creamier and more tasty.
Rosalie Werback says
I'm so impressed with your work on this project. I have different plant milks for different things. What I use for making smoothies and/or what I add to my coffee (sorry--slowly tapering off) are two different things. Soy milk I think has the best mouth feel but I can't use it because of some medication I take. I never really tried using oat milk, which I plan to purchase at my next shopping trip. Again, thanks for all this input. Regards,
Abi Cowell says
I'm so glad to hear our taste test was helpful to you! Getting it right is really important for me and I know how frustrating it is to find a good alternative. I hope you like the oat milk in your coffee and tea! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
- Abi 🙂
S C Gupta says
I find soya milk(sugarfree) is best for tea&coffee
Abi Cowell says
I agree! That's what I use most of the time: the Trader Joe's organic soy milk in the shelf-stable container.