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Non-Dairy replacement for coffee/tea

JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

Ok, I feel like I’ve tried everything for the last year or so to replace my local half & half (half milk and half cream for the Non-US residents as I think Americans are the only ones who process and sell half & half?)

What do you use in lieu of creamer in your coffee/tea?? Raw nut milks are just too nutty tasting for my hot beverages. Soy, rice, hemp, almond milk from those boxes are too weak and weird tasting. I’ve even tried coconut cream from a can. Silk and silk creamers are icky for me as well. Dairy is so rich and creamy and tastes heavenly in coffee tea yerba mates, etc. But I don’t want to consume animal products on a daily basis.

At this point, I don’t mind if it’s raw or not. I’m trying to get rid of the last food item that voids me from being a vegan. Need a Half and Half substitute!!! Help! :-)

Comments

  • Hi Joyce,

    I struggled with this for so long, and finally I found a decent replacement. I put vanilla almond milk, honey and cinnamon in my coffee, (I gave up coffee for a while, then took it back up recently) I don’t notice the nutty taste at all. I have also tried almond milk, honey and green and black’s cocoa powder. I am also eager to hear what others do…...

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    I’m a Canadian. We most certainly have half and half. It’s been in my parents’ fridge for as long as I can remember. They’re pretty sure they’d die without it. LOL! I couldn’t believe their horror when I bought them the lower fat 5% cream that’s now available.

    I’ve heard some people talk about making almond milk from truly raw Spanish almonds. Apparently, the milk is very creamy and doesn’t separate. Also, freshly made hemp milk is the same, though I would imagine it has a distinctive hemp flavour. You should experiment with small batches of raw Brazil nuts, truly raw cashews and even raw pecans. Hopefully you’ll find one that has a mildly sweet flavour that isn’t too nutty. Hazelnut might work too.

  • Annabelle77Annabelle77 Raw Newbie

    I wonder what would happen if you dehydrated hemp milk (it’d be hard to keep it on the tray though) and then make your own powdered creamer…?

  • RawKidChefRawKidChef Raw Newbie

    Half and half is a bit extreme. Why don’t you just use 2% milk instead? I never drink half and half but drink 2% with no problem as long as I use a small amount. I only use 5-10 tablespoons of milk versus half a cup etc which is too much for my digestive system.

    I don’t know if you would like hemp milk because it does taste a bit like soy milk. But it is a little more mild.

    For tea why not kombucha? It’s a raw cultured tea that is very medicinal and healing to the digestive system. Not to mention is tastes amazing, like soda a little bit.

  • you could puree some soft silken tofu and add some flavoring (a few drops of vanilla or peppermint or something). silken tofu doesn’t really taste like soy to me; it tastes like nothing. i’ve never done this; it was just an idea. s

  • TomsMomTomsMom Raw Newbie

    I find nut milks to be watery. I pour them into coffee and I can’t even tell I’ve added anything. Maybe I just make shitty nut-milk:(

    I did find some non-dairy creamer at the little health food store down my street, but scarily enough, I couldn’t recognize most of the ingredients.

    The search continues.

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

    cpagosa – actually homemade almond milk has been my best result out of all the nut milks I’ve tried. Maybe I need to add more sweetner.

    RawKidChef – my taste buds don’t seem to like any kind of regular milk in coffee. Has to be cream or half and half :-) If I’m going to do a bit of dairy, I figure I might as well use the stuff I love.

    At the City Market Co-op I filled up my thermos with good locally roasted, organic fair trade coffee this morning. I tried plain soy milk and some real VT maple syrup which they had at the coffee fixing station. It was OK and drinkable but not as good as the creamer. Perhaps I just need to try and get used to it. The plain soy and maple seemed like a good combo.

    What I like about Vermont Soy company is that it’s a local company that grows its own organic soybeans right here in Vermont. While it’s not a raw beverage, it is something I’d like to use and grow to like (if that’s even possible)

    TomsMom – ‘shitty nut-milk’...too funny. I’ve made a lot of shitty nut-milk myself :-)

  • schmoopeeschmoopee Raw Newbie

    Have you tried cashew butter or almond butter rather than milk? I’ve seen people make chais and lattes with them. You might need to blend witha a tiny bit of water to get it going. Cashews seem like they would be the least “nutty” in flavor—and they are kind of sweet.

    Or else maybe a raw vanilla protein powder like sun warrior.

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