Watch Demo Videos Below
🧠 Habits, cravings – and the psychology of coffee
They say humans are creatures of habit. I’d say we’re the sum of our habits… plus a little extra 😉
Take me, for example: after a few rough workdays that ended with a "Magnum" ice cream, my feet would automatically take me to the freezer.
Unwanted habits? Best to catch them early – before they grow roots.
☕ Coffee, sweeteners, and milk – we’re creatures of comfort
Some people get used to artificial sweeteners and can’t stand real sugar.
Some love instant coffee and cringe at espresso.
And some – like me – switch to plant-based milk, and suddenly dairy tastes like... moo 🐄
💔 Homemade oat milk, almond milk – and many disappointments
For years I made almond milk at home. But it always separated in coffee.
Then came oat milk – I fell in love… but when I made it at home? Too thick. Curdled. Not pretty.
🧪 The internet says: “Add oil!”
Okay! I tried a recipe that adds two tablespoons of oil for that “store-bought texture.”
Guess what? Still curdled 😞
💡 And then it hit me…
What holds milk together so it doesn’t break apart? I asked myself.
After adding one more wrinkle to my forehead – I had it!
An emulsifier! Something to keep oil and water from fighting.
Cue dramatic music... 🥁
💃 Lecithin to the rescue!
I rushed to my tiny kitchen, added a few drops of liquid lecithin to my homemade milk –
Poured it into my coffee… and voilà: No separation!
I danced around the kitchen like I invented plant-based barista milk 😄
🧃 Then came the buzz: Tnuva’s Oat Milk
People were raving about it – so I had to try.
And yes, it was creamy, tasty, and smooth in coffee. No curdling.
Then I peeked at the ingredients:
Oil... and gum! (Yes, the pun is accidental 😂)
🔁 Time for a new experiment – xanthan gum
I swapped the lecithin with xanthan gum.
And guess what?
IT WORKED! Smooth, stable, and coffee-ready. No clumps, no drama.
🎁 In a nutshell:
Make your own plant-based milk at home with: – Almonds or oats
– Water
– A bit of oil
– And one secret ingredient: lecithin or xanthan gum
The result? ✅ Creamy, smooth milk
✅ No separation in coffee
✅ All-natural, low-cost, and homemade with love
Enjoy every sip 🙏😋
RECIPE
Plant-based milk that does not curdle in coffee!
Almond Milk
- ½ cup raw almonds soaked overnight no need to peel the almonds
- 3-4 cups filtered water
- 1 tablespoon canola oil refined Sunflower oil, Avocado oil or Almond oil
- 1 tablespoon liquid sunflower lecithin or 3 tablespoon lecithin granules; can be replaced with ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum or guar gum
- pinch salt
Oat Milk
- ⅔ cup rolled oats
- 3-4 cups filtered water
- 2 tablespoon canola oil refined Sunflower oil, Avocado oil or Almond oil
- 2 tablespoon liquid sunflower lecithin or 6 tablespoon lecithin granules; can be replaced with ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum or guar gum
- pinch salt
Almond Milk
- drain the soaked almonds and transfer to a blender
- add salt, oil, lecithin or gum
- add 3 cups of water (we will add more later)
- process on a high speed for about a minute
- Line a 1000 ml measuring cup with a spout in a nut milk bag and pour the mixture into it.
- Squeeze the bag as much as you can. Pour the milk into the bottle and add more filtered water until the bottle is full.
- The milk keeps in the fridge up to 3 days
- Shake well before use.
Oat Milk
- Put in a blender rolled oats, water, oil, salt, lecithin, or xanthan gum/guar gum
- Process on a high speed for about 20 seconds
- Line a 1000 ml measuring cup with a spout in a nut milk bag and pour the mixture into it.
- Squeeze the bag as much as you can. Pour the milk into the bottle and add more filtered water until the bottle is full.
- The milk keeps in the fridge up to 3 days
- Shake well before use.
- You can replace liquid lecithin with granular lecithin - in this case, you need three times the amount. For example a tablespoon of liquid lecithin = 3 tablespoons of granular lecithin, 2 tablespoons of liquid lecithin = 6 tablespoons of granular lecithin, etc.
- Xanthan gum or guar gum are used as gluten substitutes and in various uses in the food industry. I don't know about nutritional values - but the advantage of gum over lecithin is the calorie savings (less than 10 calories per half teaspoon of xanthan gum or guar gum compared to 120 calories per 1 tablespoon of liquid lecithin). The advantage of lecithin: It raises the level of good cholesterol!
- If you leave coffee with milk that was made with gum - after about half an hour the milk will sink. It will not curdle - just sink, a short stir will fix it 🙂
- If you have only instant oat at home, you can use it as well, in this case, make sure to process it in a blender for no longer than 10 seconds so that we do not get a "slimy" drink.
- When you add the oil before the lecithin - the lecithin will not stick to the spoon but will slide off easily and leave the spoon almost clean 🙂
🔗 Related post:
Barista-Style Vegan Milk – Froths Like a Dream
The next-level version that’s perfect for cappuccinos and lattes!
Joanie says
Is it necessary to use the oil? In general I do not use oil, and wonder if xantham gum alone would work to emulsify the milk?
Sara Dagan says
Hi Joanie, I have not tried without oil, but I believe it will work with xanthan gum alone.
louis katz says
Trying the recipes are in my future. I am buying gums right now. While in Japan 3 years ago I had peanut tofu. It was very good. I have since made peanut milk from recipes on the web and my own peanut tofu. It seems like you might enjoy peanut milk.
Sara Dagan says
Thanks for sharing, I have never thought about peanut milk - I will try - 🙂
Randa says
Hello, one little oopsie: the almond milk video says to “add 1000 ml of water” as last step before putting into 1 L container.
Any idea if this would also worked in lemon tea? I want creamy lemon tea 🍋 🥛 🫖 Thank you!
Sara Dagan says
Hello, I haven't tried yet. Lemon acidity is probably higher than coffee acidity - You might add more lecithin to the milk. Once I'll try I will write about it.
Susan says
I am looking forward to trying these additives. I usually only use oats, water and salt. I always use some ice cubes in my water so you don't get the slime. And I like to add one or two dates.
Sara Dagan says
Thank you for your comment, Never thought dates and ice cubes can work too - I will give it a try! hope you like you like this recipe. if you have any questions - feel free to contact me 🙂