What's the best plant-based milk for a cappuccino?

The proteins and fat in milk are important for good milk foam for a coffee. In general, long-life or regular whole milk makes the most delicious foam. But what about plant-based milk? We've tested whole milk and 5 types of plant-based milk, from oat milk to soy milk. When testing, we took into account the quality, quantity, and taste of the foam. In this article, we'll walk you through the results.

Test 6 types of milk foam
Whole milk: 5 stars
Oat milk: 5 stars
Soy milk: 4 stars
Almond milk: 3.5 stars
Coconut milk: 2 stars
Rice milk: 1 star

The types of milk

	Score	Quality	Amount of foam	Taste
Whole milk	5 stars	Thick and firm, few bubbles	Good	Full, a bit creamy
Oat milk	5 stars	Thick and firm, few bubbles	Good	Full, creamy, and sweet
Soy milk	4 stars	Firm, airy with some bubbles	Good	Full, sweet, and creamy
Almond milk	3.5 stars	Texture remains good, a lot of bubbles	Good	Nutty, watery, sweet, and creamy
Coconut milk	2 stars	Lots of bubbles, thin, airy, foam collapses fast	Okay	Coconut, watery, and a bit creamy
Rice milk	1 star	Lots of bubbles, thin, texture disappears quickly	Minimal	Watery and sweet

Test 6 types of milk foam

We froth the milk in 2 ways, with a steam wand and in a fully-automatic coffee machines with a milk reservoir. The amount of proteins and fat can differ per brand when it comes to a type of milk. That's why we listed the amount of proteins and fat per type of milk, so you can easily compare it to another brand. We'll test the following milk types:

Whole milk
Oat milk
Soy milk
Almond milk
Coconut milk
Rice milk

Whole milk: 5 stars

We start off with whole milk. This is guaranteed to give good milk foam for a cappuccino. After, we'll compare it to plant-based milk.

We used: Campina Organic fresh whole milk.

Fat: 3.6g
Proteins: 3.4g

The foam is very firm and doesn't have many bubbles. The quantity is good. The foam has a rich, creamy taste.

Whole milk - steam wand
Whole milk - milk reservoir

Oat milk: 5 stars

We used: Oatly Haver Barista edition.

Fat: 3g
Proteins: 1g

An oat milk cappuccino is very popular and many people drink it nowadays. We weren't disappointed by the result either. The foam is thick and firm. It doesn't have many bubbles and the quantity is good. The taste is rich, creamy, and sweet.

Oat milk - steam wand
Oat milk - milk reservoir

Soy milk: 4 stars

We used: Alpro Soya.

Fat: 1.8g
Proteins: 3g

Soy milk didn't disappoint either. The foam is firm, but it does have some bubbles. This makes it a bit airy. The quantity is good. The foam tastes sweet, full, and a little bit creamy.

Soy milk - steam wand
Soy milk - milk reservoir

Almond milk: 3.5 stars

We used: Alpro Roasted Almond Original.

Fat: 1.1g
Proteins: 0.4g

The almond milk receives 3.5 stars. The foam has many bubbles, but is still firm. The quantity is good. It tastes nut-like, watery, sweet, and creamy.

Almond milk - steam wand
Almond milk - milk reservoir

Coconut milk: 2 stars

We used: Alpro Coconut.

Fat: 0.9g
Proteins: 0.1g

The coconut milk didn't froth as well as we expected. The foam has many bubbles and is very thin and airy. The texture doesn't last and the foam collapses fast. The quantity is good. It has a strong coconut taste. Other than that, it's watery and a little bit creamy.

Coconut milk - steam wand
Coconut milk - milk reservoir

Rice milk: 1 star

We used: Alpro Rice. .

Fat: 1g
Proteins: 0.1g

Rice milk receives the worst score. The foam has many bubbles and is thin. The texture disappears quickly and it melts in your mouth right away. The quantity is minimal. The foam has a watery and sweet taste.