Last Updated on May 1, 2023 by brewthatcoffee
Your morning cup of Joe is non-negotiable for your mental health, but if you’re trying to stay healthy, lactose intolerant, or vegan, you might prefer it with oat milk.
Whatever your morning fix, it has to be just right to help you face the day ahead. So will Starbucks get it right? Does Starbucks have oat milk to give you that perfect fix?
Starbucks offers several milk alternatives, including oat milk. The range of drinks made with this dairy alternative is extensive. Even those drinks with recipes not requiring oat milk can use it as a substitute. Oat milk is a healthy milk alternative suitable for nearly all Starbucks drinks.
Many people are choosing a plant-based diet these days. Some want to be more environmentally responsible, some may have dairy allergies, and others may be vegan.
Oat milk is a very popular dairy alternative. Thank goodness the world (and Starbucks) has started creating beautiful drinks with milk substitutes, especially oat milk!
Which Brand Of Oat Milk Does Starbucks Use?
It’s not only trendily healthy to use dairy alternatives in coffees and other delicious drinks but also good for business. Starbucks caught this barreling wave and offers a host of dairy alternatives, including oat milk.
The oat milk brand that Starbucks uses is Oatly oat milk, specifically the Barista Edition.
Why Does Starbucks Use Oatly Barista Edition?
Oatly manufactures several oat milk drinks, but the Barista Edition is perfectly suited to a plethora of coffee shop drinks. Unsurprisingly, it consists of liquid oats, as does regular oat milk, but the Barista edition has some advantages for specialty drinks.
It’s not very heavy or too sweet and is a great health option. But its primary benefit is its foamability. Froth is something any coffee shop worth its salt (or milk, in this case) cannot do without.
The Barista Edition is the superior version of the original oat milk for Starbucks’ purposes. It’s super creamy and froths beautifully, qualities that influence the taste and aesthetics.
Is Starbucks Oat Milk Natural?
Oatly Barista Edition is not organic and contains additives, although the company stresses that they only use permitted substances. The Barista Edition adds expeller-pressed rapeseed (canola) oil to the liquefied oats to give the drink a rich milk-type feel in the mouth.
Oatly also adds an acidifying agent, dipotassium phosphate, to its Barista Edition oat milk. This water-soluble inorganic compound boosts the coffee’s low pH and ensures that the oat milk doesn’t curdle or separate when added to hot drinks.
The Oatly Barista Edition also contains Vitamin D2, a vegan-friendly Vitamin D additive.
Is Oatly Barista Edition Sweetened?
Oatly doesn’t add sugar or artificial sweeteners to its oat drinks. During the manufacturing process, enzymes are added, which convert the oat starch into simple sugars, chiefly maltose. So, while they don’t add extra sweetening, the broken-down starch is sometimes considered “added sugars.”
Is Starbucks Oat Milk Gluten-Free?
In the USA, Oatly drinks are made with oats certified as gluten-free and labeled as such. But the products made in Asia and Europe contain a tiny amount of gluten. Consequently, the company does not classify those as gluten-free.
Starbucks Barista Edition Vs. Regular Oatly Milk
The regular oat drink does not contain the acidifying agent added to the Barista Edition. The fat content in the Barista version is also slightly higher than in the standard oat drinks.
Oatly also produces two chilled oat drinks, each with a different fat percentage. They contain the acidifying agent but lack the creamy, foamy qualities.
Starbucks Barista Edition Vs. Other Non-Dairy Milks
How does oat milk compare to other dairy alternatives? Their nutritional values can be seen in the chart below. The following values apply to one cup of milk.
Nutrient | Oatly Barista | Almond (unsweetened) | Coconut | Soy |
Calories | 140 | 40 | 568 | 127 |
Fat | 7g | 3.58 g | 52.4 g | 4.7 g |
Saturated | 0.5g | 0.275 g | 46.51 g | 0.571 g |
Trans Fat | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cholesterol | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total Carb | 16g | 1.4 g | 24.72 g | 12.08 g |
Dietary Fiber | 2g | 0.8 g | 6.5 g | 3.2 g |
Soluble Fiber | 1g | |||
Total Sugar | 7g | 0.34 g | 18.2 g | 1.22 g |
Protein | 3 | 1.51 g | 7.96 g | 10.98 g |
Vitamin D | 3.6 mcg | 0 | 0 | 1 mcg |
Vitamin A | 160 mcg | 0 | 0 | 76 mcg |
Vitamin B12 | 1.2 mcg | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Potassium | 390 mg | 52 mg | 299 mg | 304 mg |
Calcium | 350 mg | 22 mg | 3 mg | 93 mg |
Riboflavin | 0.6 mg | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Iron | 0.3 mg | 0.3 mg | 1.51 mg | 2.7 mg |
Phosphorus | 270 mg | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Starbucks Barista Edition Vs. Dairy Milk
Starbucks offers several milk options, including dairy milk. 2% is the automatic milk used unless the customer asks for another option. The nutritional information comparison between Oatly Barista and dairy milk can be seen below. Values are for one cup.
Nutrient | Oatly Barista | Whole Milk | 2% | Non-Fat |
Calories | 140 | 149 | 120 | 79 |
Fat | 7g | 8 g | 5 g | 0 |
Saturated | 0.5g | 4.992 g | 3 g | |
Trans Fat | 0 | |||
Cholesterol | 0 | 36 mg | 19 mg | 4.8 mg |
Total Carb | 16g | 12 g | 12 g | 12 g |
Dietary Fiber | 2g | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Soluble Fiber | 1g | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total Sugar | 7g | 12 g | 12 g | 12 g |
Protein | 3 | 8 g | 8 | 8 g |
Vitamin D | 3.6 mcg | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Vitamin A | 160 mcg | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Vitamin B12 | 1.2 mcg | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Potassium | 390 mg | 389 mg | 389 mg | 389 mg |
Calcium | 350 mg | 300 mg | 300 mg | 300 mg |
Riboflavin | 0.6 mg | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Iron | 0.3 mg | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Phosphorus | 270 mg | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Starbucks Oat Milk Drinks
Deciding on a favorite oat milk drink is almost impossible if you’re basing it simply on the taste. Still, if we have to single out one, the Oat Milk Cocoa Macchiato has a lot going for it when you’re crazy about coffee and chocolate. It contains one shot of espresso, giving 75 mg of caffeine, 6 g of sugar, and roughly 270 calories.
Starbucks offers many different oat milk drinks, but you can also ask for an oat milk substitute with many other items on the menu. These are some of the best oat milk drinks on the Starbucks menu:
- Carmamel Oat Milk Frappuccino
- Honey Oat Milk Latte
- Oat Milk Cocoa Macchiato
- Oat Milk Chai Tea Latte
- Longdon Fog Latte with Oat Milk
- Honey and Hazelnut Oat Latte
- Java Chip Frappuccino with Oat Milk
- Iced Flat White with Oat Milk
- Iced Americano with Oat Milk
- Iced Vanilla Latte with Oat Milk
- Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso
- Iced Toasted Vanilla Oat Milk Shaken Espresso
- Iced White Blonde Mocha with Oat Milk
- Dark Cocoa and Orange Oat Latte
- Strawberry and Vanilla Oat Latte
- Caramelized Macadamia Oat Latte
Starbucks Oat Milk FAQs
Oat milk is a relatively new addition to the Starbucks menu (a couple of years), so read on if you have a few questions.
Conclusion
Oat milk is here to stay, and Starbucks has it well-entrenched in its menu. It may not be the healthiest choice because almond milk has fewer calories, and oat milk has higher sugar content.
But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and go without milk altogether. Oat milk is still a better ethical choice than dairy when you need your Starbucks fix for the day.
Resources:
https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2022/top-3-things-to-know-about-starbucks-new-oat-latte-platform/
https://www.oatly.com/stuff-we-make/oat-drink/oat-drink-barista-edition-1l
https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Whole_milk_by_Borden_Dairy_Company_420353_nutritional_value.html#:~:text=Whole%20milk%20by%20Borden%20Dairy%20Company%20contains%20149%20calories%20per,the%20rest%20is%20complex%20carbohydrate
https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/coconut-milk-or-cream-(liquid-canned)?portionid=35347&portionamount=1.000
https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/soy-milk?portionid=37706&portionamount=1.000
https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/milk-almond?portionid=342497&portionamount=1.000&frc=True