Will Someone Please Just Tell Me WTF to Put in My Coffee?
Recently, Twitter users turned against oat milk (proving that you really never know who will be canceled next!). Citing an almost year-old deep-dive specifically calling out the popular brand Oatly, this article calls oat milk the “new Coke,” stating the company masquerades as a so-called healthy alternative to dairy (and other nondairy) milks, but is essentially sugar water cut with oil, and a “bad” choice when it comes to creamy beverages.
The article compares Oatly’s marketing strategy—its splashiest slogan being “it’s like milk but made for humans”—to Sugar Association ads from the 1970s (“only 18 calories per teaspoon, and it’s all energy”); 1930s cigarette brands (“give your throat a break”); and Coca-Cola’s 2009 “open happiness” campaign, the article launches into a very spooky breakdown of the science behind the oat milk. Essentially, during Oatly’s oat-liquefaction process, enzymes convert oat starch to a high-glycemic-index-ranking sugar, and rapeseed, or canola, oil is used as an emulsifier. The result is Oatly’s particularly velvety texture and non-watery flavor, both of which I personally count as wins when it comes to nondairy milk.