Califia Farms Almond Unsweetened Vanilla Review

Since learning about the incredible health benefits of Matcha green tea, I’ve been making it my mission to find a way of including it my daily diet. Unfortunately, I’ve never enjoyed drinking green tea, or any tea without milk, so I figured that turning my green matcha powder into a matcha latte would be the way to go.

I’ve read some lovely recipes for vanilla or almond milk matcha lattes so I started searching for alternative almond milks that I haven’t yet tried.

There has been an explosion in the range of non dairy milks lately, so it wasn’t difficult finding alternatives to dairy. One of the latest to hit the supermarket shelves is made by Califia Farms. They have two different almond-based drinks: Unsweetened Almond (16 calories per 100ml) and Unsweetened Almond Vanilla (17 calories per 100ml).

I was initially drawn to these milks by their distinctive retro style bottle shapes. They really stand out on the self and look very appealing. Unsweetened vanilla sounded perfect, exactly what I was looking for to make my vanilla almond matcha lattes.

I was pleased to see this alternative to dairy milk has only 17 calories per 100ml and doesn’t contain any sweeteners.

The bottle makes clear reference to the fact that the contents are dairy free, gluten free, vegan, kosher, carrageenan free and non-GMA while the bottle is BPA free. The almond milk has also been fortified with calcium at a level greater than that found in most dairy milk with 190mg per 100ml rather than the usual 120mg per 100ml. It will keep for 7 days in the fridge after opening. Bonus points all round.

On the downside, the reason for the low calorie content is mainly down to the fact that the almonds make up a mere 2.3% of the ingredients. Also the calcium is calcium carbonate which isn’t the best form to be absorbed by the body. Because the ingredients are mainly water, it also has thickeners to create more of a milk texture.

This dairy free vanilla almond milk had a slight detectible scent of vanilla and quite a mild almond flavour. It was quite thin despite the thickeners. What I also wanted was the ability to froth well for my lattes. Sadly, this milk didn’t achieve much if anything in the way of froth.

I wasn’t overwhelmed by this milk. As a drink on it's own, it was quite nice. But for my latte, the vanilla wasn’t strong enough and it was a little thin and watery for my liking.

It is expensive at around £2.40 for 750ml so I'm unlikely to be purchasing this particular variety in the future as there are others I prefer.

Also in the Califia Farms range (see above), are two espresso based coffee drinks: Califia Farms XX Espresso Cold Brew Coffee with Almond 750ml (34 calories per 100ml) and Califia Farms Unsweetened Black & White Cold Brew Coffee with Almond 750ml (19 calories per 100ml).

Nutrition per 100ml: 17 Calories, 1.3g fat, 0.1g saturated fat, 0.8g carbs, 0.1g sugars, 0.3g fibre,0.5g protein, 0.18g salt. Calcium 190mg

Ingredients: Water, Almonds (Nuts) (2.3%), Flavourings, Calcium Carbonate, Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithin), Sea Salt, Acidity Regulator (Potassium Citrate), Stabilisers (Locust Bean Gum, Gellan Gum).

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