Milkadamia Macadamia Milk Is...

 (This is cross-posted from my blog about CKD)

 After trying cashew milk - and dang near going broke in doing so - I wanted to try yet another non-dairy milk. I found some macadamia milk from Milkadamia. They had some different flavor/blend choices on Amazon:

• Original
• Unsweetened
• Barista (sweetened)
• Barista (unsweetened)
• Vanilla
• Veggnog Macadamia

Since I hate regular eggnog, the macadamia version made me shudder just to think of it. The Original and Unsweetened were a bit confusing. I mean, is the Original sweet or not? Why don't they label the Original as sweetened or not?

My natural inclination was to go for the Vanilla. I know that the only soy milk I like is the vanilla kind. However, the Milkadamia Vanilla was pricier - running from the mid-30s to over 50 dollars. It might be cheaper to buy some unicorn milk...

I ended up choosing the sweetened Barista version. 

The unsweetened version has 
a red label

Notice that the label doesn't say this is "Sweetened"... I figured out that instead of saying "Sweetened" on their labels, Milkadamia will prominently label the unsweetened version and use a different label color. Child, just say it already!

Most of the reviews mentioned that the Barista is the best-tasting in coffee. And, let's face it, I'm looking for something to use mainly in coffee. I have got to replace the sugary-wonderful Sweet Italian creamer that I'm so in love with.

This stuff sure isn't cheap. I paid about 30 bucks for a pack of 6 32-ounce shelf-stable cartons. Actually, when I started to think about the per-ounce price (less than $0.15) and the more positive-than-dairy effects on my health, it was worth at least trying.

Okay. So. How does this stuff taste?

In coffee, it's not bad. It softens the coffee taste, which is nice, but there is zero sweetness. And I mean none. Dentists must hate this stuff. I really think I will have to find a single carton of the vanilla to see if it's better. 

By the way, there are pros and cons to this brand, depending on your own situation. Looking closer at the labels once I received the shipment, I realized that there are some additives that aren't great. But, again, it all depends on where you are in your health.

sounds good - so far

Until you look closer...

Not bad because I use this by the tablespoon.
Cup by cup though, watch out for those minerals

And these additives are not as prominently
displayed on most retail sites

Like all the other non-dairy options I've tried so far, macadamia milk doesn't have much of the whitening effect I like from a creamer. It's such a visual thing for me with coffee, I guess. I found the only white cups I have to show what a half cup of dark roast coffee looks like before and after adding a tablespoon of the macadamia milk.

Flat black

Tablespoon of macadamia

You can see how watery this product is.

I made a smoothie with the macadamia milk and, again, not bad but... so bland. It's as if there is no weight to this milk. Dairy milk has more of a "fullness" to it, whereas this milk is the same weight as water, in my opinion. Come to think of it, that was the same thing missing with the rice and cashew milk. I think that I will try adding a couple of tablespoons of Greek yogurt next time.

Pretty but... bland

Since I have 5 more cartons of this stuff and I can't afford to be wasteful, I will be cooking with the macadamia milk. I have already tried it in overnight oats and it was decent - watery but decent-tasting. I mean, oatmeal is already so bland. I did find that in using the macadamia milk, I didn't need to add any sugar. It was the same with the cashew milk so I guess there must be some sweetness to these nut milks (And because I have a filthy and somewhat sinful mind, just saying "nut milk" makes me crack up every time! I must be hearing a Chris Rock in my head.)

I have an idea that adding a little butter to macadamia and cashew milk mile give a boost to the flavor and texture. I know that I always loved using ghee in my coffee back when I was on the bullet-coffee train. Butter is another thing in the dairy family I have to limit but I won't need much to bump up the flavor and weight in a cup of coffee.

Anyway, that's how my experience is going so far with macadamia milk. If I had to  I'd rank macadamia, cashew, rice, and soy (vanilla), for overall taste, it would be:

1. Soy vanilla
2. Rice
3. Macadamia
4. Cashew

For use in my coffee:

1. Rice
2. Soy vanilla
3. Macadamia
4. Cashew

For use in smoothies:

1. Soy vanilla
2. Cashew
3. Macadamia

By the way, I probably will not ever drink cashew milk again. I think I mentioned in another post that it seemed to be irritating my skin. My face became itchy the first day and was trying to break out. I never have problems with my skin even though it's sensitive. I couldn't use any of my moisturizers and had to pat my face down with water and honey every few hours. Very weird. After I stopped drinking it, my skin started to calm down after about a day. I had about half of the one (almost-8-dollar) carton so I gave it to my neighbor. I warned her about what it did to my skin but she hasn't reported any problems.

I'm going to have to ask around about coconut milk creamers. ..

Peace

--Free