The consumption of both plant-based milk and CBD is growing rapidly across the world at the moment.
A 2021 study by The Good Food Institute claims that 41% of US households primarily drink plant-based milk over dairy and that 26% of Americans have tried CBD more than once.
Combine this with the enduring popularity of coffee and this naturally raises the question of how to best pair plant-based milk with CBD infused coffee.
Here we are going to go through how to explain how to best combine plant-based milk with CBD coffee to maximize both the coffee’s flavor and health benefits.
Why Pair Plant Based Milk with CBD Coffee?
Putting the potential ethical and environmental reasons to avoid dairy aside for a minute, here are some of the ways that plant-based milk can help elevate the health benefits of CBD coffee:
- Switching to plant-based milk can enhance CBD’s anti-inflammatory effects: Almost all plant-based milk contain significantly less fat than dairy milk. Consuming saturated fat can cause inflammation which can detract from the CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore CBD coffee mixed with plant-based milk can be better for fighting inflammation than CBD coffee with dairy milk.
- Plant-based milk can enhance CBD’s positive effects on mood and concentration: Dairy milk contains far more sugar than plant-based milk. Excessive sugar consumption can cause mood swings and impair concentration. This again means that combining CBD coffee with plant-based milk can maximize its positive effects on concentration compared to dairy milk.
Which Plant-Based Milks are Best for CBD Coffee?
The best plant-based milk to have with CBD coffee depends on a few factors. They are:
- Your CBD coffee blend and the specific health benefit that you want to get from it.
- Your brewing style and the type of coffee that you want to make.
- The milk’s curdle point, both in terms of pH and temperature.
As mentioned earlier, the quantity of fat and sugar in the milk you put in your CBD coffee can directly impact any health and well-being benefits that you can derive from it.
The table below shows the quantity of fat and sugar in the most popular plant-based milk. I’ve also included their protein content and curdle points, as this will be important when we talk about frothing milk.
| Type of Milk | Sugar Content | Fat Content | Protein Content | Curdle Point (pH) | Curdle Point (temperature) |
| Dairy | 5% | 2.5% | 3.5% | 4.5 | 180 Fahrenheit |
| Soy | 0.4% | 1.7% | 3% | 5.5 | 150 Fahrenheit |
| Oat | 7% | 1% | 1.5% | 5 | 160 Fahrenheit |
| Almond | 0.5% | 1.25% | 0.5% | 5 | 160 Fahrenheit |
| Cashew | 1.25% | 4.5% | 1.9% | 5 | 150 Fahrenheit |
| Coconut | 3.3% | 2.4% | 2.3% | 4 | 150 Fahrenheit |
| Rice | 5% | 1% | 0.1% | 5.5 | 140 Fahrenheit |
| Pea | 0% | 2% | 3.5% | <4 | 170 Fahrenheit |
| Hemp | 2% | 2.6% | 0% | 5.5 | 160 Fahrenheit |
If you are drinking CBD coffee for its mental health benefits, such as for relaxation or concentration, then I would recommend taking it with either almond milk or pea milk.
These three kinds of milk have very low sugar content, so will not clash with the mental health benefits of CBD coffee. I’d particularly recommend pairing these three kinds of milk with our Productivity Coffee and Relaxation Decaf Coffee.
If you are drinking CBD coffee for its anti-inflammatory properties, then I’d recommend taking it with oat milk or almond milk. These are two of the lowest-fat plant-based milk and therefore shouldn’t negate the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD coffee.
I wouldn’t recommend using soy milk or rice milk with coffee of any kind because these two kinds of milk curdle at a pH of 5.5. Coffee typically has a pH of just under 5, so adding these milk to coffee can cause it to split and develop an unpleasant graininess.
Frothing Milk for Lattes
If you want to make frothed milk for espresso-based drinks like latte and cappuccino with your CBD coffee, then you need milk that is high in protein and fat.
Oat milk is by far your best option here and the only plant-based milk that will froth comparably to dairy milk.
Barista oat milk is becoming increasingly available and really does froth to a similar standard as dairy milk. Just be aware that barista milk contains a lot of added seed oils which may undo some of the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD.
What About Hemp Milk?
Hemp milk is pretty middling in terms of its fat and sugar content compared to other plant-based milk. So while it’s a decent option to have with CBD coffee, it is neither the best option to maximize CBD’s psychological nor physiological benefits.
That being said, it has a nice neutral flavor that goes well with coffee and it’s not going to curdle or split when you add it to a hot drink. In short, it’s not the worst option, but not the best option either.
Hemp milk only has trace amounts of protein in it, so it is not going to froth up at all. I wouldn’t recommend it for making lattes and other milk-based espresso drinks.
Summing Up
The best plant-based milk to have with CBD coffee depends on what positive effects you want to get from the drink.
If you are drinking CBD coffee for relaxation or enhanced concentration then you want to go for a low sugar milk. Your best options here are almond milk or pea milk.
If you are primarily looking for anti-inflammatory effects then you want low-fat milk. Oat milk is your best option here. Oat milk is also the best plant-based milk for frothed coffee drinks like lattes and cappuccinos because of its high protein content.
Hemp milk doesn’t contain too much fat or sugar, so is a good all-rounder to have with CBD coffee.
If you are interested in trying CBD-infused coffee, please take a look at our CBD coffee series.