Starbucks Milk Options UK Oat, Soya, Almond & Coconut

Oat is the most ordered and the most forgiving. It foams thickly enough for a cappuccino, it holds its texture against ice where skimmed dairy thins out, and its slight sweetness sits under matcha in a way dairy does not. If you only learn one swap, learn this one.

Soya carries the most protein of the plant options, which matters on a drink meant to hold you until lunch. Its weakness is acidity: it can split against a very hot or very acidic drink, though the barista versions Starbucks uses are formulated against that.

Almond is the lightest and the least useful for texture. It foams poorly and thins out quickly, so it suits an Americano with a splash more than a flat white.

Coconut brings its own flavour, which is either the point or the problem. It works with the tropical and fruit builds and fights a straightforward espresso drink. It also carries more saturated fat than the other plant milks, which surprises people: coconut oil is over 80 percent saturated.

The clearest demonstration on the whole menu is the pair of drinks built on identical espresso. An Americano at 11 calories and a latte at 151 differ only in what fills the cup.

That means the two levers on calories are the size and the milk, in that order. A Tall instead of a Grande latte takes it from 151 to 124 without touching the coffee, since the shot count holds at two.

Iced drinks are lighter than hot ones for the same reason. An Iced Caffè Latte at 128 sits under the hot version, because ice occupies space milk would otherwise fill.

Two things on the menu stay dairy whatever milk you order. The mocha and caramel sauces contain milk, and whipped cream has no plant based version, so a fully vegan build rules those out rather than substituting them.

That is why the vegan menu lists no hot or iced drinks at all. Drinks are built with dairy as standard, so none carries a vegan label by default even though almost all of them can be made vegan on request.