When I was in Japan as an exchange student, I struggled to find the daily cup of good coffee, because our dorm didn’t have a coffee maker and the canned coffee of the vending machine was…interesting, to say the least. Amidst of drinking my Nescafe instant coffee, I discovered the iced lattes they sell in 24-hour convenience stores. After giving a trial run for several different types, I settled with the double espresso latte labeled as “bitter”. It had milk in it, sure, but not too much.
Since my return, I have been relentlessly searching for a similar type of iced coffee in Finland. Because I want to support vegan products (and because my stomach doesn’t really appreciate milk), I often sport this random craving for vegan milk lattes. Naturally, the ready iced coffee industry is not that great here, but there still seems to be an ever-growing selection of vegan oat drinks that are at least flavored with coffee. I tried each one I could find and listed some basic info and my thoughts on them, so get yourselves ready for the Great Oat Latte Comparison!
For some of the drinks I was able to find the quantity of caffeine they sport, but for some only the share of coffee in the product. Note that you cannot always deduce the amount of caffeine from the amount of coffee, since the drinks are prepared differently (they can use ground or ready extracted coffee). There might be variation on the price of the products depending on the store you buy them in.
Oatly! Cold Brew Latte
- Price approx. 1.99–2.45 €/ 235 ml
- 100 % vegan, without milk or soya, oat 8 %, (cold brew) coffee 30 %, sugar 2.5 %
- Caffeine 65 mg/ 100 ml
- Added calcium
Most vegan lattes are very sweet, and this coffee by the super popular Swedish brand is no exception. However, it is not the sweetest, and there is a slightly bitter aftertaste. Out of the products in this comparison, Oatly! has the most added sugar in it. The taste is somewhat watery and not very strong. The drink leaves somewhat greasy and slippery feeling in your mouth, like oat milk often does. The taste of oat is recognizable, more so than the coffee, which can be mostly tasted in the aftertaste. This one has a lot of caffeine in it, so if you need a boost, this is your go-to-product.
Oatly! Latte has a recyclable paper carton package with a cool design.
Oatly! Organic Mocha Latte
- Price 1.99–2.45 €/ 235 ml
- 100 % vegan, without milk or soya, oat 10 %, (extracted) coffee 2,8 %, sugar 2,5 %, cocoa powder 0,4 %
- Caffeine 34 mg/ 100 ml
Compared to the other Oatly! product on the list, or a mocha latte ordered in a coffee shop, this one has barely any coffee in it. It’s mostly just mocha, but it can still taste good, if you are a fan of mocha.
Tastes a bit like Valio’s good old milk coffee (remember?), but less milky and slightly more bitter. It has a nice touch of chocolate and somewhat greasy texture, so it may be a good choice for those who like cocoa or chocolate coffee but not too sweet a taste.
Talking of taste, it is oat-like, slightly richer than Oatly! Cold brew latte.
Even though it doesn’t taste that much like coffee, it must be thought of as a latte – as a milk cocoa it would probably not be the best, as friends of cocoa might be looking for an even richer, chocolaty taste.
Paulig Frezza Oat Latte
- Price approx. 1.69–2.15 €/ 235 ml
- 100 % vegan, without soya, oat 11%, espresso coffee 9,5 %, cane sugar 1,9 %
- Caffeine 40 mg/100 ml
When served cold, the taste is nicely fresh and has a bit more ‘punch’ to it than Oatly!. The taste of oat is still strongly recognizable, especially in the aftertaste that leaves a greasy feeling surface in your mouth. All in all, the taste is rather sweet, but opinions about the aftertaste might vary strongly, as it has a slight bitter taste that reminds melted sugar.
This one is for the aficionados of sweet & strong taste. Paulig Frezza Oat is packed in a fresh-looking white package that can be recycled with paper carton.
Yosa Oat Drink Coffee (Fazer)
- Price: approx. 1.39–1,45 €/ 150 ml
- 100 % vegan, soy-free, 14 % oat, 0,6 % coffee
- No added sugar, contains naturally occurring sugars only 10 g/ 100 g
Yosa drinks are made of Finnish oat in Austria. The taste is milky and surprisingly coffee-like; the drink has an aftertaste reminiscent of coffee caramels but might also leave a strong oat-like taste in your mouth. You can taste that it hasn’t as much sugar as the other options but is still sweet the way oat milk usually is. This one might work well as a snack, it has also added calcium and vitamin D. Cute little paper carton package with “Nordic design” that can be recycled with paper carton.
Planti Oat Latte
- Price approx. 1,49 €/ 250 ml
- 100 % vegan, soy-free, oatmeal 8,8 % + added oat fiber, (ground) coffee 0,6 %
- No added sugar, contains naturally occurring sugars only 5,1 g/ 100 g
Planti Oat Latte is made in Finland. Some of the profits from Planti products go to research and humanitarian projects, read more on www.kavlitrust.com.
For the lovers of coffee, this one tastes the best so far, it has the unmistakable taste of roasted coffee, and probably tastes most like traditional ice coffee out of the ones on this list. The taste of oat is also slightly milder than on the other products on the list, but you can still feel the greasy texture of oat milk. The overall taste is still not very strong. The drink needs to be shook very well, because the coffee tends to form sediment on the base of the carton.
There is also a Mocha version of the drink, called Planti Oat Mocha. The package is maybe not quite as cute or stylish as the other packages but can be recycled with paper carton.
My personal second.
Löfbergs Ice Coffee Oat-Based
- Price approx. 1,85 €/ 230 ml
- 100 % vegan, soy-free, oat 11 %, (extracted) coffee 2,6 %
- No added sugar, contains naturally occurring sugars only 4,8 g/ 100 ml
This Ice coffee by the Swedish Löfsbergs is quite difficult to find, but if you do, give it a taste! For it tastes completely different from the other items on this list. The secret of its slightly saltier flavor is sea salt. The taste of oat is there, but it is rather subdued compared to the others. If you are a friend of coffee, I recommend Löfsbergs, for it has a slightly bitter and clearly coffee-like taste. The package is very stylish, and you can easily recognize the vegan option by its green color and can be recycled as paper/paper carton.
My personal winner.
Currently, Löfbergs oat-based ice coffee is the kind of coffee drink that reminds me the most about my favorite beverage in Japan and is vegan. I hope you will find your personal favorite too, and that we will see new improved products in the stores soon! The quest continues…
