Looking to change up your iced coffee routine? Here’s a recipe that swaps out sugar and milk in your coffee for a slight twist! Honey and oat milk pair perfectly together, making an amazing iced latte.

It’s easy to make and find the ingredients as well. Here’s how to make a delicious iced honey oat milk latte!

What is Oat Milk?

Oat milk is plant-based milk made from oats and water. It’s naturally vegan, has a creamy texture, and a mild, neutral flavor.

Two Swedish brothers invented oat milk in 1994 as an alternative for people with lactose intolerance, and they eventually opened up the now-famous brand Oatly.

But oat milk didn’t become the global popstar it is until it launched in the States in 2016 and is now a beloved alternative milk for millions worldwide.

Is Oat Milk Good for You?

This is a hot topic in the alternative milk community, as some oat milk brands have a high starch content and a lot of added sugars. Those claims aren’t necessarily wrong, as oat milk tends to have more added sugars than other alternative milk.

However, health is always a very personal subject; what is healthy for one person can be unhealthy for another.

In terms of oat milk, it doesn’t have a negative health impact for most people. However, people who have diabetes or need to be cautious about their blood sugar levels should be more careful about consuming oat milk regularly.

According to this article by Vox, oat milk has a medium glycemic index, which means it doesn’t cause your blood sugar levels to spike rapidly, but not slowly, either. And per serving, a cup of oat milk can have anywhere from 15-22 g of total carbohydrates.

What’s the Best Oat Milk Brand?

This is purely based off of taste, but I have never found another oat milk quite as good as Oatly. Specifically, the Oatly Barista Blend. It’s creamy, smooth, and just glorious.

Another favorite that comes very close to Oatly is Planet Oat. Their oat milk is just as creamy and delicious but has fewer added sugars than Oatly.

I’ve also tried Minor Figures oat milk (and I really wanted to love it), but it’s just not as creamy, and it has a weird taste.

Other brands include Califia Farms, Elmhurst (which I hear is a very pure oat milk), and Kirkland. I’ve not tried any of those, but I’m interested in trying it in the future!

How to Make Your Own Oat Milk

You can also make your own oat milk at home! It’s the easiest way to know what is in your oat milk and a fun activity. Plus, it’s really cheap to make and will save you from spending $5 per 1.5 liter of oat milk.

For homemade oat milk, soak a half cup or full cup of rolled oats in water until absorbed. Then, add your oats and 3 to 4 times the amount of oats in water to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain and add sweetener or flavorings until you get the desired product.

Like any homemade recipe, you can tweak it to your taste. For creamier oat milk, use more oats and less water. Use more water or less oats for a thinner oat milk.

Some people like adding a pinch of salt to help bring out the flavor or vanilla extract for vanilla oat milk.

What’s an Iced Latte?

An iced latte is a coffee beverage made with ice, milk, and a concentrated shot of coffee called espresso. It’s often misunderstood as being flavored milk, but it’s not!

Espresso is a very concentrated coffee that is really strong and flavorful. On average, 1 oz of espresso has 60-80 mg of caffeine.

If you drink the espresso by itself, which people do often, it has a very bitter and strong taste. Adding it to milk or water helps balance the flavor and makes consuming it more enjoyable.

So, no, a latte isn’t just coffee-flavored milk; it’s a smooth and strong coffee drink that is flavorful and delicious.

How to Make an Iced Latte

For an iced latte, you need ice, milk, and 1-2 shots of espresso.

You can make espresso using an at-home espresso machine, which you can find ranging from $50 to upwards of $2000. You can pull one or two shots of espresso, depending on how strong you want your drink.

Making espresso is notoriously challenging and has a significant learning curve. You have to grind the beans a certain way, weigh and fill your espresso basket, and practice extracting the espresso. It’s a fun hobby and process, but not everyone wants to spend time doing it or investing in a machine.

Espresso Hack: You can go to your local coffee shop and ask for espresso shots on their own. Then, you can use them in your own drinks at home. But tbh, if you’re already at a cafe, you’ll probably want to pay for them to make an iced latte, haha. You can also use coffee concentrates as well.

Do You Need Espresso?

You don’t really need espresso for iced lattes, although that is the ideal form of coffee. If you don’t have espresso, you can always substitute it for other forms of strong coffee.

For example, you can make a very strong concentrated coffee using a Moka pot or Aeropress. You could even use instant coffee!

As long as you make some sort of coffee concentrate, you can use that in your iced latte.

Tips

Here are some tips on how to make the perfect iced honey oat milk latte:

• To froth oat milk, you can use a French press, handheld frother, electric frother, or even shake it in a jar. This helps make a nice, frothy texture.
• If you make your own oat milk, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge, and it will stay fresh for 3-4 days. Because of its relatively short shelf-life, it’s best to make it in small batches.
• Add a tiny pinch of salt when you dissolve the honey with water! It will help bring out the sweetness in your coffee.
• You can also make this hot!