Cover Oatside oat milk (Photo: Instagram / @oatside)

This list is highly researched, not sponsored and 100 per cent honest, trust me

Two years ago, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease that inflames your digestive tract and leads to pain, fatigue, diarrhoea and more. As a major foodie (and occasional food writer), this was terrifying for me because suddenly, I had to pay very close attention to my diet in order to figure out which foods triggered me and which were ‘safe’ foods. So many foods have gone out the window in the last few years but arguably the worst elimination I had to make was dairy. 

I could no longer manage cheese, yoghurt, my morning dose of Milo (this writer still does not drink coffee) or milk and I was devastated.

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At this point, I had already tried a number of almond milk brands in an attempt to substitute animal milk and I hated all of them equally and with just as much passion. This is really what depressed me the most. I couldn’t seem to find something that would adequately replace dairy (soy milk has a very different flavour profile) and figured that I would simply have to give up the pleasures of a cold glass of milk for good.

So, you can imagine my surprise when one day, someone bought me a carton of Alpro’s This Is Not Milk Whole oat milk and I tried it for the first time in my life. All it really took was a few sips for me to realise that the hype around almond milk at that point was unfounded. Oat milk deserves all the attention it has garnered over the years and I had no idea why it took me this long to figure it out. 

Of course, not all oat milk is made the same. This led me down a rabbit hole of searching for the best oat milk on the island. Since then, I have tried just about every brand of oat milk out there (and as you know, plant-based milk brands have been popping up left, right and centre as the world attempts to be more sustainable and healthy). 

However, plant-based milk is expensive and there’s nothing worse than buying a whole pricy carton only to realise that it tastes like watery milk soup with a bitter aftertaste to boot.

So below, I present to you, a very highly researched and extremely well thought out list of the worst to best oat milk brands and flavours on the island, ranked, for your experimentation. 

1. All Good Original Oat Milk

Rating: 1/10

All Good is a fairly new oat milk brand in Singapore that is dairy-free, soy-free and something that we are slowly starting to see in online supermarkets.

Unfortunately, and I want to be delicate here, I took one sip and immediately regretted it. The milk was watery (not as creamy as one would assume) and left the worst aftertaste.

I want to guess that perhaps this largely has to do with the fact that the milk is unsweetened? But as someone who recently quit dairy and is venturing into the world of oat milk, I say skip this for now. Hopefully, as the brand develops, its formulation will too. 

Buy it here.

2. Oatly Organic Oat Drink

Rating: 2/10

When I started my journey to finding the best oat milk in Singapore, one of the first ones I tried was Oatly Organic Oat Drink. The drink uses 100 per cent organic oats, no added sugar and has betaglucans, which are good for the heart and help to maintain cholesterol levels. 

I really wanted to like this one but the lack of sweetness made it a little difficult to swallow; it even tasted rather bitter and left a very grainy aftertaste. I do appreciate that it is healthier than some of my actual favourites on the list so if this is what you’re looking for... maybe, and this is a big maybe, this will suit you. 

Buy it here.

3. Oatly Oat Drink

Rating: 4/10

We have another Oatly carton here, people. As this is available almost everywhere, I was excited to be a fan—but I’ll be honest, it tasted almost like baby milk powder.

It was slightly grainy and left a slightly bitter aftertaste. That said, it isn’t the worst oat milk out there and in a pinch, I’d grab it in a convenience store if I really had no choice. Oat milk is not as prominent in our regular supermarkets as it should be so convenience sometimes really wins.

Buy it here.

4. Oatside's Chocolate Hazelnut Oat Milk

Rating: 5/10

Very few brands do chocolate-flavoured oat milk well, and many try to offer an extra option (such as chocolate hazelnut) when they really should not be making an existing problem worse (if you get what I mean).

However, Oatside (which, spoiler alert, is my personal favourite oat milk brand), nails it. Oatside, a brand that was launched in Singapore just last year, uses a blend of sustainably sourced Indonesian-African cacao beans and 100 per cent Turkish hazelnuts in their chocolate hazelnut oat milk. It also uses coconut palm nectar, so you get a light caramel taste that blends seamlessly with the nutty taste. 

The milk itself as a result has a deep flavour profile that doesn’t leave it tasting diluted or watery. Its only flaw would be that it does have a mild aftertaste, which I am not a fan of. That said, this is not altogether unpleasant like many brands are, so I will continue to patronise Oatside. 

Buy it here.

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5. Oatbedient's Chocolate Oat Milk

Rating: 7/10

As mentioned above, this writer does not drink coffee so for a very long time, I would rely on my warm cup of Milo in the morning to get me past that sleepy stage of the day. When I switched exclusively to oat milk, one major issue was that I no longer had the option of a warm drink in the mornings. If you didn’t know, while you can heat up oat milk, you have to do it very carefully because overheating it can change its consistency and make it very thick. Who has time for such a struggle in the morning?

So when I discovered Oatbedient, which is (according to my research) one of the newest local oat milk brands to have popped up in the market, I was thrilled. 

Oatbedient is unique because it comes in sachets. The milk is powdered and you only need to add hot water to make your beverage. The packets make it a fuss-free and easy way to prepare my morning drink especially when I have no time for breakfast and can just bring a sachet with me to make in the office.

The milk itself is not overly sweet and the malty flavour comes through very clearly without leaving a bitter aftertaste.

Buy it here.

6. Oatly's Chocolate Oat Milk

Rating: 8/10

Before my diagnosis, one of my favourite things to do on busy office days (or days when my social battery was dead), was to grab a sandwich and a little carton of milk from a nearby store and enjoy it in the office during lunchtime. 

Now as you probably know, it has really only been in the last few months that plant-based milk has been making its way into our convenience stores in smaller sized portions. For those who know, this path was paved primarily by Oatly.

Oatly was one of the first brands I saw that offered its chocolate and original flavour options in little boxes with sustainable paper straws. I have tried both flavours and will easily say that the chocolate version is much superior (as you can probably tell from my conclusion above that the original version tastes much like baby milk power).

The cocoa used in the drink is sustainably sourced and richly flavoured so you get a very smooth drink that isn’t grainy (yes, oat milk can be quite grainy). It also has that full-bodied taste you typically associate with regular chocolate milk. 

The little cartons always take me back to my childhood days when mini cartons of milk were a staple in my diet.

Buy it here.

7. Alpro This Is Not Milk Whole

Rating: 9/10

This is it. The oat milk that launched me into the world of oat milk. While Alpro is not number one on my list of favourites, it will always hold a special place in my heart for being my first. In fact, I am sipping a glass of Alpro as I write this (for research purposes, obviously).

I love Alpro This Is Not Milk Whole primarily for its taste that blends seamlessly with literally any other drink, instantly elevating the flavour profiles. 

The milk itself is nutty with savoury notes, rich, creamy and oh-so-delicious. If you are dairy-free and are missing cereal as I’ve heard many of my lactose-free friends say, this is what you need to try. It works perfectly with cereal, in powdered drinks and even on its own. 

There is also absolutely no aftertaste (a feat it would seem in the world of oat milk).

Buy it here.

8. Oatside Barista Blend

Rating: 10/10

It gives me great pride to very honestly say that Oatside Barista Blend ranks at the top of my list purely on taste alone. While I do enjoy the chocolate hazelnut option, the original version is truly a winner.

Besides the extremely adorable branding, Oatside’s original blend packs a punch tastewise. It is nutty, malty, rich and the flavours are striking on the palate. 

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It has no aftertaste (as all good oat milk should) and the best part is that I’ve noticed that it has the ability to elevate most drinks. I find that my typical powdered drinks taste so much better with Oatside and I love the savoury and slightly salty profile it brings to the table. This Barista Blend by Oatside also means you can use it in coffees. 

I also love that in just a year, Oatside has been able to offer its milk in most major supermarkets (and even cafes) which makes it very accessible, something that I, unfortunately, can’t say about the rest of the other brands on my list (with the exception of Oatly).

Buy it here.

9. Australia’s Own Unsweetened Organic Oat

Rating: 10/10

Drink it hot. Drink it cold. Drink it with coffee, Milo, whatever. This, I believe, is the perfect oat milk.

What stands out immediately with Australia’s Own unsweetened oat milk is how pleasantly sweet it is on the palate, mainly due to the natural sugars in these Australian ground wholegrain oats. The colour is closer to a light beige than pure white, which is wonderfully nutty and creamy with little aftertaste, making it a far superior alternative to cow’s milk in lattes. I could drink litres of this stuff. 

What I love about this product besides its taste is its commitment to sustainability in its organic farming practices, as well as its Forest Stewardship Council-certified recyclable packaging. Say what you want about ethical consumption under capitalism, but I like to make choices as an individual consumer that support what I believe in. 

10. Oatbedient Oat Milk

Rating: 5/10

The second Oatbedient offering on this list is its original oat milk. At first I had my doubts—how good can powder sachet drinks be?—and while that wasn’t entirely true, I wasn’t proven wrong either. 

The milk is fairly creamy and thick, but its added sugar, which is still 30 percent lower in sugar compared to other malted or oat beverages according to Oatbedient, produces a sweetness that has the potential to become cloying. The level of malt extract makes this drink taste more like Horlicks than oat milk, which makes me feel like this should have been marketed as something else entirely rather than ‘oat milk’. What I do like is Oatbedient’s commitment to no preservatives, GMOs and artificial flavouring, but that should probably be the bare minimum. 

When left out there’s a strange and unsightly film on the top. Would not put this in a coffee.

11. UFC Velvet Oat Milk

Rating: 7/10

When I saw that this oat milk won the Superior Taste Award at the International Taste Institution in 2020, I had high expectations. Honestly? They were met. 

On the nose, it’s nutty and malty, and it’s just sweet enough on the palate to make it worthy of drinking on its own. The only comment that I have is that it is a little watery, with only a little of the creaminess that I experienced with some of the other oat milks I tested—not quite the velvety texture I would have expected from a product titled “Velvet Oat Milk”.

12. 137 Degrees Real Oat Milk Original

Rating: 9/10

Now this is a strange one. Immediately on sight one I could see it’s a lighter shade of cream that I’m used to. On the nose and the palate, you get that lovely rich oat flavour, but it’s rivaled strongly by the taste of barley. A closer look at the ingredients tells me that there’s not just oat milk, but Job’s tears—or Adlay millet—is blended into the mix. Honestly? I’m into it. It’s smooth with a hint of fibrousness from the Adlay, with just a touch of salt to uplift the inherent sweetness of the oats and the millet. The texture is rich and creamy with a pleasant, lingering mouthfeel.  


This story was first published on June 3, 2022, and updated on May 17, 2023. Additional reporting by Ethan Kan.

 

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