Why does almond milk cause coffee to curdle?

Yikes, Coffee Floaters! Has this happened to you if you use a different type of milk?

So not too long ago I’m stirring a new cup and don’t really notice anything, just going on about my business as usual but I look down and what do I see? WTH….weird funky looking floaters :

 

Boy was I having to rack my brain that one for a moment….For the most part, yes, I did continue to drink it (begrudgingly) but the sight of something really funky like that might make you not want to….The taste was not changed one iota.

And then I had my a-ha moment. I checked to see what kind of creamer I was using. I always get that Nestle Coffee Mate, seems the palate of flavors is always stretching…but this time….I had picked up one made with almond milk.

Now here’s the deal…I buy almond milk quite regularly. I like it because it tastes great and doesn’t have all those bad hormones present. But I don’t usually pour it into my coffee.

Turns out that people who use almond or soy milk in their coffee have the same scenario….little curdles showing up. So it appeared I was in good company.

Why does almond milk curdle in coffee in the first place?

As it turns out with some research….Not being a dairy product per se, when these types of milks (especially being cold) hit a hot beverage like coffee with a certain acidity, it causes curdles to form.

Does it change the scenario if you warm the milk first? From what I heard, not so much for soy milk, yes, somewhat for almond. Rice, I’m not sure about since I don’t think I have ever tried rice milk.

Needless to say, I went back to my usual dairy creamer and haven’t had the floaters since. Just goes to show you that you learn something new every day.