Let me save you from the suffering that is an incorrectly prepared coffee on soy.
"Did you stir it sufficiently?" Quizzed the Star Wars obsessed man.
A Very Good Evening to You, My Dearest Steemians!
Soy milk’s role in a lactose intolerant person’s life is essential. If you’re a vegan, it’s even more pivotal. If you’re a coffee–loving vegan, soy milk is as important as the fundamental building blocks of life itself of which soy is abundant (amino acids, man). All this is just dandy, but is completely lost on those espresso-sipping types who think that the addition of anything other than boiling water to coffee is sacrilegious. We can’t please everyone.
An oddity exists when it comes to how to correctly prepare a coffee that contains soy milk as the ‘whitening agent’ for this earthy beverage. Who would have thought adding milk to coffee would require any form of thought other than, ‘pour it in and don’t spill it’?
I can hear you crying out,
“Tell me what the problem is!”
I’ll tell you. But you have to promise to walk away treating soy milk differently. She’s a delicate lady who deserves to be treated as nothing less. Now, while countless aficionados will pipe in and start rambling on about their expertise behind a twenty thousand dollar custom built espresso machine housed within their 1960’s VW Kombi van decked out as a mobile coffee-making oasis, this is for the home user. I don’t care that you have an espresso machine at home. I don’t, and millions of others don’t either. This is for us pathetic paupers who rely on instant coffee. GASP. Get over yourself.
Now that we have the insufferable coffee-nuts sufficiently enraged, on to business. Hoorah!
I’ve always known pretty much since I began my life as a vegan, that adding soy milk to coffee needed to be done in a special way. Stir it immediately.
That’s it. What a reveal. You’re wondering why you bothered reading this far.
Interestingly, my scientific brain (yes, I’m actually a trained scientist. Who’d have guess it with all the snide remarks and personality, right?), got me to wondering why on earth soy milk curdles if you don’t stir it reasonably soon after it’s added. Some form of protein agglomeration or precipitation? What triggers it and most importantly, how can it be avoided.
Well, I set out with good intentions. I boiled the kettle and set to work. The idea was to make a comparison that went something like this:
- Room temperature water and one teaspoon of coffee, pouring room temperature soy milk in gently and not stirring.
- Room temperature water and one teaspoon of coffee, pouring room temperature soy milk in gently and stirring normally as soon as it has been poured.
- Room temperature water and one teaspoon of coffee, pouring refrigerated soy milk in gently and stirring normally as soon as it has been poured.
- Boiled water and one teaspoon of coffee, pouring refrigerated soy milk in gently and stirring normally as soon as soon as it has been poured.
- Boiled water and one teaspoon of coffee, pouring refrigerated soy milk in gently and not stirring.
- Boiled water and one teaspoon of coffee, pouring chilled soy milk from an additional 15 minutes in the freezer in gently and not stirring.
..So you can see how absolutely tedious this whole process was going to be and this is by no means an exhaustive way I could have gone about this. I implore you to try this out yourself and tell me how it goes.
So the factors at play were numerous –
- Water temperature;
- Milk temperature;
- Stirring (or not).
My hypothesis was pretty down the line:
Not stirring soy milk upon addition to a prepared brew of coffee will result in coagulation of the soy proteins resulting in a disgusting cup of Joe.
What actually happened during my experiment
I made one gross coffee and very little science was done this day, friends.
Instant coffee in the cup. Check
Boiling water added. Check
Pour the soy milk in gently. Check
Ick. Let the expected coagulation commence!
I threw out all options and decided that I was just going to try a fresh trial and add chilled soy milk after fifteen minutes in the freezer. This is not what fifteen minutes in the freezer does. I completely forgot I had it in there. Cold, soy soap bar anyone?
Stir your soy, people! If you think this is gross, try adding almond milk and post your comments below.
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If RESTEEMING is your bag, don't let me stop you. Do your thing!
All the best,
Nick
Acknowledgements
Latte Art Guide
http://www.latteartguide.com/2013/05/how-to-make-an-excellent-espresso-shot.html
All content is original.