Soy Milk - Vanilla or Regular?

[crema123]

I'm getting quite a few Americans requesting Soy nowadays, and I'm speaking with some of the suppliers to bring in some soy milk.

Do most of your customers like regular or vanilla soy? I just don't want to have a nightmare of stocking 2 types of soy milk. I understand it's shelf stable, but it's hard to get soy here and don't want the hassle of having 2 kinds. I figure if someone wants a vanilla soy latte or some *$(#$ like that, I can put in a shot of vanilla...

Any recommendations?

 

[caffe biscotto]

Good question.

I think you're right, stock regular soy, then add vanilla separately if its requested.

 

[quantumparticle]

Vanilla Soy

At my cafe we served Vanilla Soy. From my experience, the majority of those who drink soy or request them in their drinks are expecting Vanilla. Doesn''t detract from the taste of the beverages, and for a vanilla flavored drink you still need your vanilla syrup. It just has a better overall taste and mouth feel.

 

[Coffeeexpert]

I'm lactose intolerant and my favorite brand of soy milk is Silk Vanilla. You don't taste the vanilla, it somehow makes the soy milk taste more like real milk.

 

[morrisn]

We stock regular soy only, any flavoring is done with syrup. We find the the people that are health conscious and want soy, do not want the sweetness associated with flavored soy.

 

[Randy G.]

I'm getting quite a few Americans requesting Soy nowadays, and I'm speaking with some of the suppliers to bring in some soy milk.

I hae been drinking soymilk for some 25 or 30 years now. Plain is not very palatable, while the vanilla is quite tasty. While the Silk brand is very tasty, for latte art I personally have found it fairly close to worthless. it ends up with good rich stiff foam and milk with little ability to do latte art. The Kirkland brand does latte art fairly well even tough I believe it is made by Silk. Pacific Foods makes a line of soymilk specifically made for use in steaming for espresso beverages. I think they are called soy blenders. The point is that some do better stretched than others, so before committing to a brand, investigate how they work for you.

You may be able to contact Pacific Foods directly (iirc, they are in Oregon, USA) and have them send you samples, or at least get you in contact with a distributor who should be able to do so.

 

[ElPugDiablo]

I'm getting quite a few Americans requesting Soy nowadays, and I'm speaking with some of the suppliers to bring in some soy milk.

I hae been drinking soymilk for some 25 or 30 years now. Plain is not very palatable, while the vanilla is quite tasty. While the Silk brand is very tasty, for latte art I personally have found it fairly close to worthless. it ends up with good rich stiff foam and milk with little ability to do latte art. The Kirkland brand does latte art fairly well even tough I believe it is made by Silk. Pacific Foods makes a line of soymilk specifically made for use in steaming for espresso beverages. I think they are called soy blenders. The point is that some do better stretched than others, so before committing to a brand, investigate how they work for you.

You may be able to contact Pacific Foods directly (iirc, they are in Oregon, USA) and have them send you samples, or at least get you in contact with a distributor who should be able to do so.

I find Silk does a passable rosetta if I don't introduce too much air, not as good as soy blender, but still workable. It's impossible to get soy blender in New England, I tried, but the freight is way too high.

 

[waterman]

Off topic, perhaps...maybe take a chance and educate some people about the dangers of soy products. I loved Silk soy milk, vanilla, chocolate, and plain, until I read more about them. Soybeans are highly toxic when fresh and must undergo costly chemical cleaning processes to make them safe to consume. Macular degeneration is one condition that has increased 10 fold in recent decades (hardly mentioned in medical textbooks as late as 1980) and can be traced to the use of vegetable oils like soybean oil, corn oil and safflower oil. It happens when veg. oils are heated, forming a compound that attacks eye tissue, nerves, arteries.
It goes to show how information constantly drilled into the public domain becomes the gospel truth.
edited to include: the basic effect of soy products is "mimics female hormone estrogen". rant over.

 

[caffe biscotto]

Soy milks are from fermented soybeans. The fermentation process applied uses a variety of bacteria that actually aid in digestion and renders any toxins harmless.

I found a couple of quick articles on this if anyone is interested:

http://healthforu.info/health/diethealt ... ns-Lie.php

http://www.rwood.com/Articles/Soy_Toxin_or_Tonic.htm