Earlier this month, we visited the London Coffee Festival in an effort to bring our campaign to the heart of the coffee world. We wanted to see what some of the UK’s top plant milk brands and baristas thought about making oat the default milk in the UK instead of dairy.

Minor Figures 

Our brand partner, Minor Figures, was just five minutes down the road from the festival, hosting a vibrant and popular pop-up at Protein Studios as part of the event.

We caught up with Bryan Serwatka, the On-Trade Marketing and Partnerships Manager, who shared with us some of the company background. 

“We started as a coffee company first. Some of the first products we made had dairy in them, and then a couple of people in the company switched over to being vegan…

To a café thinking of making oat milk their default, I’d encourage them straight away, but I also acknowledge the practicalities. A lot of folks might have concerns around pricing. But it’s becoming more affordable and more available than it’s ever been before. Even switching 10% of dairy for oat, you’re immediately making a huge, positive impact for the environment. Oats have a much lower carbon footprint than dairy, they use less water, and can be incredibly good for soil health if they’re used in crop rotations. And genuinely, verses the other alt milks, it just tastes the best. It’s the most neutral, and it lets the coffee sing. There’s a reason you see it in every café, and hopefully that’s going to be the trend moving forward.

COFFEE CULTURE IS MOVING THIS WAY

There was a huge variety of roasters, baristas, and milk brands at the festival, and the exhibitors' commitment to their craft and appreciation for sustainable and good-tasting coffee really stood out. Here’s what some had to say about the future of oat milk in coffee culture

Matt, Oatly:

“To a café thinking of making oat milk their default, I’d say just absolutely go for it. If anything, it creates conversation, and that’s the sort of thing we should aim to be doing; challenging these norms, and having honest conversations about what milk is, where it comes from, and maybe there are better alternatives for our health, for our environment, but still taste amazing as well. I think the future is plant-based, and it’s looking like a good one.”

Jim, Routes Coffee Roasters:

“I think at some point in the future, we’ll all wonder why we ever drank from a cow …In terms of latte art, you can still make coffees look really, really nice with oat milk. I think most just use dairy milk because it’s been around for so long, but they should probably think about it more… just be nice to animals.”

Daniel, Moma Foods:

“I think a lot more people are more health-conscious, more environmentally conscious, making more ethical and intentional choices around what products they’re consuming and buying. Not to mention the fact that the flavour profile of oat milk works so much better with a lot of products: chai, matcha, and many coffees as well.

DAIRY VS. OAT LATTE ART BATTLE

In this fierce battle of the milks, oat milk didn’t just hold its own, it took the crown. When it comes to texture, performance, and crowd appeal, oat is no longer the alternative but a serious contender for the default. The expert baristas emphasized the importance of steaming at a slightly lower temperature, allowing the milk to rest for 10-20 seconds, and that oat milk tends to best complement medium-dark roast beans

For a campaign like ours, this is exciting. Baristas aren’t just tolerating oat; they’re working with it, refining it, and in many cases, preferring it. This signals that quality and sustainability don’t have to be trade-offs. That’s a strong foundation for change, and a reminder that default oat isn’t about compromise, it’s about keeping up with where sustainable, ethical coffee culture is already heading. 

As always, 

For the Animals!