Great or Gross Pacific Organic Almond Milk: A Product Review

Life without milk is not easy. Sure, there are ways to get around using bovine juice, as some call it, but they are not all created equal. Without examining the various manufacturers and specific products, here are some of the alternatives: soy milk, rice milk, oat milk, hazelnut milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, goat milk. This is not to mention the various types of 'milks' that some people make for themselves at home. Almond milk is another option that would be a good choice for almond-lovers. The delicious flavor of the almond would almost certainly win out over soy, rice, and oats, if not other nut-milks. Not so fast -- there are other things to consider.

There is added difficulty for those who exclusively buy organic. There are a number of almond milk products available in health food stores and supermarkets with more broad offerings but few if any of them are organic. The Pacific brand, known for their soups, broths, and milk alternatives, carries organic almond milk in original and vanilla flavors. Please consider the following short and totally honest review.

Pacific's Organic Vanilla Almond milk is terrible. The mildly sweet flavor of the almond nut is absent, replaced by a fake and overbearing vanilla taste that also bears little resemblance to vanilla. The taste is so bad, drinking it straight or eating it with cereal, for instance, is unthinkable. The fluid is thinner than expected, making it difficult to use for baking, and the taste just does not make up for it. Perhaps the rice starch, which falls second on the ingredient list, is to blame. It is unclear what purpose the rice starch serves. It could be that it is serving to replace zanthan gum, a thickener and binder derived from corn that many people may end up purchasing this product to avoid, since it is used in so many milk substitute products. Whatever the reason, this product may have been better served without the rice starch. To be fair, both the vanilla and original flavors are unsweetened, for some reason. However, this did not adequately explain the utterly poor quality. Ultimately, this is not a good product for anyone looking for a tasty, useful alternative to cow's milk.

Under no circumstances should this product be your first foray into milk substitutes. There is a wide variety of products available, none of which will actually replace milk! Each has its own flavor, consistency, use, etc. and there should be no expectation that any of them will taste or otherwise be like milk. These products should be evaluated on their own merit. Pacific Organic Vanilla Almond Milk stands on its own as a bad product. The taste is horrible and does not approximate the taste of almonds, yet is so strong, it could no t be used even in baking. None of the other complaints matter. Until and unless this product is improved, it is not recommendable.