[2024-08-18] Taste Test: Barista Oat Drink and Bulk Barn Finds

Mel and I love a taste test—pitting one product against another to find the one we like best or sampling a selection of products just for fun.

Yesterday, the taste test was barista oat drink. We love Oatly, but wanted to try a few other brands to see whether they could beat our favourite on taste and price. We sampled them in two contexts: on their own and mixed into coffee.
  1. Oatly was the "oatiest" in flavour of the five brands we tried and the most unctuous in feel. It tasted good on its own, but really shone in a café au lait, which is how Mel and I drink our decaf coffee at home. Even though it was among the more expensive brands, it remained my first choice for taste.
  2. Natura had a neutral flavour, less "oatey" than Oatly. Nevertheless, it created an enjoyable café au lait. At $4.50 per container (compared to others ranging between $5.00 and $8.00), it offered the best value among the brands we like. Mel was equally happy with Natura and Oatly.
  3. Califia, Earth's Own and Oatbox did not offer a superior flavour to Oatly or Natura, nor were they significantly cheaper than Oatly. In fact, Oatbox was the most expensive of the five. None of these three brands made our buy-again list, but we will finish them all.

Today, we went to our local Bulk Barn to take advantage of its Sustainable Sundays initiative, whereby customers who bring their own containers get 15% off the regular price of the items they purchase on that day of the week. We chose eight products:
  1. Sour cream and onion pretzel mix – an inoffensive savoury snack that was light on flavour
  2. Chickpea fusilli – a non-wheat pasta we intend to cook in the future
  3. Mango dragonfruit tea – a very tasty herbal tea that was fruity without being sour
  4. OMGs s'mores – overly sweet, lacking in crunch and missing a wow factor
  5. OMGs dark chocolate - also very sweet, uncrunchy and with little but sugar to offer
  6. Soy milk powder – purchased because I was out and because it adds protein to baked goods
  7. Fruit juice berries – our favourite indulgence from the lot, these gummies were lightly sweetened, with a satisfying chew and a pleasantly tart finish
  8. Dried strawberries – strong strawberry flavour, with an enjoyable texture—the most expensive of the items we purchased

We often shy away from buying new products at grocery stores for fear that we might not like them, leaving us stuck with a large container of a mediocre product. At Bulk Barn, we can buy as little as we like, while being rewarded with a discount when we bring our own containers on Sundays. And because all the jars I took today were small, our purchases were similarly modest. Our approach at Bulk Barn aligns with our values of reducing food waste and throwaway packaging.