Coffee drinkin' vegans?

[spacebug]

So... while I realize it's blasphemous on many a level for some, I often enjoy diluting my coffee with a smidge of cream, or more often, soymilk.

I haven't yet discovered the secret of the universe that deems whether or not soymilk will do that weird separation/curdley thing when you pour it in coffee. I imagine that soy creamer is specifically formulated to avoid this phenomenon, but haven't done enough testing to know for sure. The coffeeshop downstairs doesn't use that soy creamer anyway, they use plain ol' soymilk. I don't have enough data.

Why? Why does that happen?

Comments

[ex-jimbexley951.livejournal.com]

Coffee is acidic. It will curdle regular cream on occasion. The hotter it is , the more likely it will curdle. The older the cream/half 'n' half, also the more likely it will curdle. I beleive that cream that is intended for coffee (like the little cups of it in restaurants) have an additive that prevents curdling which is missing in cream that's sold in pints. Likely, that's also the difference between regular soy milk and soy creamer.

[spacebug.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I am enlightened.

[spun-lepton.livejournal.com]

Perhaps if there is a certain temperature difference between the soymilk and the coffee, it will separate?

[nibblesonwords.livejournal.com]

you should ask dena about this-- she totally is the coffee/soy milk queen.
the first time i had a soy latte, it was horrible because the espresso was steaming hot and they steamed the soy milk to whatever degree they normally do the milk. what dena taught me, however, was to ask for the soymilk to beheated to only 130 degrees (so it wouldn't burn the milk). this made the perfect cuppa.
okay. so the reason i am blathering is this: soy milk doesn't make my throat all funny like milk does (dena calls it "milk pus" which she got from the back of house guy at southdale- ask scott! he would totally say that, too!). i don't think that soy milk will curdle, unlike milk, even when it's overheated (and when it's not) -- i haven't seen it "do" it, and i've had soy milk in coffee of all sorts of ages (don't ask :). of course, i don't always drink soy milk in my coffee. :)
don't know if this is making any sense. i'm going to continue to drink my coffee now. :)

generally,

[gunn.livejournal.com]

Temperature. Dairy creamer and other coffee creamers have a higher tolerance to heat than does soymilk. Your coffee is likely a bit too hot. I had a barista explain that to me one day, in one of my favored coffeeshops. Inexperienced baristas are more likely to skald soymilk, not knowing that it doesn't withstand the temperatures they usally steam milk at.

Re: generally,

[spikenheimer.livejournal.com]

ms gunn is right on here. when cooking and making sauces, they tend to "break" or separate when you apply too much heat, and or work it too much. in this case i believe its more the heat than the stirring.