Milky Alternatives

Starbucks meets coffee drinkers' demand for another nondairy option

After being deluged with requests, Starbucks is introducing a new nondairy option to its drink lineup: coconut milk. It will be available in all stores beginning February 17.

According to a release, the desire for an alternative to dairy and soy was the second-most requested customer idea of all time at MyStarbucksIdea.com, its customer-feedback site, generating more than 84,000 votes.

The pleas for an additional nondairy offering have been coming in daily from customers, ramped up further ever since Starbucks offered coconut milk in a limited trial in October 2014. Starbucks first began testing coconut milk at stores in Portland, Oregon, followed by Cleveland and Los Angeles.

Starbucks' coconut milk is vegan, made from single-origin coconuts from the tropical Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Soy milk was the most popular nondairy option for many years but has been vilified for a variety of reasons — some rational, others not. Almond milk is now the most popular nondairy milk.

But Starbucks' R&D team found that coconut milk was the best complement to Starbucks hot, iced and Frappuccino beverages because of its rich and creamy texture. It also has more widespread appeal than almond milk, because many people have nut alleries.

A staffer at the Starbucks in West Village said that they've had the coconut milk for a week. "We got it a week in advance, I guess to let us get used to working with it," she said. "We haven't advertised it yet, but we know it will do well because everyone has been asking for nondairy products besides soy."

She said that getting it to foam for cappuccino drinks is a little more challenging than soy or regular milk. "It doesn't foam quite as well, but it's a lot better than almond milk, which is too watery," she said.

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Cheesecake News

Dallas dessert shop Val's Cheesecakes calls it quits on Greenville Ave

Photo courtesy of Val's

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A Dallas dessert shop has closed its doors: Val's Cheesecakes, located at 2820 Greenville Ave., closed for good on December 17 after 12 years.

Owner Valery Jean-Bart issued a statement saying that he was ready to move on to new things.

"The time has come to officially close the doors at our Greenville location," he said. "This is not just the end of a chapter; it is the end of a place that has been a huge part of my life and journey. Over the years, we have built something special here, but the time has come to let this space go so we can move forward with clarity and purpose."

Jean-Bart started selling his cheesecakes in 2012 after a career in civil engineering. He took the inspiration from his mother's love of cheesecakes before she passed from breast cancer.

Over the past decade, he had many ups and downs, with other locations that he opened and closed, often abruptly, and more than one closure followed by a reopening.

But he said this time he was closing permanently, calling the past few months "a challenge" but also a reminder of what matters.

"Focusing on friends, family, and my personal life is more important now than ever," he said. "I am leaving this location on my own terms, proud of what we have accomplished and ready for what is next."

What is next is Val's Blue Label, his other shop in the Cedars District at 1112 S. Akard St. which he opened in March 2023 and which is described as an elevated cheesecake experience that also holds classes and workshops.