by Mark Van Streefkerk
SEATTLE, WA— Arriving for the first time in the chic new cafe that opened just a block away from the digital ad agency where she worked, Alicia Brown jumped headlong into the mid-morning rush looking to inquire about plant milk options.
Proclaiming at a widely audible volume that she was in fact, lactose intolerant, and “it’s a bad situation when I have dairy,” she was ready to do some sleuthing.
Briar Thompkins, who was working behind the register that day, remembers Alicia’s transaction well.
“I kind of pointed to our menu where they’re all listed, but she kept looking at me, so I told her: hemp, almond, soy, and oat. And then she asked about the sugar content in each one. I told her they are all ‘original flavor’ and not ‘unsweetened’ which means they probably have some sugar in them. Then she asked to read the nutrition information on all the milks. So I literally had to ask Jodie [who was on bar] to pass me every carton of non-dairy milk so she could read it.”
Brown scrutinized the nutrition fact labels on the back of every carton. It was as Thompkins had said, anywhere from five to seven grams of sugar in a serving of original flavored plant milk. She muttered, “it’s the sugar that’s so bad about these.”
Brown then shook her head and said, “I’ll have a short breve.”
Thompkins put in the order and went back to addressing the morning rush with the brisk efficiency appropriate to the situation.
Brown has not responded to our requests for comments about her post-dairy situation.
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I’m Mark, a freelance writer and social media content developer for Barista Magazine Online. I’ve written about specialty coffee issues for Barista Magazine and Fresh Cup Magazine. You can read some samples of my work at markvanstreefkerk.com.
