Best Store-Bought Almond Milk Review

The Grading System

For this store-bought almond milk review, I’ve taken into account characteristics that are important to me when buying almond milk.

They are:

1. Taste: is it creamy and rich in flavour?
2. Texture: is it smooth and velvety, with good consistency throughout?
3. Frothing: Can you make lattes with this almond milk? Does it froth well?
4. Price: Is it cost-competitive?
5. Availability: Is it easy to find at most grocery stores? Where can you buy it?
6. Other qualities: What’s the ingredient list like? Organic and carrageenan free? Are there added fillers and stabilizers? Do they use gums? What’s the packaging like? Is it paper or plastic? Recyclable?

The results:

In a nutshell, here is my results from the review. Starting with the best tasting store-bought almond milk brands to the worst.

1. Silk Unsweet Almond Milk
2. Wholefoods 365 Unsweetened Almond Milk
3. Simply Almond Unsweetened
4. Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Original
5. Califia Farms Unsweetened Almondmilk
6. Pacific Foods Organic Unsweetened Almond Original
7. Natura Fortified Almond Beverage Unsweetened

The review:

#1. Silk Unsweet Almond Milk

Taste: 4.5/5 –great taste, nice and creamy, really nice taste in black tea, a bit watery on its own
Texture: 5/5 – very nice texture, silky smooth, good consistency when added to coffee, hot and cold drinks
Frothing: 4.5/5- froths well for lattes and other hot drinks
Availability: 4.5/5 – You can find this brand at most grocery store chains in Canada.
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Non-GMOs verified, gluten-free verified, free from carrageenan and artificial colours & flavours
Cost: $4.69 / 1.89L
Packaging: Paper, recyclable
Overall thoughts: The taste and texture of Silk Almond Milk is delicious, creamy and smooth. And, it’s one of the only store-bought almond milk brands to froth for lattes. Which is a bonus. Ingredient list is good, but not stellar. They use gums for thickener.

Overall score: 18.5/20
Would we repurchase? Yes

#2.Earth’s Own Almond Unsweetened Original

Taste: 4.5/5 –great taste, creamy, a bit watery on its own, delicious tasting in coffee and other hot drinks
Texture: 5/5 – very nice texture, velvety smooth and good consistency in hot and cold drinks
Frothing: 3.5/5- froths okay for lattes (sometimes it works well for me, other times it doesn’t)
Availability: 4/5 – You can find this brand at most grocery store chains in Canada.
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): zero preservatives or anything artificial, non-gmo project verified, carton made from plants
Cost: $4.29 / 1.89L
Packaging: Paper, recyclable
Overall thoughts: The taste and texture of Earth’s Own Almond Unsweetened Original is great! It’s creamy and velvety. Frothing is hit or miss, sometimes it worked for me while other times it didn’t. It’s also price competitive. Ingredient list is good, but they use gums for thickener and stabilizers.

Overall score: 17/20
Would we repurchase? Yes

#3. Wholefoods 365 Unsweetened Almond Milk

Taste: 4.5/5 – really nice taste, creamy
Texture: 5/5 – nice smooth texture, consistency good when added to coffee and hot drinks
Frothing: 5/5- Froths really well for lattes, the best of all the brands
Availability: 2/5 – only available at Wholefoods and Amazon
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Organic, and carageenan-free. They use gums for stabilizers/thickening.
Cost: $2.69 / 946 ml
Packaging: Paper, recyclable
Overall thoughts: I really enjoy this almond milk by Wholefoods. It works great for smoothies and cereals, and also froths well for coffee and lattes making it very versatile. This almond milk is only sold at Wholefoods and on Amazon, making it somewhat difficult to find. (Which is where it loses its score ranking).

Overall score: 16.5/20
Would we repurchase? Yes

#4. Simply Almond Unsweetened

Taste: 4/5 – good taste, a bit watery
Texture: 3.5/5 – nice smooth texture, but consistency goes cloudy/murky when added to coffee and hot drinks
Frothing: 3.5/5- froths okay for for lattes, but not as fluffy and consistent as other brands
Availability: 4/5 – You can find this brand at most grocery store chains in Canada.
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): only 4 ingredients total, no gums, no stabilizers
Cost: $3.99 / 1.5L
Packaging: Plastic, recyclable
Overall thoughts: The taste of Simply Almond is smooth and creamy. Made with only 4 ingredients, it certainly my favourite brand for quality of ingredients. There are no gums or stabilizers. This drink is perfect for cereal and smoothies, but consistency changes when added to coffee and hot drinks to be cloudy/murky. Although it still tastes good it could put you off drinking it.

Overall score: 15/20
Would we repurchase? Yes, but not for hot drinks

#5. Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Original

Taste: 5/5 – really nice taste, creamy, rich
Texture: 4/5 – nice smooth texture, consistency good when added to coffee and hot drinks
Frothing: 0/5- does not froth
Availability: 4/5 – Available at most grocery chains
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): Ingredient list is okay. Thickeners and gums are used.
Cost: $4.29 / 1.89 L
Packaging: Paper, recyclable
Overall thoughts: Almond Breeze is one of the first almond milk brands I used when going dairy-free. It’s been around for a long time. It’s available at most grocery stores with good consistency and taste. This almond milk is great for cereals, smoothies, coffee and hot drinks. However, it doesn’t froth.

Overall score: 13/20
Would we repurchase? Yes, but not my first choice.

#6. Califia Farms Unsweetened Almondmilk

Taste: 4.5/5 – really nice taste, creamy and rich
Texture: 4/5 – nice smooth texture, consistency good when added to coffee and hot drinks
Frothing: 0/5- does not froth
Availability: 4/5 – Available at most grocery chains in Canada, and can be found in U.S. and U.K. Also available at small grocery chains, and organic grocers (Wholefoods and Nature’s Emporium)
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): ingredient list is easy to understand, carrageenan-free, BPA-free and kosher
Cost: $7.99 / 1.4L
Packaging: Plastic, recyclable
Overall thoughts: The taste of  Califia Farms almond milk is delicious, smooth and creamy. I like how the ingredient list in minimal, and that it’s BPA and carrageenan-free. I also love the packaging of this brand. It’s very pretty. This drink is perfect for cereal or smoothies, but does not froth for lattes. (Lost major points on its ability to froth). It’s also at a higher price point than other brands that perform better.

Overall score: 12.5/20
Would we repurchase? Yes, but not for making lattes. And not my first choice as the price point is higher than other brands which perform better.

#7. Pacific Foods Organic Unsweetened Almond Original

Taste: 4.5/5 – really nice taste, very creamy and rich
Texture: 2/5 – not smooth in consistency, I found white chunks in mine even after shaking well
Ability to froth: 2/5- ability to froth was okay, it only frothed a little
Availability: 3/5 – Available at high end grocery chains and organic grocers
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): ingredient list is good, contains 1% or less of gellan gum, carageenan-free and kosher
Cost: $4.61 / 946 ml
Packaging: Paper, recyclable
Overall thoughts: The taste of Pacific Foods almond milk is rich and creamy. It was one of my favourite tasting almond milks from the review. However, consistency was not smooth, with white flecks floating to the top even after shaking well. It also doesn’t froth well for lattes. Overall, I was disappointed that this almond milk didn’t perform better. Price is also more expensive than others on the market, which performed better.

Overall score: 11.5/20
Would we repurchase? No

#7. Natura Fortified Almond Beverage Unsweetened

Taste: 3.5/5 – taste was okay, a bit bitter, not my favourite
Texture: 2/5 – consistency was smooth, and performed well in coffee and hot drinks
Ability to froth: 0/5- Although the box claims this almond milk is “barista approved” it did not froth for me. Very disappointing.
Availability: 2/5 – Available at high end grocery chains
Quality of ingredients (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.): ingredient list is okay. Includes gums and thickener.
Cost: $3.49 / 946 ml
Packaging: Paper, recyclable
Overall thoughts: Of all the almond milk brands, this was the most disappointing. I didn’t love the taste of this almond milk; it was a bit bitter. The container also claimed to be “barista approved,” however it did not froth for me, not even a little bit.

Overall score: 7.5/20
Would we repurchase? No

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So there we have it. A thorough review for the best store-bought almond milk brands so that you can be an informed buyer. I hope you enjoy these almond milks as much as I have.

And if you like this review, you might also like these other product reviews:

• Almond Cow Review: make homemade almond milk in 30 seconds
• Superfat Nut Butters: to buy or not to buy
• Omniblend Review: Wherefore art thou omniblend

I really hope you enjoyed this almond milk review! Let me know what other brands you love in the comments below! I love hearing from you.