Surviving the Milk Shortage in Malta

Around a month ago, Malta's largest milk producer, Benna, announced a critical milk shortage on the island. During the hot summer months, cows naturally produce less milk but due to rising population and record breaking tourism this year, supply could not meet demand. 

Credit: https://traineracademy.org/

The expectation was that this would only last a couple of weeks, however, a month later, the dairy shelves in most corner shops and supermarkets are bare. As a ritualistic tea drinker, this should be catastrophic, but I've found a way to survive the shortage. 

The Cow's Milk Shortage: All Hail Nut Milks!

Switch to nut milks! Now, I know you don't want to hear it. But I'm not a fanatical vegan, I'm not going to try and shame you with animal abuse stories (worth bearing in mind though) and I'm not even going to remind you how disgusting it is that humans actually drink animal milk (OK, I will; no other creature on earth drinks milk from another species, and most don't even drink milk past infancy). Instead I will just honestly let you know that nut milks really aren't that bad. 

nut milk shortage malta 2018

Milk Alternatives for Coffee

When it comes to coffee, I prefer the taste of almond milk. True, it doesn't foam in the same way as cows milk, so cappuccinos look a little sorry, but sprinkle on some chocolate powder and in my opinion it's even more delicious than the animal alternative.

Milk Alternatives for Tea

When it comes to tea, I much prefer oat milk. Oat milk doesn't really have any taste of it's own so doesn't sweeten the tea (I love sugar in my coffee, but NOT in my tea). In fact, it's quite watery so your tea will be full flavoured and satisfying. 

Availability of Milk Alternatives in Malta

Something I've noticed over the last few years is the sheer volume of milk alternatives in Malta. Whether you want to switch for moral reasons, digestive reasons (yup, my stomach hates dairy) or just for the current milk shortage, you'll never be short of other options. No matter how small the supermarket you'll find a reasonable selection, even the little family run shops on each street are fully stocked with soy milks, almond milks, oat milks, coconuts milks and so much more.