I have been (2/3 of the time) on a ketogenic low carb high fat diet since April of 2015. My personal health benefit has been phenomenol. I lost 40 ponds and improved my bio markers in every way (LDL down, HDL up, triglycerides down, blood sugar down, etc., etc). Seriously, I could go on and on - getting rid of sugar and processed carbs while adding good fats has been nothing short of amazing for me!

Anyway, I am a HUGE beneficiary of a low carb high fat (mostly ketogenic diet).

Enter my coffee/espresso hobby . . .

Prior to espresso machine my wife and I made bulletproof coffee as follows:

2.5 TBSP (1.25 oz) Heavy Cream 1.25 oz
1 TBSP (.5 oz) grass fed Butter 0.50 oz
1 TBSP (.5 oz) MCT Oil 0.50 oz
5.75 oz coffee 5.75 oz
Total Bulletproof Coffee 8.00 oz drink

This was (and is) a great coffee with only 1.25 carbs per serving. It is high fat, but my diet is high fat - all good for me!

Enter espresso machine for Christmas!

Wow!! Loving the rich espresso flavors!!

However, the only drinks we are liking are breve or latte.

Sadly, these are wayyyyy too many carbs and sugars due to the heavy sugar content of milk.

So, I went through quart after quart of coconut milk, almond milk, almond/coconut milk, homemade almond milk, ad nauseum. I couldn't stomach anything with coconut milk at all - it just ended up tasting worse than if I just had my old bulletproof coffee. And, almond milk was better but in the end, it too just made me think, "I would rather not even have an espresso based drink if it has almond milk in it (compared to bulletproof coffee which doesn't require coconut or almond milk to taste good and stay low carb).

In the end, none of the non dairy based faux milks really held up to the phenomenal taste of true dairy based lattes.

Until today, I think I found an acceptable solution.

My latest bulletproof latte recipe!!

2 TBSP (1 oz) Heavy Cream 1 oz
2 TBSP (1 oz) Fairlife (lower carb) Whole Milk 1 oz
2.5 - 3.5 ounces Filtered Water 2.5 - 3.5 oz
1 TBSP (.5 oz) grass fed Butter 0.5 oz
1 TBSP (.5 oz) MCT Oil 0.5 oz
Double shot espresso 1.5 oz
Total (7 - 8 oz, depending upon water) 7.0 - 8.0 oz
Total carbs = 1.6 grams per 7 - 8 oz cup


You may not think this is a big deal, but if you compare this to other latte's using 6.5 ounces of either 2% milk or whole milk

8 oz latte using 6.5 oz of 2% milk yields 9.8 grams of carbs

or

8 oz latte using 6.5 oz of whole milk yields 10.6 grams of carbs

I bought the Fairlife milk at Walmart - it is a low carb milk made by Coca Cola. It has 1/2 the sugar of regular 2% or whole milk, It is also lactose free (not important to me). This may seem like I am splitting hairs but being able to add 1 more ounce of real milk (instead of water or almond milk) to a 7 - 8 ounce latte and keep the sugar content down turned out to be very important if one is trying to keep sugars and carbs down, which I am!

What is amazing is the resulting drink is so wonderful as long as the shot is great (like all espresso drinks, right). it is a bit more carbs per 8 oz cup than my old bulletproof coffee (new recipe is 1.6 carbs instead of 1.25 carbs for bulletproof coffee) but the taste is significantly richer and well, more espresso-like!

I would be interested in hearing other adventures anyone has had trying to achieve a dairy tasting latte while keeping carbs and sugars low. Keep in mind - in a ketogenic diet fat can go high (as long as you keep a high % of good fats).

Cheers!

Steve
"trying to stay low carb and low sugar while enjoying my new found espresso habit!"

sarends wrote:....

I bought the Fairlife milk at Walmart - it is a low carb milk made by Coca Cola. It has 1/2 the sugar of regular 2% or whole milk, It is also lactose free (not important to me). This may seem like I am splitting hairs but being able to add 1 more ounce of real milk (instead of water or almond milk) to a 7 - 8 ounce latte and keep the sugar content down turned out to be very important if one is trying to keep sugars and carbs down, which I am! ...

Welcome Steve!

Lactose is the source of the carbohydrate you're trying to avoid. You can pick up lactose reduced milk at most any US grocer. The amount per serving varies by manufacturer, but pick up a container of Lactaid or something similar next time you're in the store and compare the total carbohydrate amount vs regular milk. Useful if the Fairlife you mention is significantly more expensive. But I'd be curious to see how the two stack up.

Lactaid (whole or 2%) has 12 grams of sugar per 8 oz cup

Fairlife milk (whole or 2%) has 6 grams of sugar per cup.

I guess the lactose free milks remove lactose and add sugar back some other way.

I thought the same way you did (lactose free milk would be sugar free) but unfortunately this is not the case.

sarends wrote:I guess the lactose free milks remove lactose and add sugar back some other way.

They premix it with the enzyme (lactase) required to break lactose down into galactose and glucose. It doesn't get rid of the sugar, it just makes it easier to digest.

sarends wrote:Lactaid (whole or 2%) has 12 grams of sugar per 8 oz cup

Fairlife milk (whole or 2%) has 6 grams of sugar per cup.

I guess the lactose free milks remove lactose and add sugar back some other way.

I thought the same way you did (lactose free milk would be sugar free) but unfortunately this is not the case.

I never said it would be sugar free. Just reduced!

TomC

In fact, Lactaid has exactly the same amount of sugar as regular milk - it is just the source of sugars that has changed:

Lactaid - 12 grams lactose
Regular milk - 12 grams lactase

I recently figured this out - I knew the sugar in milk was lactose, I just didn't realize they swapped one sugar (gram for gram) for another when making lactose free milk.

And, that is why (if you are trying to reduce sugar) the Fairlife has a benefit over the lactose free milks.

Cheers!

I'm on a low-carb diet, too. I use a cappuccino-size cup -- about 5-6 oz capacity -- with a double espresso shot and about 3-4 oz of steamed half-and-half. This gets the carbs down to 3-5g per cup, which is low enough for me because I only drink one of these a day (I drink straight shots to reach my required caffeine level. ) Tastes great and I can do latte art.

I do miss the greater volume of a latte because I like to sit at my desk and sip coffee for as long as possible in the morning. One thought for making greater volume with less carbs would be to blend heavy cream with almond milk. I might give that a whirl.

Welcome!

I am a bit further down this path - and very excited for you.

I avoid engineered/processed foods like the plague and use whole milk. If I have a latte, I never have more than a 8oz cup: 6 oz, including milk, w 2 oz of espresso. If I have a second shot during the day, I will go straight shot or cafe con panna (whipped cream). Con panna is maybe 15 calories.

While I completely understand being attentive to the numbers, adding as little as 5 minutes of activity will resolve the difference between the very elaborate recipe and a whole milk 8 oz latte.

After doing small drinks I can't imagine going back to the old 16 oz drinks I used to have.

While not having a strict low carb diet, I have been trying to eliminate a lot of carbs and dairy. My experience is similar to jwCrema in that as my espresso has gotten better, I actually prefer a lot less milk. I went from having a larger latte sweetened with sugar, to removing the sweetener, to reducing the milk. I still don't drink a lot of straight espresso, but now prefer either a 4oz cortado, or maybe a 6 oz drink.

I have a different approach which may not be of any use to you. I also cut my carbs and over the last year (actually in a 3 month period) lost almost 45 pounds. My numbers got much better, in particular, my sugar/diabetes problem. I've reconciled myself to a cappuchino with whole milk and even increased my intake from 1 to 2 drinks in the AM. I use about 4 ounces of milk for each drink so that is approximately a total of one carb (15 grams). I've decided that if I watch everything else and "move about (=long hike with the dog each day), it does not make any difference in my weight or my test numbers. This does not help you but it does put another way of looking at things.