Flax or Fiction?
January 18, 2012 at 9:05 am | Posted in Food, Reviews | 35 CommentsTags: flax milk, Good Karma, non-dairy, rice creamer, vegan
In a sea of greatly varied non-dairy milk options, it’s hard not to play favorites. When the best can rank even better than the original cow creations, and the worst can taste like putrid dish water, it helps to be discerning. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m not exactly a fan of rice milk, so Good Karma isn’t a brand typically on my radar. Producing only rice milk and rice milk frozen desserts, it simply never caught my interest… Until now. Branching out into the world of flax, their latest and succinctly named offering of Flax Milk ventures out into new territory. One of only two flax beverages on the market, it’s not one I can find locally yet, but ever since sampling the Vanilla and Unsweetened varieties, I’ve been desperately scouring the shelves for my next fix.
Appropriately anonymous and well-suited to cooking and baking, the unsweetened “milk” is good, but I would be hard pressed to come up with a rave about something that excels at tasting mild. However, the Vanilla is another story. Not particularly thick but far from the watery mess I had feared, this flax beverage is surprisingly smooth and creamy. Accentuated with a light sweetness, it’s highly drinkable, and practically begging for a rich chocolate cookie alongside as an accompaniment. A very impressive and respectable non-dairy milk indeed, I would happily purchase this one frequently for my everyday smoothies… if only I could find it!
Also new to the Good Karma line-up is their rice-based coffee creamer. Highly skeptical, to say the least, but undeniably intrigued, I simply had to try what is currently the only existing rice milk creamer on the market. Sure there’s plenty of soy and coconut options now, but rice could provide those with allergies and coconut-adverse tastes a whole new lease on lightened coffee life.
Just like the previous beverages, I was shocked at how good all three flavors (Original, Vanilla, and Hazelnut) were. Near flawless, in fact; I’d even venture to say that they’re better than the typical vegan creamers I had been using. Much thicker than the competition, like heavy cream, each bottle contained a luscious, silky-smooth liquid entirely richer and more satisfying that I could have anticipated. Fatty in the best way possible, it added volumes of depth to any average latte.
I generally prefer my coffee black though, so where this creamer really shined in my eyes was when it made it into the savory side of the kitchen. Using the unsweetened, original flavor in my Straight-Up Scramble brought this simple staple to life. I found myself making many more scrambles all month, right up until the bottle went dry. Don’t even get me started on the ice creams it churned out… It feels mean to tease about such decadent treats.
In a stunning coup, Good Karma has changed my mind on what rice, and flax, is capable of. If only they could get their products into more mainstream markets, they’d be an unstoppable force of non-dairy drinks!
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I am in search of a good coffee creamer- I have tried a few and the only one I like is soy.I like the lactose free ones by International Delight but something in them doesn’t like me:-(
Where can I get Good Karma products? Or can it be ordered online??
Thanks!!
Comment by Steph @ DairyFreeOmnivore— January 18, 2012 #
As far as I know, they’re currently only being sold at Walmart stores, but have an eye towards further distribution in the near future. Hopefully the flax milk and rice creamer should hit standard grocery stores sometime within 2012, as far as I understand the situation.
Comment by Hannah (BitterSweet)— January 18, 2012 #
Your review is quite timely for me – I just noticed Flax Milk at the grocery store and was intrigued but wary. Like you, I can’t stand the wateriness of rice milk, so I was hesitant to shell out for what I assumed would be a disappointing milk. Now that I know I was mistaken, I’ll have to give it a try! :)
Comment by Kelly— January 18, 2012 #
Have you tried the rice creamer in ice cream yet? Now I’m curious. I had swore off rice products so long ago, that I wouldn’t even know if this brand was available near me.
Comment by Shannon— January 18, 2012 #
Yes! I think that using the rice creamer instead of soy/coconut creamer when called for in recipes made an even richer ice cream than usual. It was incredible, especially with the vanilla flavor, too. I highly recommend it for ice cream, if nothing else!
Comment by Hannah (BitterSweet)— January 18, 2012 #
Wow, and it really doesn’t have that “fish-y” flax aftertaste? That’s what would make me most wary…
Comment by Elise— January 18, 2012 #
Absolutely not fishy in the least- That never even crossed my mind. Nutty, perhaps, but fishy, no way!
Comment by Hannah (BitterSweet)— January 18, 2012 #
I’ve seen these and been intrigued. But I have to know, do they taste like flax? I know even the slightest flax taste would freak me out!
Comment by Bazu— January 18, 2012 #
P.s. I saw them at Wegmans
Comment by Bazu— January 18, 2012 #
They do have a slight flax-like flavor, but only in the best way possible. Slightly nutty, buttery, toasted flavors, not grassy or bitter at all, if that’s what you’re worried about.
Thanks for the heads-up about Wegmans! Definitely a good sign that they’re spreading, but too bad there aren’t any of those around here, either.
Comment by Hannah (BitterSweet)— January 18, 2012 #
Thanks Hannah. I too was afraid of the fishy thing. Your review has convinced me to give these a try…and keep an eye out for the creamer!
Comment by Bazu— January 18, 2012 #
After years of drinking non-dairy milk, the taste of cow’s milk grosses me out. I have yet to see a flax milk in my area. I would love to try it.
Comment by Joann@womaninreallife— January 18, 2012 #
Hi Hanna, I have a friend who is lactose intolerant who will be happy to know there are more choices for her. I would add some caution to heating anything with flax oil in it as it destroys the Omega 3s, otherwise, it sounds like a great add-in for smoothies or anything cold. Thanks for the post, I am sending it to my friend right now.
Comment by Judy@Savoring Today— January 18, 2012 #
That coffee creamer pretty much looks like a dream come true – and photographed so beautifully! Suddenly the black coffee I’m sipping seems super boring. . .
Comment by Alesha Sevy— January 18, 2012 #
The flax milk is interesting. I need to look for that next time I am at Wegman’s. Btw, gorgeous photography.
Comment by Oiyi— January 18, 2012 #
I use a lot of flax but never thought it could be made into a milk! I would love to taste that!
Comment by yaelian— January 18, 2012 #
Hmmm intriguing! I never thought of how flax could be turned into a “milk” product. I recently tried coconut milk creamer and unfortunately found it wayyy too sweet, but I do like the Silk original soy creamer.
The second photo is amazing btw!
Comment by Sarah B @ Bake + Bike— January 18, 2012 #
Whoa, flax milk?! This looks awesome!
Comment by Emily— January 18, 2012 #
I do not think I had the chance to try Flax seed milk, but the pictures make me want to !
I am a bit curious about how you managed to take the second picture ? For the color blend at the bottom of the glass, and pouring the liquid while taking the picure. Would you mind giving a hint of explanation or you may want to keep it secret :) ?
Comment by Löu— January 18, 2012 #
Thank you! It is a bit complicated, so I was thinking about doing a “behind the scenes” post explaining this shot… Glad there’s some interest for that sort of thing! :)
Comment by Hannah (BitterSweet)— January 18, 2012 #
Okay great, can’t wait to see it then :)
Comment by Löu— January 19, 2012 #
Oh I’m all for finding new coffee creamers! I currently use unsw. soymilk, which has been the best so far, but I’d like to get away from using soy if I can. Love almond milk, but not in my coffee, and I don’t like coconut flavor in my coffee. So this seems perfect. Now…..where is it? :)
Comment by Tanya— January 18, 2012 #
flax milk that is awesome, we will have to trying make some at home. great idea. I just hate how they always put evaporated cane juice in drinks. wish they left that out and let people add in their own sweeteners.
Comment by pure2rawtwins— January 18, 2012 #
Then I have good news for you- The unsweetened version has no cane juice or any other sort of sugar added. You can see the ingredients list here: http://www.goodkarmafoods.com/flax-milk-unsweetened
Comment by Hannah (BitterSweet)— January 18, 2012 #
“In a sea of greatly varied non-dairy milk options”? Yeah. More like “In a puddle that barely comes up to my pinky toe”.
Sigh.
Comment by Hannah— January 18, 2012 #
I’m a diehard almond milk drinker but I think I could give it a break for a day or so to try these new options! I hope they come to stores soon!
Comment by Joanne— January 18, 2012 #
I’ve tried the flax milk, it’s great.. unsweetened almond milk is my staple, but I’d probably choose the flax as my second go-to.. and I believe it’s just been rolled out at several Whole Foods Markets, so it should be a little easier to track down..
as for the coffee creamer, Good Karma actually said it’s already been discontinued.. I was so disappointed, I had only just heard about it a few weeks ago and it’s already going away.. they said it wasn’t selling well enough to continue it
Comment by Adam— January 18, 2012 #
Really? I’m very surprised to hear that, because they’re still marketing the creamer, and said nothing to me when I passed along my review. Is there any chance that it’s just the particular store that you bought it at will no longer stock it? Or did you hear this directly from Good Karma? It would be such a shame to lose this already!
Comment by Hannah (BitterSweet)— January 23, 2012 #
flax milk…I love flax. I can imagine that would be seriously good. I shall hunt some down. May even melt some chocolate to mix in it too…with a cheeky sprinkle of cacao nibs…
Comment by India-leigh— January 18, 2012 #
I’ve never had flax milk before — need to get me some if i can find in our local grocer. I am currently enjoying So Delicious coconut creamer in my morning coffee or tea. So yum!!
Comment by Kiran @ KiranTarun.com— January 19, 2012 #
I’m surprised about the flax milk… since all I can picture is using ground flax seeds to sub for eggs… and help thicken things up… I’d be worried the “milk” would be rock solid! Guess that’s not the case though, very cool!
Comment by stephchows— January 19, 2012 #
I’m pretty much sold on So Delicious coconut milk but would certainly give this a try if it pops up on a shelf near me!
Comment by Barb— January 19, 2012 #
i keep trying to find creamers that will work with the highly spiced masala india teas that we drink everyday.. and there are hardly any that work really well. i think i should give this flaxy or rice one a try.. now to try to find some!
Comment by Richa@HobbyandMore— January 19, 2012 #
Yes, I think this sort of creamer would definitely do this trick- I thought it was excellent paired with strong chai tea as well!
I just wanted to let you know, lest you thought I wasn’t visiting any more, that I can’t seem to comment on your blog. The spam filter endlessly tells me “The characters you entered didn’t match the word verification. Please try again.” I’m certain the words match, and I keep entering new strings, and nothing works. :(
Comment by Hannah (BitterSweet)— January 20, 2012 #
Can I say your photography is spectacular?
Comment by sexytofu— January 20, 2012 #