The prosecution: Lara
Having five different kinds of milk open is ridiculous. Beatrice isn’t even lactose-intolerant
The world has gone milk-mad in my opinion. No one needs such a vast selection of options for every type of beverage, but that’s exactly what we’ve got in our fridge at home. I live with my little sister, Beatrice, and she’s obsessed with having milk for every occasion. Almond, soya, coconut, oat and some flavoured and barista ones, too. But she’s not lactose-intolerant and also keeps normal milk in our fridge to cook with. It’s absolutely nuts.
It takes up too much space in our fridge, because they are all open at the same time. She also keeps unopened plant-based milk in our cupboards. It’s annoying as it eats into my shelf space.
Beatrice is a bit coffee-obsessed and I think the milk habit feeds into that. She saved up for a barista-style coffee machine and asked our parents for a coffee grinder before. I think it’s all a bit over the top. What happened to a normal cup of coffee with a dash of cow’s milk?
Beatrice gets annoyed at me for using her milk (the first one I grab) when I’m at home, but there’s no way I’d buy more milk and clog up our fridge further. If there’s a milk open, I’ll use it – otherwise they will go off before she can finish them. I’ve had to throw away a couple in the past.
Beatrice is one of those people who goes into a coffee shop and asks for an oat milk frappa-something, and when the barista says, “Oh, so you don’t want the cream as it is dairy?” she says “No, I do”. It doesn’t make sense. Why bother having milk alternatives in your drinks if you’re just going to keep the cow’s cream on top? I’m a few years older than Beatrice, who is in her early 20s, and just missed the obsession with shunning dairy products. It just seems to be a trend, something that makes you sound cool and ethical.
Beatrice needs to relax on milk-buying and just stick to one or two. It’s more economical, and saves space. Beatrice has just started working after graduation. She should be saving some of her cash instead of frittering it away on fancy drinks.
The defence: Beatrice
Coffee is a highlight of my day, and everyone my age enjoys different milks. Lara needs to chill out
I love having a selection of milk alternatives at home. It’s good to have one for each mood, or drink. I have oat milk for my morning coffee, coconut milk for iced coffee, almond milk for tea, and soya milk just because it’s good for everything. I also have barista versions of all of these, to go with the expensive coffee machine I have in our flat. Perhaps it’s a bit of an obsession but I pay for it all myself.
I am working part-time from home as a marketing assistant, and I see keeping a variety of milk in the house as good for motivation. The best part of my day is making a fancy drink after getting up and answering my emails. I like an oat milk latte made with coffee that a friend bought me back from the Galápagos Islands. I grind it there and then, so it’s extra fresh. I want to buy a milk frother next. I think it will give my drinks that extra edge.
Lara complains, until I make her one of my fancy drinks at the weekend or after work. Then she’s like, “Oh wow!” She also keeps it quiet that she spends a small fortune on Pret drinks each day, whereas I rarely buy coffees now. My way is more economical but she doesn’t want to admit that.
I do keep a lot of different milks open in the fridge because I don’t know which one I’ll need at any given time. They rarely go to waste. And the ones in the cupboard don’t take up that much space – Lara’s exaggerating there. I buy plant-based milks in bulk as it’s cheaper.
I’m not lactose-intolerant but so what? Everyone my age dabbles in different milks. It’s good to consume less dairy, whatever your diet. Plant-based milks are healthier and generally taste better, too. I keep normal dairy milk in the house for guests and to cook with, but I don’t think that’s ridiculous.
Lara uses my milk and doesn’t pay attention to which one she picks up. I’ll say, “Coconut milk works best with this type of coffee,” but she doesn’t listen. I think she should stick to normal dairy as she doesn’t appreciate the others. I’ll continue to consume milk the way I want to – and Lara should chill out because she uses them, too.
The jury of Guardian readers
Should Beatrice buy fewer milk alternatives?
With so many alternatives to dairy milk, it seems to me totally unnecessary to use cow’s milk: it’s a cruel industry even if you buy organic. Some plant milks do work better with different drinks, so I think Beatrice is not guilty
Laura, 27
It’s commendable that Beatrice is drinking non-dairy milks even though she’s not lactose-intolerant – it’s much better for the planet. However, fridge and cupboard space is at a premium in a flatshare so it’s unreasonable to keep multiple opened cartons. So Beatrice is guilty. Just.
Dean, 30
While I realise that keeping five cartons of milk in the fridge is decadent, using so-called “milk” instead of animal milk is something we should all get behind. Beatrice doesn’t say she uses them for ethical reasons but assuming that’s part of it, Lara should lay off the criticism – especially if she secretly drinks it herself.
Mo, 34
I can relate to Beatrice; in our house we have oat milk for coffee, rice milk for tea, growing-up milk for our two-year-old and this week cow’s milk for the builders! They are all open in the fridge (plus unopened ones in the cupboard) and we get through the lot.
Louise, 40
No one’s saying Beatrice can’t enjoy something she genuinely loves, but keeping five different open milks in a shared fridge is absolutely crackers. Either limit it to a couple or buy a mini-fridge and keep them in there. Beatrice should realise that this is her obsession, not Lara’s.
Greg, 39
You be the judge
So now you can be the judge. In our online poll below, tell us: should Beatrice be hogging the fridge with all those milk alternatives?
The poll will close on Thursday 4 August 9am BST
Last week’s result
We asked if Katie should help her fellow bridesmaid, Stephanie, tone down their lavish hen-do plans.
1% of you said no – Katie is innocent
99% of you said yes – Katie is guilty
