St. Louis farmers' market enthusiasts and local shoppers alike are probably already familiar with Mylk and Hummus, the sustainable brand known for its plastic-free packaging and, more importantly, its flavorful rotation of fresh hummus. Now, the brand is expanding into the coffee market, using the same key ingredient from its popular snack food for canned lattes.
![mylk and hummus latte line duo](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/feastmagazine.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/ce/9ceb2fa6-3d50-11ef-9b1d-c30c0ab4b862/668c239f1b9bb.image.jpg?resize=150%2C225 150w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/feastmagazine.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/ce/9ceb2fa6-3d50-11ef-9b1d-c30c0ab4b862/668c239f1b9bb.image.jpg?resize=200%2C300 200w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/feastmagazine.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/ce/9ceb2fa6-3d50-11ef-9b1d-c30c0ab4b862/668c239f1b9bb.image.jpg?resize=225%2C338 225w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/feastmagazine.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/ce/9ceb2fa6-3d50-11ef-9b1d-c30c0ab4b862/668c239f1b9bb.image.jpg?resize=300%2C450 300w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/feastmagazine.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/ce/9ceb2fa6-3d50-11ef-9b1d-c30c0ab4b862/668c239f1b9bb.image.jpg?resize=400%2C600 400w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/feastmagazine.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/ce/9ceb2fa6-3d50-11ef-9b1d-c30c0ab4b862/668c239f1b9bb.image.jpg?resize=540%2C810 540w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/feastmagazine.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/ce/9ceb2fa6-3d50-11ef-9b1d-c30c0ab4b862/668c239f1b9bb.image.jpg?resize=640%2C960 640w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/feastmagazine.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/ce/9ceb2fa6-3d50-11ef-9b1d-c30c0ab4b862/668c239f1b9bb.image.jpg?resize=750%2C1125 750w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/feastmagazine.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/ce/9ceb2fa6-3d50-11ef-9b1d-c30c0ab4b862/668c239f1b9bb.image.jpg?resize=990%2C1485 990w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/feastmagazine.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/ce/9ceb2fa6-3d50-11ef-9b1d-c30c0ab4b862/668c239f1b9bb.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C1553 1035w, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/feastmagazine.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/ce/9ceb2fa6-3d50-11ef-9b1d-c30c0ab4b862/668c239f1b9bb.image.jpg?resize=1175%2C1763 1200w)
The plan to incorporate coffee into Mylk and Hummus has existed since the brand’s inception in 2020. Founder John Cowan has always thought of chickpeas as a superfood: healthy, protein-packed and easier on the environment to grow, harvest and manipulate. With so many milk alternatives on the market, it seemed like a no-brainer to try the legume as the base for a coffee beverage. “We wanted to showcase the chickpea in an alternative presentation, and a beverage just seemed like a good outlet because chickpeas as a raw material have a really neutral profile,” Cowan says. “They have a lot of good environmental aspects to them.” By leveraging chickpeas' nutritional benefits and environmental advantages, it was Cowan’s goal from the beginning to shake up the beverage industry by utilizing a mostly uncommon ingredient for coffee creatively and sustainably.
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Although coming up with the idea was easy, turning it into a reality was a different story. Cowan experienced nearly four years of trial and error before his vision for chickpea coffee truly materialized. He recalls an instance last year that almost put a stop to the entire project. “We had an unexpected catastrophe … we were making this 800-gallon batch that would be our pre-production trial, and everything up to that point had been great,” he explains. “Our one- and three-gallon batches were excellent, but when we did the 800-gallon batch, it all separated; there was nothing we could do with it.” What originally presented itself as a major setback ended up working out in Mylk and Honey’s favor: Chickpeas contain natural emulsifiers and stabilizers, and removing ingredients like sunflower lecithin and stabilizing gums produced a smoother beverage in large batches, leading to a cleaner label with fewer additives – a goal of Cowan’s all along.
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Eventually, the recipe was perfected and ready to hit the market. Aside from chickpeas, the beverage's minimal ingredient list includes certified fair-trade coffee and 75 milligrams of natural caffeine. Sustainability and great flavor aside, Cowan’s goal is to create a product that delivers health and convenience to coffee lovers. Completely shelf stable but better cold or over ice, the drink is designed with efficacy in mind. “We wanted to have something that would be a functional beverage that people could have as part of their daily routine,” Cowan said. “Something for the on-the-go folks.” Mylk and Hummus is starting with a vanilla flavor for its canned lattes; a chocolate version is currently in production and expected to hit the market soon.
Latte cans are trickling into stores like City Greens and Local Harvest, but online ordering is available too. In addition to Mylk and Hummus’ new drink creations, customers can still expect an excellent summer lineup of hummus varieties from the brand, with permanent staples like garlic and roasted beet amongst weekly selections of rotating, seasonal flavors. “Each week, customers can expect something wildly different,” Cowan says. “We've made a lot of connections with area farmers … we're sort of on the lookout for what's being harvested and combining that into something unique and flavorful.”
Follow Mylk and Hummus on Instagram for more information and updates on products.
Mylk and Hummus, mylkandhummus.com