Why Luna’s understands me and Starbucks doesn’t

Last Tuesday, Starbucks rolled out a new non-dairy milk option adding single origin Sumatran coconut milk to its menu nationwide. If you didn’t know that milk could come from anything but a cow, you are not vegan, lactose intolerant, or a paleo Crossfitter–all lifestyles that reject cow’s milk and rejoiced in the news of this new dairy-free addition to their daily caffeine fix.

BUT WAIT. In true Starbucks style, the formulation for their single origin Sumatran coconut milk contains added sugar (not paleo) and 13 other ingredients that are not going to kill you but are not being well received by the holistic health-minded community for whom it was created.

Does it at least taste good?

As investigative research for this piece I got a coconut milk latte from that horrible little Starbucks stand in the Bank of America Plaza Uptown and can report with certainty that I felt precisely like this about it:

In my opinion, there’s no reason to ever step foot in a Starbucks in Charlotte when we have a killer local cafe in every single neighborhood. (Dibs on covering the Charlotte Espresso Trail!) But what if you want an elusive coconut milk latte? Glad you asked.

The hands down world’s greatest kick-Starbucks-in-the-face, tastes-like-a-liquid-macaroon coconut milk latte can be found at Luna’s Living Kitchen in Southend.

Unlike Starbucks, who receives its processed coconut milk in a box, Luna’s makes their own out of three simple ingredients: coconuts, water and coconut nectar. Badda boom.

The catch? This handcrafted mug of creamy frothy caffeinated cow-free goodness will set you back a solid $8. But if you’re in the target market for this type of thing (hand raised!), you don’t even care.

Luna’s is, in my opinion, the brick and mortar restaurant manifestation of what I wish my entire life and being was–light, different, edgy, calm. If this doesn’t make sense, you just need to stop by and sit there and eat something and overthink your life over a coconut milk latte. I’ll come with you.

This story was originally published February 23, 2015 at 12:38 AM with the headline "Why Luna’s understands me and Starbucks doesn’t."