Brew better coffee so you don’t need milk? Try some light roast beans.

I was able to cut out milk entirely first from my filter coffee and then from my moka pot coffee just by using better freshly roasted and light roasted beans.

Soy milk! You can find no sugars added options

Oat milk and coffee taste like they’re meant to be together.

Just make sure it’s a good Oat Milk. The Chobani extra creamy is my favorite.

Another idea is to drop some coconut oil into the coffee. It’s different but it’s something and you don’t taste the coconut if you get refined oil.

Try out different plant based milks (oat, soy and almond al least), but start with barista versions, they’re usually higher in fat content and do not curdle as easily.

They’re all very different and brands differ quite a bit, so you might need to do some experimenting. Check your go-to grocery stores and see what they have the most of. 10 brands of oat milk? Probably a good starting point.

Oat milk is probably the best, imho. Although don’t dismiss soya milk, especially the barista versions. Personally I went cold turkey on milk in coffee years ago and never looked back. If it’s lacking something without milk, try different coffee! 20 years ago I was a 100% grande latte drinker, but now I’m a freshly ground double espresso every morning.

Almond milk. Non-sweet is an option.

I would have recommended oat, but if you say lactose free milk is already too sweet I think you’re likely to find the same with oat. Macadamia is probably the “creamiest” non-sweet alternative I’ve tried, give it a shot.

That being said, stay open to the idea of cutting back on additives altogether. I went through all sorts of things just to discover that what I liked wasn’t a particular creamer or sweetener or coffee brand - it was just lighter roasted coffee 😅

Another vote from me for out and almond milk. If you do any kind of milk steaming or latte art then oat is great for that…and I just like the flavour of almond milk. It’s really nice with breakfast cereals too as it adds a nice nutty flavour to everything.

There is nothing wrong with Soy milk, but with coffee you have to be careful you don’t curdle it due to the high temperature.

My recommendations are largely brand dependent and probably not available outside of germany.

I have a really good oat-almond milk at my convenience-store (Netto) around the corner. Another (LIDL) sells a very milk like oat milk (that is called No Milk). Both go for 1€ per Liter.

Rank 3 takes the sugar free variant of soy milk from alpro. Very mild taste, gives your coffee the texture your used to from milk. I even liked it when i was still drinking cows milk. They also got their own NOT Milk, which is also good. My beef with alpro are their steep prices.

I had the same issue a half a decade ago and my solution was, like most of the answers I imagine you’ll get here, to just get better coffee and drink it black. If you visit your local third wave cafes they should have a regular rotation of drip specialty coffee that you could try and usually they sell it too. I order from Th3rd Wave which sends me a box of different specialty coffees every month which really helps me discover what’s out there, maybe you have something similar in your area?

Oat milk is the best alternative I’ve found. Most places offer it so I switched to oat milk lattes and haven’t gone back.

If brewing at home, there are barista versions made specifically for coffee, but the original works too.

A friend recommended Oat milk to me - I’m exactly the same as you re disliking the sweetness of lactose free - she reckons it’s ‘inoffensive’.

Not all lactose free milk is equal. Look for ultra-filtered lactose free milk. The extra sweetness is caused by adding an enzyme that breaks down lactose into smaller, simpler sugars, e.g. glucose. Your body is better at tasting these sugars, and so you notice the sweetness more.

Ultra-filtered milk removes the brunt of the lactose before they add the latase enzyme, and thus there will be less simple sugar for your body to notice, resulting in a less-sweet milk.

Oat milk or water won’t add the body or depth you’re looking for. Depending on the particular beans, roast, and brewing method, milk might enhance the flavor profile. Similar to sugar and salt enhancing cacao. Yes, you lose nuanced notes, but no, that’s not a bad thing if the overall profile is improved.

You can also try blending different milks. Maybe you like 90-10 oat/whole milk or 70:30 ultra filtered/macadamia.

Perhaps go to a local shop during a slow period and ask if you can get a cup of coffee black and a flight of alternative milks. Whatever you do, have fun doing it!

My vegan coworker uses sweet vanilla soy milk most days, but plain soy milk on others.

If it’s too sweet, consider doing 50/50 with water.

Definitely Oat.
There are brands that make some specifically to emulate the flavour and texture of cow milk, often named something along the lines of “not milk”.
Alternatively “Barista” variants often have a slightly raised fat content and added soy or other protein to improve foamability.

Cheapest option is to make it yourself: ~90g oats per 1000ml water

• soak and rinse oats
• blend oats, pinch of salt and water
  • don’t blend too long, the mix gets a bit gluey otherwise
• strain through a cheese cloth or similar
• leave in the fridge overnight

Optional stuff:
add ~2 dates to the blender for a bit of sweetness
you can experiment with adding some cashews to the blend, or ~2 tbsp of neutral tasting oil to the blender for creamier consistency.
I heard xanthan gum can also be added to thicken the mix.