The Popular Creamy Addition To Coffee Tourists Might Look Foolish Ordering In Paris

Oats are no longer limited to bowls of porridge and oatmeal cookie recipes. These days, oats are commonly served up in milk form, mixed with coffee or frothed in a cappuccino. Data from 2020 compiled by SPINS even confirmed that oat milk was the second most popular milk alternative, just after almond milk (via Food Navigator).

However, these trends don't seem to apply to Parisians — a point you might notice when traveling to the French capital. Between visiting the Louvre and walking the Champs-Elysées, you may want to pick up a caffeinated beverage for fuel. But if you try ordering an iced coffee or café latte with oat milk, you probably won't get what you expected.

A viral TikTok posted by @atfrenchies demonstrated this in a skit, where an American woman orders a drink with oat milk but, after some confusion, is given a plain black coffee instead. Outside of comedic videos, tourists have also run into issues when ordering oat milk in French cafés. "I'm in Paris and I ordered an oat milk latte and the waiter said no," @imandyhaynes wrote in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Traditional French cuisine relies heavily on dairy — just look at cheesy French onion soup and buttery escargot as proof. It's not much different when it comes to coffee and espresso-based drinks. Whole-fat dairy milk is the go-to for cappuccinos and lattes. Oat milk and similar dairy alternatives, on the other hand, are harder to find, especially in traditional establishments.

However, you can still get your oat-milk fix, as long as you know where to look. While it might not be the same as experiencing Paris like a Parisian, you can find oat milk and other types of non-dairy milk in international chains. For example, Café Kitsuné offers oat, almond, and soy milk, while Starbucks in France offers non-dairy milk substitutions (including oat milk) for free. Additionally, hip local coffee houses, as well as health-conscious and vegan-friendly restaurants, may also offer oat milk on the menu.

If you visit a café you think should have oat milk but your order gets lost in translation, don't get discouraged. In France, the word "milk" can sometimes cause confusion, even if you specify you'd like the kind made from oats. The French government officially banned use of the term "milk" on non-dairy drink labels, a move adopted throughout much of the European Union. The proper way to refer to oat milk in French is "​​lait d'avoine," and an oat milk latte would be "un café au lait d'avoine."

If you find yourself at a cute café in Paris where there's no oat milk in sight, skip the cafè lattes and cappuccinos (unless you're okay with consuming dairy). A better choice might be a classic French drink that requires no milk or milk substitute at all. The simplest option: a basic café, which is typically a shot of espresso served in a little cup.

If you're looking for something more similar to an American cup of Joe, go for the aptly named café Americain. This is a cup of espresso with hot water added, almost matching the strength of a typical black coffee in the U.S. If you want to soften the flavor without using milk, ask for a sugar cube, if it isn't already served with your drink. An alternative to caffeinated drinks is a quintessential chocolat chaud, or hot chocolate. It's a decadent beverage best enjoyed in the winter, and, if you ask, some restaurants and coffee shops may be able to make yours with water instead of milk.