Lately, there has been an increase in the types of milk one can drink. From almond, soy, rice, coconut and oat milk among the most popular, cow milk is slowly becoming the least favorite. With this change, comes and upcharge for the more popular options although there isn’t much of a price difference.

The fact that many coffee shops charge extra for substituting cow milk for plant-based options like almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, or oat milk is disturbing.

Whether you’re lactose intolerate, plant-based, or allergic to milk, you are guaranteed a penalty on milk everywhere except the grocery store. For example, Starbucks charges you 70 cents for these substitutes. I know it does not sound like much, but it adds up overtime. If you go to Starbucks 20 times in a month and substitute milk, you have paid 14 dollars for almond milk.

Starbucks has more than 28,000 stores in 77 countries and their net worth in 2017 was around 22.4 billion dollars, according to Business Indsider. If you are substituting the milk, you are probably also skipping out on the whip cream, so they are taking more of your money and you’re using less of their products.

Dunkin Donuts, which recently opened a store in Visalia, charges 50 cents for almond milk replacements and their net worth in 2019 was estimated to be 6.41 billion, according to the Boston Magazine.

These billion dollar companies feel the need to charge their customers more for their health issues or their choices to better their lives.

As for the price difference between almond milk and regular milk in stores,  the average of regular milk out of four brands surprisingly averaged at $3.49 while plant-based milk was $3.44. Many people believe that almond milk is a huge price difference when in reality, it’s a few cents cheaper and tremendously healthier for you.

The healthiest milk option at Starbucks is almond milk with only 7 grams of sugar and 130 calories per serving. While the unhealthiest option is the whole milk with 25 grams of sugar and 320 calories per serving.