Drink Remarkably! Be Remarkable!
Califia Farms premium beverages present an alternative to dairy – and a delicious one at that. We’ve all noticed that non-dairy milk alternatives seem to be proliferating on supermarket shelves. No longer are rice milk and soymilk the only non-dairy choices. There’s coconut milk and almond milk as well. And now, thanks to a reader’s recommendation, we have discovered our favorite almond milk of all. It is smooth, deeply flavored, OU kosher, parve and a ready-to-drink beverage. It can be used as a mix-in or as a cooking ingredient. You can bake or cook with it, and add it to just about anything from morning cereal to soup or hot chocolate. And, oh, one more thing, their newest product, cold brew coffee. What a convenient, delicious treat on Shabbos morning.
Califia Farms was founded in 2010 by a farmer’s co-operative based in the San Joaquin Valley and is headed by beverage visionary, CEO Greg Steltenpohl. The company is focused on creating healthy, great tasting plant-based beverages. Steltenpohl has led Califia Farms to remarkable growth, making it the fastest-growing natural beverage company in the U.S. and the leading brand in the natural products coffee drinks category. You may recognize his name, as the founder and CEO of Odwalla beverages, now owned by Coca Cola.
Califia Farms is a uniquely California company. The brand is focused on mindful nourishment, using California-grown fruits and nuts. The coffee it uses is from rainforest alliance certified farms; its bottles are recyclable. The products are gluten free, have no GMO’s, are soy-free, and have added calcium. Even the iced coffee with almondmilk has no saturated fat,and is soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and cholesterol-free.
We have tried these Califia Farms products and highly recommend each:
Califia Farms Almond Milk
This beverage is available in many flavors. We sampled vanilla and original.
Each variety can be exchanged measure for measure with cow’s milk for cooking or baking.
Califia Farms Coffee Creamer
Original, Pecan Caramel, Hazelnut, Vanilla
What a rich complement to hot or iced coffee; and a creamy luscious addition to mixed drinks. Along with adding the creamer to our morning coffee, we also tried the original flavor in a cocktail with Amaretto and ice. Fabulous!
Califia Farms Concentrated Cold Brew Coffee
This can be mixed with water for black coffee, mixed with almond milk or creamer, served hot, blended, shaken, or simply poured over ice. Our special treat: For Shabbos morning we mixed 1 part concentrated cold brew coffee with 1 part hot water from our water boiling urn. Tip: If you like your coffee very hot, warm the mug first by filling it with hot water; leave for 1 minute, pour out the water and follow above instructions. All Califia coffee is from rainforest alliance certified farms. This Cold Brew Coffee has 60 percent less acidity than hot brewed coffee. Excellent!
Califia Farms Cold Brew Coffee with Almond Milk in 3 flavors:
Double Espresso, Café Latte, Mocha
Pour over ice and enjoy, or add to your favorite cake or dessert substituting for other liquids. What a great pick me up in mid – afternoon on a hot summer day.
KosherEye is always delighted to find an excellent brand that just happens to be kosher certified. Thanks Califia for joining the kosher food community! Califia Farms products are found in the refrigerated section of most supermarkets across the U.S. Visit Califiafarms.com for more information.
A conversation with Greg Steltenpohl, CEO of Califia Farms
KosherEye: We know that you previously led Odwalla; How and why did you transition to almond milk from fruit juice?
GREG: I was actually interested in Almondmilk during my years at Odwalla; I knew that plant-based foods were the future, and I learned a lot about pressing fruits and nuts into drinks as a leader in the fruit juice and smoothies business. After leaving Odwalla, it was a natural transition to follow my passion for producing healthy, great-tasting beverages to the California Central Valley, where Califia Farms began producing citrus juice and Almondmilk from the natural bounty surrounding us.
KosherEye: Why did you make the decision that Califia should go kosher?
GREG: We want our products to be a part of as many people's lives as possible, so it made sense to get our products certified so shoppers choosing Kosher would have an easy decision.
KosherEye: How is the drought in California impacting almond production?
GREG: Like all Californians, we're very concerned about the lack of rainfall, which is causing the drought. It takes significant amounts of water to grow all the food we put into our bodies, and we think that sustainable water practices are critical to our state’s ongoing success in agriculture. While the almond crop has grown significantly over the past decade, we think that most almond growers have done a great job of installing drip controlled irrigation to the point where total water usage to produce the almond crop has actually declined.
KosherEye: Would you share a couple of your family's favorite recipes using Califia almond milk?
GREG: We really like making overnight oats to save time in the morning but also ensure a nutrient-packed start to the day; soak 1/2 c steel cut oats in 1/2 c of our Unsweetened Almondmilk overnight, top with blueberries or other fresh fruit and a drizzle of maple syrup and you're good to go! (Greg enjoys this no cook oatmeal at room temperature.) We also like making smoothies with our Almondmilk by blending it with frozen fruit and unique ingredients, like half an avocado or chia seeds, for nutrient-dense delicious on-the-go drinks.
KosherEye: What's in the pipeline?
GREG: We're always expanding our offerings to provide more nutritional benefits to families: think ancient grain almond shakes, or special blends of herbs and almond milk for great-tasting health drinks.. Besides continuing to innovate in the wonderful way our milks combine with coffee, we're really excited about our new line of Horchata products which bring a new healthful twist to a great tasting traditional latin beverage.