Most of the lactose-intolerant population isn’t asking for lattes for the simple reason that their cuisine doesn’t use dairy at all.
Also FWIW Italy is quite lactose-intolerant. It’s why you hear things like “no cappuccino after noon” and stuff, many Italians don’t vibe well with more than one of those things.
It’s not extremely rare. Many native south europeans are lactose intolerant, too (I don’t remember the exact numbers but IIRC it was the majority in places like southern Italy) and there’s lots of people from other continents in Europe nowadays.
Not sure about France either. But I believe in UK and Germany it’s less than 10%
If a cafe or restaurant is already extremely busy with long delays, serving other milk too could slow down service, and they might not even need the business.
I also know a dairy intolerant person who takes lacteze anyway, so its not an issue for them
And I know another who just ignores the intolerance, as it’s only a small amount of milk
Last I checked, it was more like 6-8% for UK… So, 6-8 out of 100 customers in that case would slow down everyone’s orders, would reduce the efficiency, increase the business risk and also require a whole bunch of extra procedures to avoid “poisoning” someone. If they’re already overbusy, it’s just costing money.
In practice, Lactose intolerant also doesn’t mean what you think it does. It simply means they have some kind of negative reaction, and many people are lactose intolerant to a certain degree if you drink enough milk and eat enough cheese. I suspect I am somewhat dairy intolerant, and I still drink milk fairly regularly… So, if those 6-8 percent who are actually considered intolerant, most of them probably don’t care…
Most people who are considered lactose intolerant can still ingest milk in their coffee though, because its a small amount with no impact. They’re not deathly allergic… Some of them likely also take Enzymes to allow them to digest dairy.
So, if we’re talking ACTUAL numbers who this affects, its fuck all really, except the ones who are genuinely allergic (and do you really want to be serving hundreds of drinks an hour which look EXACTLY the same to customers who might get seriously sick and sue?)
Disregarding that, the cafe has clearly calculated the business case, and determined serving oatmilk just isn’t worth it…
Also, I have noticed at least 1 person in this post repeating brand names, so i almost wonder if some viral marketing is happening here…
I don’t drink coffee though (it tastes like dogs arse), so I don’t really care though to be honest. And I don’t work in a cafe. The only info I’m working off is off people I know with IBS and dairy intolerance.
On the other hand, oat milk can be contaminated with gluten too. So, some people who are affected by Dairy, may also be affected by Oat milk too anyway…
Do you really think that Sweden, Germany and UK is all the world there is? I’ve got a surprise for you.
I get the sneaking suspicion you enjoy being contrarian for contradictions sake.
Yes. About 2/3rd of the worldwide population is lactose-intolerant. Hence, it is really common to ask for lactose-free products.
That’s a myth really. Lactose intolerant don’t drink lattes in the first place. But they might not be that intolerant in the first place
Most of the lactose-intolerant population isn’t asking for lattes for the simple reason that their cuisine doesn’t use dairy at all.
Also FWIW Italy is quite lactose-intolerant. It’s why you hear things like “no cappuccino after noon” and stuff, many Italians don’t vibe well with more than one of those things.
In Europe, dairy intolerance is actually extremely rare. It’s Asia where intolerance is common
You can’t use worldwide stats to represent a localised region
It’s not extremely rare. Many native south europeans are lactose intolerant, too (I don’t remember the exact numbers but IIRC it was the majority in places like southern Italy) and there’s lots of people from other continents in Europe nowadays.
Not sure about France either. But I believe in UK and Germany it’s less than 10%
If a cafe or restaurant is already extremely busy with long delays, serving other milk too could slow down service, and they might not even need the business.
I also know a dairy intolerant person who takes lacteze anyway, so its not an issue for them
And I know another who just ignores the intolerance, as it’s only a small amount of milk
10% is not “extremely rare”, though.
Last I checked, it was more like 6-8% for UK… So, 6-8 out of 100 customers in that case would slow down everyone’s orders, would reduce the efficiency, increase the business risk and also require a whole bunch of extra procedures to avoid “poisoning” someone. If they’re already overbusy, it’s just costing money.
In practice, Lactose intolerant also doesn’t mean what you think it does. It simply means they have some kind of negative reaction, and many people are lactose intolerant to a certain degree if you drink enough milk and eat enough cheese. I suspect I am somewhat dairy intolerant, and I still drink milk fairly regularly… So, if those 6-8 percent who are actually considered intolerant, most of them probably don’t care…
Most people who are considered lactose intolerant can still ingest milk in their coffee though, because its a small amount with no impact. They’re not deathly allergic… Some of them likely also take Enzymes to allow them to digest dairy.
So, if we’re talking ACTUAL numbers who this affects, its fuck all really, except the ones who are genuinely allergic (and do you really want to be serving hundreds of drinks an hour which look EXACTLY the same to customers who might get seriously sick and sue?)
Disregarding that, the cafe has clearly calculated the business case, and determined serving oatmilk just isn’t worth it…
Also, I have noticed at least 1 person in this post repeating brand names, so i almost wonder if some viral marketing is happening here…
I don’t drink coffee though (it tastes like dogs arse), so I don’t really care though to be honest. And I don’t work in a cafe. The only info I’m working off is off people I know with IBS and dairy intolerance.
On the other hand, oat milk can be contaminated with gluten too. So, some people who are affected by Dairy, may also be affected by Oat milk too anyway…