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Beetroot latte functional & Novel Ingredients: When the Café Becomes a Wellness Lab (With Better Vibes) By: Salman Khan

  • Salman Khan
  • Jan 17
  • 4 min read

Contemporary café culture is undergoing a subtle but significant transformation. Once defined primarily by caffeine delivery and comfort rituals, cafés are increasingly becoming spaces of functional nourishment, sensory exploration, and intentional consumption. Innovations such as beetroot lattes, no- and low-caffeine beverages, and enhanced plant-based milks signal a broader shift toward health-aligned indulgence — where what a drink does matters as much as how it tastes.


Plant-Based Latte Culture: Where Craft Meets Conscious Choice


Plant-based milks as a craft medium


Latte art made with oat, almond, or soy milk visually disproves the outdated assumption that dairy alternatives are technically inferior. Foam quality, micro-texture, and pour precision are now central to the plant-based story.


1. The Rise of Functional Beverages: Beyond the Buzz

The modern consumer is no longer asking only “Does it wake me up?” but rather “How does this make me feel — physically and mentally?” Functional café beverages respond to this question directly.




Beetroot lattes, for example, are rich in dietary nitrates, naturally supporting blood flow and stamina. Once the domain of endurance athletes, beetroot has crossed into cafés as a vibrant, earthy, and visually striking alternative to traditional espresso-based drinks. Its appeal lies not only in its physiological benefits, but also in its narrative: natural energy, minimal stimulation, and botanical authenticity.


In this sense, cafés are becoming micro wellness hubs, offering drinks that align with circadian rhythms, stress management, and holistic wellbeing — without prescribing or preaching.


2. No- and Low-Caffeine Options: Redefining Energy

The dominance of caffeine is being gently — but deliberately — questioned. Consumers increasingly seek choice rather than dependency, particularly those managing anxiety, sleep quality, pregnancy, or long workdays that already overstimulate.

No- and low-caffeine beverages such as roasted chicory, adaptogenic mushroom blends, ceremonial cacao, and herbal latte bases offer ritual without overstimulation. The cup remains warm, the foam remains luxurious, and the pause remains meaningful — but the nervous system stays intact.


This trend reflects a cultural pivot: energy is no longer synonymous with intensity. Instead, it is being redefined as sustained clarity, calm focus, and balance.


3. Enhanced Plant-Based Milks: From Alternative to Art Form

Plant-based milks have matured from simple dairy substitutes into highly engineered, barista-optimised ingredients. Oat, almond, soy, coconut, and emerging contenders such as pea or macadamia are now enhanced with proteins, minerals, and emulsifiers to improve mouthfeel, foam stability, and nutritional density.



For cafés, this evolution solves both a technical and philosophical challenge:

  • Technically, enhanced plant milks perform better under heat and pressure.

  • Philosophically, they align with sustainability, inclusivity, and ethical consumption.

The result is a beverage that satisfies the sensory expectations of specialty coffee while quietly advancing environmental and health objectives. Functional, yes — but never joyless.


4. Why This Matters for the Café of the Future

These innovations are not fringe trends; they represent a structural recalibration of café value propositions. The future-facing café is not merely a caffeine station — it is a curator of experiences, ingredients, and intentions.


By offering functional and novel ingredients, cafés:

  • Expand their customer base beyond traditional coffee drinkers

  • Increase dwell time and brand loyalty

  • Position themselves at the intersection of hospitality, health, and culture

And perhaps most importantly, they signal relevance in a world where consumers expect businesses to understand them — not just serve them.


Driving Home:

While we explore plant-based milk, it would definitely be an injustice not to talk about our homegrown ButtaNutt in the coffee shop landscape and retail industry. This innovative and creative company deserves praise and industry support. They have done extremely well in presenting their products to coffee shops and the retail industry, and we need many more players like ButtaNutt.

 

ButtaNutt Story:

In 2012 second year engineering student Antoine van Heerden thought he would try his luck selling his parents’ macadamias in his residence for some extra cash. Luckily, he was out of luck. Nuts, it turns out, are not top priority amongst the university crowd. He needed to be a little more innovative, and found that once roasted and ground, macadamias make the creamiest, moreish golden butter that is simply irresistible. Everyone who tasted it wanted more. 



Soon Antoine started roasting, grinding and bottling in his student digs. Friends, roommates and fellow athletes were all roped in to help stick labels, twist lids and man his stand at the local farmers market. The never-ending hours of explaining nut butter to perplexed market-goers eventually paid off and the product started gaining traction. 

By the time Antoine had enrolled for his Masters at Stellenbosch University, the butters had gained so much traction that he was faced with a tough decision. With Entrepreneurship in his DNA he just could not resist giving the business a go, and so, withdrew from further studies. To read more click on the link https://www.buttanutt.co.za/pages/our-story


Conclusion: Serious Nutrition, Served Lightly


Functional café drinks succeed precisely because they do not feel medicinal. They are playful in colour, complex in flavour, and quietly intelligent in formulation. A beetroot latte does not announce itself as a wellness intervention — it simply arrives, pink and confident, and gets on with the job.


In this new era, cafés are no longer asking customers to choose between pleasure and purpose. They are offering both — in a cup, with foam on top.


About Author:



Salman Khan is a Barista judge, internationally acclaimed human rights activist, social entrepreneur, food and drink anthropologist, researcher and culinary educator.

To access 2024 coffee consumer survey report in South Africa please send an email to by a copy of it.

WhatsApp 082 691 6048

 


 
 
 

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