My continuing search for a satisfying, affordable cup of milk coffee continues, and as I try the various choices, I’ll share what I find on this site. Someday, your local 7-11 in America will have half-gallons of good milk coffee just like they do in Japan and Hong Kong...

From last time, let’s revisit the Milk Coffee Review Criteria:

1.Creaminess. On the one side are the super-dense drinks like Vietnamese Café Su’a made with condensed milk, almost toffee-like in thickness. On the other side is watered-down coffee. An ideal milk coffee texture should resemble 2% milk – not too fatty but not too watery. Our scale is 0 = water; 10 = thick condensed milk.

2.Flavor. This is a more-complicated judgment, subject to individuals’ taste – as all the different drink options at Starbucks will attest. There seems to be a four-way balance in the drinks I’ve tried: water – chocolate – milk – espresso. A good milk coffee doesn’t have to shy away from cocoa notes but can’t ignore the coffee beans (otherwise it’s just chocolate milk.) Our scale looks at M = Milk; C = Chocolate; E = Espresso. 0 on the scale is weak; 10 is overpowering.

3.Price per serving. Milk coffee is supposed to be an everyday beverage, not a premium treat.

4.Caffeine punch. 0 for no effect; 10 for jarring.

The products in today’s review are:

UCC® Original Blend Coffee with Milk, imported from Kobe, Japan

This is the original canned coffee, going back to 1969, setting the standard for all other competitors. It has become something of an iconic product from 40+ years of references from TV and anime, too. As such, you can find it readily in Asian supermarkets around the world. The can is incredibly strong - made of steel; virtually impossible to crush with your hand - probably to hold up well in the shipping process.

1. 1.Creaminess - 5: A well-blended texture of skim milk - no suspended dairy particles. It’s pleasantly smooth but not rich.
   

2. 2.Flavor - This drink is all about the Kona coffee from UCC’s plantation (and the sugar); no room for cocoa. The milky smoothness does not translate into milky flavor; it’s only there as a supporting note. E = 8; C = 0; M = 3
   

3. 3.Price - at $1.99 per 337 ml can, it’s one of the more-expensive options. I can’t imagine what the can itself must cost.
   

4. 4.Punch - 8: it’ll keep you up well into the night if you have it after dinner. You can easily imagine this as a mainstay for Japanese students cramming through the night for exams...
   

Recommendation: a must-try, so you know what the original drink tastes like. However, it’s a bit too expensive to have as an everyday habit.

Mocca Iced Coffee (with milk), imported from Suzhou, China

I haven’t been able to find anything about this company on the English-language Internet, but having a coffee company come from Suzhou is not terribly surprising given the cafe culture of the town. This came from the Chinese beverage section of United Noodle here in Minneapolis; I’ve seen it regularly stocked for over a year. The can is small, only about 200 ml, but also inexpensive.

1. 1.Creaminess - 2: Fairly gritty texture; the milk solids don’t seem to have ever been blended into the drink.
   

2. 2.Flavor - I’m honestly not sure what they were trying to do; it doesn’t taste like coffee and it doesn’t taste like tea. There’s a little bit of artificial cocoa in there, but no milk flavor at all. I could definitely taste a lot of sorbitol, and afterward I had a weird chemical aftertaste in my mouth. E = 2; C = 2; M = 0
   

3. 3.Price - 99 cents. I’m glad I didn’t pay more to try this.
   

4. 4.Punch - 2: Less than a can of cola.
   

Recommendation: you may have heard about shanzai products, the fakes of clothing or electronics made quickly to look close enough like the originals but priced cheaply to attract the buyers who don’t care about brands? This is shanzai canned milk coffee. You can get much better for just a few cents more.

Sangaria Milk Coffee, imported from Osaka, Japan

Sangaria is most famous for the Ramune brand of sweet fruit drinks with their iconic “bubble in the neck” bottle. However, they started as a dairy in the 1950s, got into canned coffee in the early 1970s, and now also have tea and alcohol products.

1. 1.Creaminess - 5: on par with the UCC coffee; very well-blended and no grittiness. Not a rich texture but it still is easy to drink.
   

2. 2.Flavor - Again, Sangaria was coming into the market right after UCC, so the drink is first and foremost about the coffee flavor. The milk is there just as an undertone to carry the coffee essence. E = 7; C = 0; M = 3
   

3. 3.Price - $2.99 for the 500 ml bottle. That is a really expensive price.
   

4. 4.Punch - 6: Definitely a strong cup of joe, but not as intense or long-lasting as the UCC.
   

Recommendation: a very pleasant drink, but rather expensive and not appreciably different from the UCC product. If you find Sangaria on-sale it’s worth a try.