We spend a lot of time thinking about what goes into the cup. Usually, that means coffee. Where it was grown, who produced it, how it was processed and what happens to it once it reaches us. Well, what about the other ingredients that make up a coffee?
Recently, we spent a gorgeous summer day following the journey of MOMA's oats, from the fields of Wiltshire to the oat drink in our coffee. We learnt about how oats are grown, what goes into keeping the soil healthy, how the crop is processed and, perhaps most surprisingly, just how much science goes into making an oat milk that performs well in coffee.
Our day began with a presentation about MOMA's oat supply chain, before we headed to the mill and then out into the fields where the journey starts. But to tell the story, it makes more sense to begin where the oats themselves begin: in the field.
Where the journey starts
We met Josh, the farmer of Manor Farm who’s looking after the fields we were standing in. The farm sits on chalk and loam and there has been human activity on the land for thousands of years. Josh has been farming here for 35 years, following in the footsteps of his father and generations before him. However, the most interesting thing Josh talked about wasn't the history. It was the future. When talking about the farm, Josh kept coming back to one idea: give more than you take.
For him, sustainability isn't simply about reducing inputs or hitting a particular target. It's about making sure the farm is in a better position for the next generation. That means thinking about everything that makes up the farm, not just the crops. The soil, the bees, the birds and the wider ecosystem all have a part to play. So when we walked into the oat field, it was easy to see how that philosophy translates into practice.
The oats had been planted in the autumn following a cover crop. Cover crops help keep the soil covered between harvests, capturing sunlight and building organic matter through their roots. Winter oats also have time to establish a strong root system before spring arrives. Josh explained that the roots can reach more than a metre down into the chalk, helping the crop find moisture when conditions become dry. The dry conditions were certainly something we had to think about during our visit.
We were there during a particularly hot period, with the tops of the plants drying quickly while there was still moisture lower down in the soil. It was a good example of why building resilience into the soil and the crops is becoming increasingly important.
More than just oats
One of the things that struck us most was how much of the conversation came back to the soil. There is a tendency to think of sustainability in farming as simply using fewer inputs, but the approach here is much broader. Healthier soils can hold more water, support healthier crops and reduce the need for synthetic fertilisers. The farm also works hard on biodiversity.
We walked through grassland and field margins deliberately left longer, creating habitat for birds, insects and other wildlife. Robin, the farm's ecologist, talked us through some of the changes being made: leaving margins uncut, changing hay-cutting dates and protecting areas where skylarks and other species can nest.
Oat variety matters both agriculturally and for processing. MOMA's supply chain favours winter oats, specifically the Mascani old variety. Winter oats have deeper roots and are more resilient to drought, while spring oats have much higher losses during dehulling (nearly 50% versus 30–35% for Mascani). The variety and growing conditions can also affect the quality of the groat and therefore the oat milk.
From oats to groats
Once the oats leave the field, their journey continues to the mill. MOMA works with growers in the region through long-term relationships, with the oats used in their oat milk sourced within 60 miles of the factory. This local supply chain is something MOMA is particularly proud of, and it's easy to see why.
The oats can be traced back through the supply chain to the farms where they were grown. This means that MOMA can understand much more about the raw material they're working with, while the farmers have a clearer idea of where their crops are going.
Then there's the grain merchant. Someone who can tell a good oat by the way it feels in their hand. The colour. The weight. Even the hint of sweetness that comes when the sun has done its work. And once those oats reach the mill, it's not simply a case of letting the machinery do its thing. It's about small adjustments and subtle checks, making sure we're getting it right. Over and over again.
At the mill, the harvested oats are cleaned and sorted before being dehulled. The part we're interested in is the groat, the inside of the oat, separated from the outer husk. The husks don't simply go to waste either. They can be used for animal feed, animal bedding or sent to an anaerobic digestion plant. The groats then need to be stabilised because oats have a naturally high oil content. Once prepared, they're stored before making the short journey to the MOMA factory.
The science behind the carton
This was probably the part of the day we were most curious about. We all know what happens to oat milk once it reaches your baristas. It gets poured into a pitcher, steamed and hopefully turns into a smooth, glossy texture that makes a perfect flat white.
How do you actually make something that behaves like that? Jack from MOMA's operations team talked us through the science behind the process. MOMA has spent years developing their oat milk recipe, working through hundreds of different iterations to get to the product they have today. It turns out oat milk is a surprisingly technical product.
The oats are combined with water and enzymes, which help break down the starches and proteins. Different enzymes have different jobs, affecting things like sweetness, texture and stability. This is particularly important when you're making a product that needs to work in coffee. Unlike dairy milk, oat milk doesn't have the same natural combination of protein, fat and other components that help create a stable emulsion. Instead, the stability needs to be carefully built through the ingredients and the production process. Homogenisation is part of this process, helping to create the consistency we rely on when steaming and pouring.
We also learnt why oat milk can be a little more sensitive to heat than dairy milk. If you've ever been asked, or been the one asking, for an extra hot oat milk flat white, this is something worth knowing. The higher the temperature, the more challenging it becomes for the proteins in the drink to remain stable, potentially leading to separation and curdling of the oat milk. So while it might look like a simple carton sitting on the café shelf, there's a lot going on inside it.
Lunch in the fields
By the end of the day, we’d seen the oats in the field, followed them through the mill and learnt just how much science goes into turning them into something that works in coffee. It felt fitting to finish the day back outside, surrounded by the fields where the journey of the oats start.
Lunch was laid out under a beautiful sun shelter, with tables set among the grass and the fields stretching out around us. After a morning of talking about soil, crops, processing and supply chains, it was a lovely reminder that food is ultimately about much more than the systems behind it. It’s about sitting down together, sharing a meal and taking a moment to appreciate where everything has come from.
Why does any of this matter?
We already spend a lot of time thinking about origin when it comes to coffee. Visiting the MOMA’s oat farm made us think about the same thing from a different perspective. An oat milk flat white starts much further away from the café than you might think. It starts with a seed going into the ground. Then there's the soil, the weather, the farmer, the harvest, the mill and the people responsible for turning those oats into a product that works in coffee. Every part of that process has an effect on the final cup.
It also reminded us that good supply chains are built on relationships. Farmers need a reliable market for their crops. Producers need to know where their raw materials are coming from. We need products that we can rely on when we're behind the bar. The closer those relationships are, the easier it is to understand what's happening at each stage.
From field to cup
One of the things we liked most about the day was simply getting to see the whole process. It's easy to think of oat milk as something that arrives in a carton, ready to be poured. Spending a day in the fields and at the mill made it much easier to understand the work that happens before that carton reaches us. It gave us a new appreciation for the ingredient that we use every day in our cafés.
Next time you order an oat milk flat white from us, there's a good chance we'll be thinking about the field where those oats started their journey and all the people who helped get them from there to your cup.
