Heated vs unheated plant milk makers
Last checked 2026-09-25.
Per the makers' own recipes and manual, an unheated maker only grinds and filters, so the milk ends at the temperature the water started. Almond Cow says its soy milk must then be cooked on the stove for 20 minutes, because “legumes can't be eaten raw”. The Soyabella's HOT mode grinds and heats in the machine, and Tribest's soy and oat recipes use it; its RAW mode, like the Almond Cow, adds no heat. Soaking differs as well: Almond Cow soaks soybeans at least 12 hours and peels them; Tribest's soy recipe lists raw soybeans.
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Does the machine heat?
| Maker | Heats | Modes | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almond Cow | no Almond Cow: “the Almond Cow does not use any heat! The milk-making process will finish at the same temperature it started at” (almondcow.co/pages/faq, not linked) | one button, unheated; hot water may be used in the base (Almond Cow FAQ) | no Amazon link |
| Soyabella SB-130 | yes Tribest: RAW “grinds only, no heat”; HOT “grind and heat cycles”, for heated milks from beans, grains, nuts and seeds | RAW (unheated, about 30 seconds) or HOT (heated, about 15 minutes), per Tribest | Amazon link at launch |
The makers' own recipes
| Maker | Milk | Dry ingredients | Water | Mode | After the machine | Stated yield | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Almond Cow | almond | 1 cup unsoaked almonds, or ½ cup soaked at least 4 hours | to the MIN line (5 cups) | unheated | none | 5–6 cups per batch (maker's batch figure; this recipe states no yield) | recipe (almondcow.co/blogs/milk-recipes/unsweetened-almond-milk, not linked) |
| Almond Cow | oat | about 1 cup whole grain oats, soaked at least 4 hours | to the MIN line (5 cups) | unheated | none | 5–6 cups per batch (maker's batch figure; this recipe states no yield) | recipe (almondcow.co/blogs/milk-recipes/oat-milk, not linked) |
| Almond Cow | soy | ½ cup soybeans, soaked at least 12 hours and peeled | to the MIN line (5 cups) | unheated in the machine | cook on medium heat for 20 minutes; Almond Cow: “Cooking your soy milk is necessary, as legumes can't be eaten raw” | not stated for this recipe | recipe (almondcow.co/blogs/milk-recipes/soy-milk, not linked) |
| Soyabella SB-130 | almond | 1 cup soaked almonds | 3 cups | RAW (unheated) | none | makes 3 cups (Tribest recipe) the recipe's 3 cups of water is below the 0.8 L (about 4 cups) MIN line that Tribest says the machine needs to engage; the two instructions conflict, and this page does not choose between them | recipe |
| Soyabella SB-130 | oat | 1 cup raw organic steel-cut oats | 4 cups | HOT (heated) | none | makes 4 cups (Tribest recipe) | recipe |
| Soyabella SB-130 | soy | ½ cup raw soybeans | 4 cups | HOT (heated) | none in the recipe | makes 4 cups (Tribest recipe) | recipe |
Kinds of claim on this page: modes, water lines, amounts, cleaning and warranties are product evidence from each maker's page, FAQ, recipe or manual; the SB-132's tofu kit fitting the Soyabella is a compatibility statement, Tribest's own bundle; batch sizes, speeds and savings figures are a manufacturer claim this page does not repeat as a finding; anything no source states, such as the yield of Almond Cow's soy recipe, is unknown. No price is shown.
- A recipe's stated yield is the maker's figure, not a measurement, and a water line is not a usable yield.
- Hot water may go in the Almond Cow's base, per Almond Cow; that warms the milk but does not cook it.
- After a HOT cycle the Soyabella's carafe and screen are hot; Tribest says to let them cool and use the drip cup and handle.
Almond Cow: on Amazon on 2026-09-25 Almond Cow was offered only as the Essentials Bundle (B0F46XYNM8), sold by Almond Cow as a third-party seller, so it gets no link. Almond Cow's own pages are named, not linked: on 2026-10-03 almondcow.co answered “This store is unavailable” for its product page, FAQ, tech page and the recipes cited here (HTTP 423). Its facts here are as read on 2026-09-25. Older Soyabella units, described in some Amazon reviews, label their buttons MILL and MILK; the current SB-130 manual cited here uses RAW and HOT, and this page describes what each mode does rather than its label.
We tested nothing: no yield, taste, texture, temperature, noise or energy measurements. Homemade plant milk is not the same product as a fortified carton; this page makes no nutrition, protein, calcium or allergen claim and gives no infant-feeding advice.
The two machines side by side: Almond Cow vs Tribest Soyabella. What a batch costs against a carton: plant milk maker cost per batch.