A tearoom is serving 'camelccinos' - made with camel's milk

Would you try a coffee made with camel's milk? (Photo: Shutterstock)Would you try a coffee made with camel's milk? (Photo: Shutterstock)
Would you try a coffee made with camel's milk? (Photo: Shutterstock)

by Angus Howarth

Camel milk cappuccinos will be on the menu at a tearoom this week in aid of a project helping Kenyan traders deal with climate change.

The Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow will offer the drinks, known as camelccinos, from Wednesday (29 May) in what is claimed to be a Scottish first, with 10 per cent of profits going towards a scheme for camel milk traders.

Camel milk is popular across Africa and the Middle East and is hailed by scientists as the closest alternative to human breast milk – containing 10 times more iron and three times more vitamin C than cow’s milk.

'Healthier than cow's milk'

Mercy Corps, based in Edinburgh, launched the project to enable 141 women camel milk traders near Wajir, in the north-east of Kenya, to boost the shelf life of their product.

Camel milk is hailed by scientists as the closest alternative to human breast milk (Photo: Shutterstock)

They have been given solar-powered milk coolers, refrigerated transport and vending machines to help preserve the milk in the average 40C (104F) heat – temperatures which previously led to around a quarter of the milk spoiling.

The project is being funded by the UK government’s Department for International Development (DfID).

Willow Tea Rooms owner Anne Mulhern said the novel drinks have proved popular in tests and will be on offer throughout June. She said, “When we were approached about camel milk, we found out that it’s healthier and higher in iron than cow’s milk.”

This article originally appeared on our sister site, The Scotsman