Unsweetened Coconut Juice with Soybeans

Cut the soybeans first. They need to soak overnight — actually 10 to 14 hours. Submerge them completely or they won’t soften right. The water gets gross and murky. Drain it. Refill. That’s just part of it.

Why You’ll Love This Unsweetened Coconut Juice

Homemade tastes nothing like the stuff in bottles. Cleaner. You control the sweetness — add sugar or don’t. Goes in coffee. Tastes better than store coconut milk there. Vegan, obviously. No weird additives hiding in the label. Takes 45 minutes total, but most of that’s soaking overnight, so you’re not actually standing there. Cold or hot. Works either way. Stores five days and doesn’t separate or go off like some homemade drinks do.

What You Need for Homemade Soy Bean Juice

Yellow soybeans — 140 grams, dried. That’s about three-quarters of a cup. Don’t use the canned ones. Wrong texture entirely. Light coconut milk. A liter and a half. Filtered water works if you want it more neutral, but coconut milk gives it something. Sugar — 25 grams, roughly 2 tablespoons. Adjust at the end though. Some people want less. Vanilla bean scraped, optional. Half of one. Just for aroma. Cotton gauze or thick cheesecloth for straining — six to eight layers. That matters. Thin cloth doesn’t catch the grit.

How to Make Unsweetened Soya Bean Milk

Soak the soybeans in plenty of water for 10 to 14 hours. They swell. Get soft. The water will turn gray-brown and cloudy — that’s normal. Drain it off and refill halfway through if you want, or just leave them. Rinse everything well before moving on.

Line a fine mesh colander with the cotton gauze. Six to eight layers thick. Hang the edges over the sides so you can grab them later. Put a large heatproof bowl underneath.

Divide the soybeans in half. Blitz the first half with 450 milliliters of coconut milk until it’s an ultrafine slurry — basically liquid with tiny bean particles suspended in it. Pour the whole thing into the lined colander. Do the same with the second half and another 450 milliliters. Then slowly pour the remaining coconut milk through to rinse the pulp.

Grab the corners of the cloth and twist it into a pouch. Press hard with a potato masher or heavy spoon. Get every bit of liquid out. You should extract just over 1.5 litres. Save the pulp for vegetable broth if you want. Don’t waste it.

How to Get Unsweetened Coconut Drink Smooth and Clear

Pour the extracted liquid into a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the scraped vanilla bean and sugar. Heat over medium-high.

Watch it. When foam forms — thick, rising bubbles — skim it off frequently. This is what keeps the liquid clear instead of cloudy. Skim a lot. It’s tedious but it works.

Lower the heat to keep a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally. The edges will start looking matte and velvety when it’s done, around 25 minutes in. The smell gets intense and aromatic — that’s your signal. Turn off the heat before it boils hard. Boiling too long makes it bitter. The aroma tells you everything. Don’t ignore it.

Cool it a bit before serving. Drink it warm. Chill it. Pour it over ice. Stores covered in the fridge about five days without separating or losing flavor.

Soy Bean Juice Tips and Common Mistakes

Too bitter? You boiled it too long. Next time, pull it off heat sooner. Or add a tiny pinch of baking soda near the end — smooths out the acids. Doesn’t taste like baking soda. Just works.

If it thickens too much as it cools, dilute with warm water or coconut milk to whatever texture you like. Sweetness is totally a matter of taste — don’t commit to the sugar amount until you taste it. Add more at the very end. Way easier than pulling it back out.

The coffee angle works better than you’d think. Homemade soy bean milk froths differently than store milk. Some people swear by it. Coconut milk iced coffee gets smoother with this. The texture is different.

Unsweetened Coconut Juice with Soybeans

By Emma

Prep:

15 min

Cook:

30 min

Total:

45 min

Servings:

6 servings

Ingredients

• 140 g yellow soybeans dried (about 3/4 cup)
• 1.5 litres light coconut milk (or filtered water for neutral)
• 25 g sugar (about 2 tbsp, adjust sweetness)
• 1/4 vanilla bean scraped (optional for aroma)
• cotton gauze or thick cheesecloth for straining

Method

1. 1 Soak soybeans in plenty water 10-14 hours. Keep submerged; beans swell and soften. If water gets murky, drain and refill. Rinse well before next step.
2. 2 Line a fine mesh colander with 6-8 layers thick of cotton gauze, edges hanging over sides. Place over large heatproof bowl to catch liquid.
3. 3 Divide beans in two portions. Blitz first half with 450 ml coconut milk till ultrafine slurry. Pour into lined colander. Repeat with other half and 450 ml coconut milk. Then pour remaining coconut milk slowly through colander to rinse pulp.
4. 4 Grab corners of cloth and twist forming pouch. Press with potato masher or heavy spoon to squeeze all liquid—expect just over 1.5 litres extracted. Discard or save pulp for veggie broth.
5. 5 Pour liquid into heavy bottom pot. Add scraped vanilla bean and sugar. Heat over medium-high. When foam forms thick bubbles and rises, skim foam frequently so liquid stays clear.
6. 6 Lower heat to keep gentle simmer. Stir occasionally. When edges start velvet matte and aromatic—around 25 minutes—off heat. Avoid boiling hard; smells tell all.
7. 7 Cool a bit before serving. Can be drunk warm, chilled, or over ice. Stores covered in fridge about 5 days without losing flavor or separating.
8. 8 Hot tip: too bitter? Boil less or add pinch baking soda near end to smooth acids.
9. 9 If thickens too much, dilute with warm water or coconut milk to desired texture. Sweetness is a matter of taste; adjust last minute.

Nutritional information

Calories

120

Protein

7g

Carbs

12g

Fat

5g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Homemade Soy Milk

Can I skip soaking the soybeans overnight? No. They won’t blend into a fine slurry. You’ll get gritty texture instead of smooth. 10 to 14 hours is the minimum.

What if I don’t have cheesecloth? Nut milk bags work. So does a thin kitchen towel folded multiple times. Needs to be thick enough that fine particles don’t slip through, loose enough that liquid does.

Does this work as a soya bean drink alternative to store-bought soy milk? Yeah. Tastes cleaner. Less beany if you skim the foam right. Doesn’t have the weird aftertaste some brands do. Texture’s slightly thinner — add a teaspoon of tapioca starch at the end if you want it richer.

Can I make this with just water instead of coconut milk? Sure. You get a pure soybean juice then. No coconut flavor at all. Works fine. Not as creamy but it’s still good. This is basically a homemade soya bean milk base either way.

How long does it actually stay good? Five days covered in the fridge. It separates slightly — just shake it. Doesn’t go off like you’d think. After five days, trust your nose. If it smells off, it is.

Will this work in coffee like coconut milk coffee does? Yeah. Actually better than some store brands. The coconut milk version froths okay. Doesn’t separate when it’s hot. Coconut milk iced coffee stays smoother with this than with ultra-processed stuff.