When Andrew Wightman conducted the test, he made three types of milk from each. For the almond milk they used unroasted, unsalted almonds. For cashews, he used unroasted, unsalted cashews. For the macadamia, he used dry roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts. I used old fashioned rolled oats, raw unsalted almonds and unsweetened coconut pieces.
For the machines, we looked for well-engineered products that would last a long time, as well as ergonomic and intuitive designs. Many of these require disassembling and thoroughly cleaning machine parts, especially because the pulped plant material may have a tendency to stick. Any machine that had thoughtful design combined with cleanliness was given a high status.
I also considered the time it takes to produce milk, as well as the simplicity of using the product (and the ease of cleaning it). We also examined the taste and smoothness, comparing it to each other and to store-bought milk. I also added additional sweeteners like agave, dates, and lavender simple syrup to see how the flavor changed with each machine.
These freshly made plant and nut-based milks have a shorter shelf life (usually about five days) than the plant milks you buy at the store due to the lack of added preservatives. We looked for machines that were not just blenders, but specifically designed to produce the best plant milk.