Vicki Gregory pours a small amount of two different types of almond milk into two small plastic cups—one a popular grocery store staple, the other her personal brand and passion project, Totally Nuts. The difference between the two is obvious. Totally Nuts is thick and creamy. The grocery store sample is grayish and thin. And if there’s one thing Gregory, a 53-year-old pharmacist, knows: “Almond milk shouldn’t be gray.”

Dissatisfaction with reigning brands prompted Gregory to begin making her own several years back. In the same way many local food businesses start, she began sharing it with family and friends, and they liked it so much they wanted to pay. Last year, she found a commercial kitchen and by early 2018, brought her milk to market. Today, you can find her plain unsweetened milk, as well as a coffee-flavored milk and a chocolate and honey milk, at a handful of local businesses like Nellie’s Deli, Simon’s Coffee House and Lelu Coffee, as well as on her own website.

Gregory’s base recipe includes water, California almonds, salt and a probiotic. The   flavor is rich and nutty, since almonds make up roughly 10 percent of a bottle of Totally Nuts, while more popular varieties hover around 2 percent. More almonds mean more protein, and Gregory avoids the chemicals, preservatives and sugars in commercial brands. “I always felt that there were no good options,” Gregory says. Now there is.

Visit purenutmylk.com for more information.