Coffee Creamers 101: Everything You Need To Know

If you like your coffee with a bit of cream, you’ll probably want to make use of a coffee creamer.

This will enhance or even improve the taste of your coffee, while also adding a bit of an indulgence to your morning cup.

What is a coffee creamer?

Coffee creamer is a powder or liquid you can purchase at the grocery store to add to your coffee or tea. It’s usually used instead of milk, but it doesn’t contain dairy so it’s safe to consume if you’re lactose-intolerant.

You can find coffee creamer in a variety of flavors, and it’s usually made with sugar, thickeners, and oil.

If you follow a certain diet or lifestyle, you can also find coffee creamers that will accommodate it. With that in mind, here’s everything to know about coffee creamer and if you should use it in your coffee.

Powdered Creamer Vs. Liquid Creamer

There are two main types of creamer – powdered and liquid – but how do they differ?

Powdered creamer

This comes in a variety of flavors, such as sweetened milk, and you can purchase it in containers or packets. Once opened, you’ll have to store your powdered creamer in the kitchen cupboard.

Liquid creamer

You can find this in the dairy section of your local grocery store. It also comes in a variety of flavors, and you can find sugar-free versions. You’ll have to store your liquid creamer in the fridge after opening it to preserve its freshness.

You can use both powdered and liquid coffee creamers in coffee or tea. 

How To Make Coffee Creamer Frothy

If you love putting creamer in your daily beverage, you might wonder if you could froth it up with a milk frother to make your coffee creamier. To answer this question, we have to look at how different types of milk behave when frothed. 

Basically, the thicker the milk you froth, the less airy and the thicker it will turn out. As an example, whole milk (which is actually regarded as one of the best types of milk to froth) will provide you with a thick foam that’s perfect for putting in your coffee.

When it comes to coffee creamer, it won’t have a very thick foam. That doesn’t mean you can’t froth it. Here are some important tips to follow depending on what type of frothing device you have.

• If you’re using an electric whisk to froth the creamer, you want to put the creamer into a cup and then put the electric whisk in it. You should whisk the creamer until you can see that its volume has increased. Then, simply add it to your coffee.

• If you’ve got an automatic frother, you want to add the creamer to the milk frother when it’s cold – this will help it to foam up more. Let the machine froth the creamer until you can see that its volume has increased, then add it to your beverage.

• Bear in mind that if you own powdered creamer, you’ll first have to dilute it with water or milk to be able to froth it with a frothing device. However, if you want a lighter froth with your liquid creamer you can also dilute it first. 

It’s really easy to use a frother for coffee creamer, so go ahead and try it out the next time you have coffee.

How Coffee Creamer Is Different From Half-And-Half

Half-and-half is a popular choice for making coffee less black and enhancing its flavor, but you might wonder what makes it so different from coffee creamer. Here’s the lowdown.

Both half-and-half and creamer are usually added to coffee and they’re milky in consistency. But, while half-and-half is made with milk and cream in equal amounts to make it rich and satisfying, creamer doesn’t contain any dairy.

This doesn’t mean it isn’t thick – it has the same consistency as half-and-half does, but it will usually have more sugar.

Are Coffee Creamers Right For Your Lifestyle?

We already mentioned that coffee creamers don’t contain dairy but are they really safe to consume if you’re lactose intolerant or vegan? What else should you know about coffee creamers before you purchase them?

Let’s look at if they will fit your lifestyle choices or not.

Can You Consume Coffee Creamers If You’re Vegan?

While coffee creamers are said not to contain any dairy ingredients (which means you can consume them if you’re lactose intolerant), non-dairy labels don’t automatically mean that the product doesn’t contain any milk.

For example, it could still contain milk proteins, such as casein, which vegans wouldn’t want to consume. 

This is why it’s important to scrutinize the product labels of coffee creamers. If the creamer is non-dairy, make sure by reading the label – you should keep an eye out for words like “non-dairy” or “dairy-free.” The packaging should also have the word “vegan” on it.

In addition to the above, keep an eye out for animal ingredients that could sneak into the product, such as whey, casein, or lactose, as these should be avoided.

Are Coffee Creamers Kosher?

When foods are marked as Kosher, this means that they meet the Jewish dietary guidelines. These laws prohibit certain foods from being consumed and insist that foods have to be processed according to certain rules.

When it comes to foods that don’t contain dairy or meat in them, they are considered to be neutral and they will have the word “Parve” or “Pareve” on them.

So, when shopping for coffee creamers that are Kosher, you will search for one of these words on the products if they don’t contain dairy.

If the coffee creamer does contain dairy, it will usually be mentioned on the product with a “D” or the word “Dairy” printed next to the Kosher symbol. The Kosher symbol can be “K”, a “K” in a circle, or a “U” in a circle.

You can find Kosher coffee creamers on the market. If you’re shopping online, you can search for the best Kosher coffee creamers on sites such as A To Z Glatt Kosher. However, you can also find Kosher creamers on Amazon as well as other retailers.

Can You Drink Coffee Creamers Every Day?

When you consider using coffee creamers, it’s important to know if you can safely consume them every day in your coffee or tea.

The first thing you need to consider is how many calories are in your favorite coffee creamer. You might find that some creamers claim to have around 35 calories and 6 grams of sugar, but your serving sizes can increase this amount.

For example, if you pour creamer into your coffee without really measuring how much you’re putting into your cup or mug, this could easily increase that amount by four times, as Eat This Not That reports. That’s a lot of sugar to consume in coffee creamer!

It’s not just the sugar and fat content of creamers that you need to worry about.

The oil that is found in coffee creamers is partially hydrogenated. This means that it’s an unhealthy trans fat that can boost your cholesterol levels and contribute to health risks such as stroke and heart disease.

Some coffee creamer brands will state that they don’t contain fat or sugar, but check the labels because they could be using artificial sweeteners that contain harmful chemicals.

For example, one sweetener is called sucralose and this causes spikes in your blood sugar, which could increase your risk of getting type 2 diabetes, as Prevention reports.

Three Healthy Coffee Creamer Brands

If you want to ensure that you’re not increasing your calorie intake unnecessarily or ingesting unhealthy ingredients on a daily basis whenever you enjoy a cup of coffee, especially if you like to drink many cups per day, you should steer towards healthier coffee creamers.

Here are three to know about.

Califia Farms Unsweetened Better Half Coffee Creamer

This coffee creamer is vegan, Kosher, soy-free, and has only 15 calories per serving. Its main ingredients are almond milk and coconut cream, so it’s focused on giving you a healthier, more natural, alternative to regular coffee creamers.

Nutpods Unsweetened Liquid Coffee Creamer

This coffee creamer is made from almonds and coconuts, but it’s safe for consumption in a paleo diet while also being free of added sugars, dairy, soy, and gluten. You can safely enjoy it if you’re Kosher and/or vegan. It’s packed with natural flavors and has 0% sugar.

Laird Superfood Coffee Creamer

Interestingly, this coffee creamer contains turmeric and that’s why it tastes deliciously earthy. It can be used in your daily coffee or to make golden milk.

Other ingredients in Laird creamer include coconut milk, organic coconut, and organic extra virgin coconut oil, which give your coffee a smoother texture.

How To Make Your Own Coffee Creamer

If you don’t want to buy coffee creamer, such as because you’re worried about ingesting unhealthy ingredients, you could always make your own at home. It’s easy and doesn’t require many ingredients.

The benefit of doing this is that you’ll know exactly how much of the ingredients you’re putting into the creamer and you’ll be able to make it taste exactly how you want it for the best coffee!

Here’s a simple recipe for DIY coffee creamer courtesy of chef Gemma Stafford.  

What You’ll Need (will make 12 servings)

• 1 ¾ cup milk (you can choose any milk you like)
• 1 tin condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla pod (you should slice it in half and remove its seeds)
• medium saucepan
• whisk
• airtight container

How To Make The Creamer

• Whisk the milk, condensed milk, vanilla pod and seeds in your saucepan over medium heat.
• You don’t want it to boil so remove it as soon as it simmers.
• Add in the vanilla extract.
• Cool the mixture and then put it in an airtight container.
• You should store it in the fridge, and it will retain its freshness for about a week.

That’s it! Making your own coffee creamer is really easy. You can also adjust the recipe if you like, such as if you want to add flavors other than vanilla, but this one is creamy and rich so you’re sure to love it.

Excellent Substitutes For Coffee Creamer

If you’re looking for a substitute for trusty coffee creamer, you’ll be pleased to know that there are many to consider. Here’s a rundown of some of the most popular ones.

Cinnamon

A bit of cinnamon in your coffee can add a nice burst of flavor, plus it’s also really healthy. Fresh cinnamon is packed with anti-inflammatory benefits.

You want to choose organic cinnamon, though, to avoid the added fillers that can be present in non-organic varieties as these degrade the cinnamon quality. While it won’t make your hot beverage creamy, cinnamon will definitely give it a nice burst of flavor and zing!

Honey and Cacao

Make sure you choose unsweetened cacao so that you don’t have too much sugar in your coffee.

Add one teaspoon of the cacao and half a teaspoon of honey to your beverage. This will make your coffee richer and sweeter so it’s a great way to avoid consuming the chemicals that are in artificial sweeteners.

Coconut Cream

This is a delicious addition to your daily coffee. It also froths really well, so it’s perfect if you want a creamier cup but don’t have any coffee creamer in the house.

The added benefit of coconut cream is that it’s a healthy fat known as medium-chain triglycerides that boost energy and also contribute to weight loss, as WebMD reports.

Creative Ways To Use Coffee Creamer

Whether you’ve bought creamer or made your own, you don’t have to reserve the use of your creamer to coffee or tea. There are many other ways in which you can enjoy it.

Drink It In Hot Chocolate

When you feel like a comforting hot chocolate to drink, add a splash of creamer to it!

Go one step further and add a creamer that’s flavored as this will put a nice spin on your regular chocolate drink. Some flavors that really work well with chocolate include peppermint and pumpkin spice.

Eat It In Hot Cereal

If you’re getting bored with your usual cereal-and-milk deal for breakfast, why not try adding creamer to it?

This will add extra flavor and creaminess, but just be sure that you make your cereal with less water or milk than usual.

Mix It Into Pancake Batter

Who doesn’t love pancakes?

You’ll love them even more when you add in creamer as a surprise ingredient. To make it work, use a few teaspoons of creamer instead of the water or milk you usually use.

Some great flavor ideas include buttercream or cinnamon creamer to take your homemade pancakes to a tastier level.

Add It To Your Soup

Although it’s easy to associate coffee creamer with sweet treats, you can definitely use it in savory foods. You might not think of adding creamer to your butternut, or other, soup, but it works like a charm.

Just make sure the creamer doesn’t have any flavor in it so that it won’t compete with the flavors that are already in your soup. Simply add around two cups of creamer to the soup, but make sure you pour it in slowly and then whisk it while the soup heats up to make it creamy.

Related Questions

What’s the usual shelf life of coffee creamer?

Your store-bought powder coffee creamer can last for up to six months, while liquid creamer can last for up to two weeks.

Can you freeze coffee creamer?

You can freeze both dairy-free liquid and powdered coffee creamer and it will last in the freezer for up to six months. 

Conclusion

You might be used to adding cream to your tea or coffee, but creamer can come in really handy if you’re looking for something different. 

There are many benefits to using creamer, such as how it comes in a variety of delicious flavors, but it’s also worth bearing in mind that store-bought creamer isn’t the healthiest product to enjoy on a daily basis.

That’s why we’ve included some alternatives to coffee creamers as well as a recipe you can try to make your own at home – without the worry of what chemicals and sugars are in it.

Now sit back, relax, and enjoy your coffee with cream(er).

Last Updated on May 15, 2021