Homemade Vs Store Bought Coffee Creamer – Which One is Better?

The preferences for coffee creamer are subjective, aren’t they?’ Human psychology makes us change our perspective after a few years, coffee routines aren’t exceptional and they have changed significantly in the previous years. You and your homies will love handcrafting frothy on-tap cold brews or caramel macchiatos when you all are in the mood to be a barista at home.

But it isn’t convenient sometimes as one flavor doesn’t need to suit everyone. If you have a sudden urge to down a cup of coffee, simply add a tablespoon of coffee creamer to your cup and you are sorted for the day.

Regarding varied preferences, where some prefer having creamiest ones while others don’t even prefer dairy ones, we have come a long way to suss up a list of store-bought creamers as making at home might become overwhelming due to versatility in preferences. 

So here we are after downing hundreds of coffee cups, finally stumbled upon the top choice of store-bought coffee creamers which will be healthy with excellent flavor. 

In this guide, we will delve deeper into coffee creamer, distinguishing homemade and store-bought ones, how are they made, pros and cons, how long they will last, testing, and top store-bought options. 

What Is Coffee Creamer?

When did coffee creamer finally hit the food world? Its origin dates back to mid 90s, when in 1950, the first commercial coffee creamer made its way to the grocery shelves. In 1961, Carnation which is now a possession of Nestle made Coffee-Mate which is still hailed to be the most efficient and popular creamer brand.

But in the early 20th century, coffee creamer came out as an alternative to milk, cream, or half-and-half making it a treat for vegans and lactose intolerant people. In today’s world, almost everyone has a stock of coffee creamer at their table. 

It’s available in two forms, either liquid or powdered form but you will locate these in the dairy aisle when in real these aren’t milk-based.

But the question raised here is if it’s not dairy-based then what it is?

Formulation of Coffee Creamer

Ironically coffee creamer neither contains cream nor milk the first ingredient added to it is vegetable oil followed by corn syrup. But as it’s processed, therefore it’s loaded with sugar and artificial flavors to impart sweetness. 

Other brands use other non-fat, low-sugar, and low-fat ingredients in the formulation.  

But there is one ingredient added onto the formulation which just boggles my mind why this vegan product contains sodium cassienate which is allegedly a protein present in cheesemaking used to stabilise processed food. 

Caseins are milk proteins used in cheesemaking and they help to stabilize coffee creamer as well. It has woven its way into labels of every top brand, despite of manufacturer’s claim of non-dairy and has a negligible amount of lactose which isn’t too harmful for intolerant. 

Homemade Coffee Creamer VS. Storebought Coffee Creamer

There’s a fine line difference between homemade and storebought Coffee creamers both have exceptional taste but due to time constraints, it might become difficult to make these every morning. 

Homemade Coffee Creamer 

It seems the perfect choice as you can customize it to your preference by using a few tools and your favorite ingredients.  These are undoubtedly healthier than store-bought options.

• How to make it? Take a sweet cream base, which asks for sweetened condensed milk but if you want it vegan, take condensed coconut milk.
• Take your preferred milk, either skimmed or 2% fat milk, or half and half. 
• You can also add nondairy creamers like vegan milk including almond milk or coconut milk. 
• For an unsweetened creamer, omit sugar but for a sweetened type, you can add maple syrup, honey, or table sugar. 

Store-bought Coffee Creamer

To save time, there are a plethora of store-bought types introduced, in this you just need to simply add the creamer to a hot cup of coffee and your frothy coffee is ready. 

It saves a lot of time and comes in endless flavors catering to almost everyone’s needs. 

There are some best store-bought coffee creamers you can buy from any store nearby: 

• Chobani Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer
• Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Creamer
• Coffee Mate Café Mocha Creamer
• Coffee Mate Vanilla Bean Creamer
• Chobani Hazelnut Coffee Creamer
• Dunkin’ Extra Extra Coffee Creamer

Add a little oomph to your morning routine with these exceptional flavors that hit every note a coffee creamer should with being overly sweetened yet light in texture. 

Shelf Stability of Coffee Creamer 

How long do coffee creamers last? Do they last forever? Well technically it isn’t possible but as it doesn’t contain milk and cream it might last for a prolonged time. Moreover, the formulation contains additives and other preservatives contributing to its shelf stability. 

• The usual dairy-based products last a week or two only if refrigerated.
• The vegan liquid creamer may last a month after its best-before date. Additionally,  the tiny creamer cups do not even need to be placed inside the refrigerator. 

• The powdered creamer lasts even longer than that and stays fresh for 6 months even after the best-before date. But remember it will start losing its flavor, you should keep it next to the cupboard where you have kept celery seeds. 

How To Test Coffee Creamers? 

The experts find it no difficult to test the coffee creamer brands available at grocery stores. As vanilla is a hands down top choice of coffee enthusiasts carts are loaded with vanilla creamer, choosing both classic dairy and non-dairy types. 

The samples are tested by considering several factors which include: 

Appearance

The color must be looking tempting, the color varies from off-white to mocha in different brands and types.

Texture

A perfect creamer must be blended so well that it isn’t too thin nor gritty but a perfect approximation of heavy cream and half and half. If it’s gritty the way non-dairy ones are, it won’t be graded high in the testing.

Flavor

Taste is paramount in every food item and coffee flavors aren’t exceptional. The cream must be creamy (no surprise!), sweet and there must be notes of vanilla flavor and everything must combine well in the coffee. 

These are stringent factors that are considered while testing, besides that other factors are subjective. 

Merits & Demerits of Coffee Creamer 

Nothing is just perfect, with good things comes a catch as well. Here are some potential benefits and drawbacks you can expect while choosing coffee creamers. 

Merits

• The flavor is epic, perfectly sweet, and creamy and you can even enjoy seasonal flavors like peppermint mocha and pumpkin spice making it a staple.
• There are new flavors introduced by several brands that contain nonfat milk, cream, and flavors that are low caloric and don’t raise blood sugar levels.
• It’s a boon for people who are lactose intolerant and prefer a gluten-free diet, as most creamers are lactose and gluten-free. 

Demerits

• If they aren’t creamy, then what are they exactly made of? This pondering question is quite concerning as these are just concoctions of sugar, vegetable oil, and thickening agents. To make matters worse, the oil is partially hydrogenated, and consuming it is injurious if consumed daily.
• The sugar-free and fat-free varieties also contain humongous amounts of trans fat, artificial sweeteners, and thickeners which I believe isn’t worth having 20 calories each serving. 
• The dairy-based varieties are no different as those are also loaded with stabilizers and thickeners.

Bottom-line 

In conclusion, the coffee creamer is a blend of cream, milk, and thickeners. However, you can choose milk variety as per your liking, vegan or non-vegan, dairy or non-dairy in whatever manner you like.

You can make it at home by combining the required ingredients if you have time and you are overly conscious about your preference and like to customize yourself. But it can be hustling on a busy morning, so having store-bought types seems a convenient choice with exceptional flavors.

However, it’s concerning that the way these are splurged with trans fat and excessive amounts of calories but having them unfrequently isn’t quite harmful. 

Give it a thorough read to understand the tidbits before deciding to indulge in these. Which coffee creamer do you prefer, though?’ 

FAQs on Coffee Creamer

Is Coffee creamer good for you? 

Due to its excessive processing and abundance of artificial ingredients like added sugar, thickeners, and hydrogenated oil, you should avoid it altogether. 

What is a creamer in coffee? 

It’s the store bought powder or liquid we add to coffee instead of dairy ingredients like cream or half-and-half. Some varieties are dairy-free and contain sugar, thickeners, and artificial sweeteners. 

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