Guide to flavored coffee creamers

Photo by Carley Hull

My dad used to tell me that drinking black coffee would put hair on my chest, and to this day, I still can’t drink my coffee black. Not because I’m afraid I’ll sprout a mat of gorilla chest hair, but because creamers make coffee taste even better.

Even the best coffees I’ve tried are too strong without a dash of creamer. Here’s a guide for the best way to enhance your coffee with creamer, chest hair free.

Creamers should enhance, not cover up coffee

International Delight creamers are my go-to flavored creamer. They are generally cheaper than Coffee-mate creamers and come in a ridiculous amount of flavors. It is important that you do not buy creamers that cover up the coffee taste. Creamers should enhance a cup of coffee’s flavor, as well as make it creamier and sweeter. I have to admit that many flavored creamers, like Pumpkin Spice, are delicious, but treat this creamer as a way to make a flavored drink, not as an additive to quality roasted coffee that has its own unique flavors.

Fat vs. fat free

I prefer to buy creamer with fat, because fat free isn’t as great as it advertises. Most International Delight fat free creamers only have a five-calorie difference and only about one gram less sugar and fat. Fat-free creamers also have added sodium and carbohydrates. I also think fat-free tastes weird and thin in my coffee. Although all International Delight creamers are lactose free, the odd taste from the fat-free may be because creamers higher in fat compliment coffee best.

Flavored creamers that compliment coffee

French Vanilla (International Delight)

French Vanilla is the flavor I normally use in my morning coffee. It is sweet, with just enough vanilla to taste delicious and not artificial.

Be warned: flavored creamers can sometimes take away the different undertones of coffee, so try to accompany a French Vanilla creamer with a rich coffee or a coffee with complementary flavors. Cherry, chocolate, cinnamon and even lemon can all go great with vanilla. Bent Tree’s Guatemala Huehuetenango (way-way-ten-nang-oh) coffee is my favorite coffee with French Vanilla creamer because the cherry and chocolate flavors really stand out.

Irish Crème (International Delight)

This year was the first time I’ve ever tried Irish Crème creamer. For years, I thought it was a mint-flavored creamer because of the green packaging, but my Irish fallacy could not have been more wrong. Irish Crème is sweet and creamy, but doesn’t have a flavor that totally alters the coffee. This creamer is also non-alcoholic, so sorry to the Bailey’s Irish Cream fans. Irish Crème is great for those who still want their coffee sweet, but without the outside flavors of vanilla.

This creamer will go with almost any type of coffee, but I really like it with dark roasts with spicy flavors. I’m not usually one for dark roasts, but Irish Crème creamer instantly transforms Bent Tree’s Sumatra Kopi Gayo into a spicy, rich coffee without so much of the earthy taste.