Instant Coffee and Creamers - The Full Guide
While people enjoy drinking their coffee black, many others enjoy their daily dose of caffeine along with a milk or creamer and some sugar.
So what is creamer exactly and how many different types are on the market? There are many questions to be answered! How many coffee creamers are there? Is it even healthy for you? And what is the healthiest coffee creamer? Luckily for you, we have answered all your questions in this article! Get ready to know exactly which creamer is the match for you!
History: When Coffee And Milk Were First Introduced
Other than black coffee, drinking coffee with milk or cream and even sugar has become a norm. But when exactly did we first start adding milk into our cups of joe? The reality is that there are no specific dates or stories of when milk was first added to coffee. This is because exact culinary histories are hard to find and possibly nonexistent. However, what we do know is that after coffee was first introduced, it was consumed without milk for the first few centuries of its existence.
One of the stories indicate that milk and coffee first met in Europe sometime around the 17th century. This is because the first European coffee shops did not open until then. By the 18th century, the combination of milk and coffee had spread across the continent! Since 17th century coffee had less than ideal growing, roasting, and brewing conditions, bitterness and acidity was probably a big issue. By combining the coffee with milk, it was a good way to balance out the flavors. Milk’s sweetness and fattiness is able to cut through coffee’s bitterness and acidity by evening out the flavors.
Creamers Today
Since the 17th century, milk and creamers have rapidly developed to feature a variety of different types to suit anyone’s taste preferences. This includes a variety of different milks, non-dairy, vegan, flavors, and consistencies.
Dairy
Milk
The fat content of the milk you choose to add to your cup of joe can impact both the taste and texture of your coffee.
- Whole Milk (3.25-4% fat): This is a heavier type of milk and will make your coffee both creamier and sweeter than some other options.
- Reduced-Fat Milk (1-2% fat): This is a medium of whole and skim milk. It can provide a balance of sweetness and thickness in your coffee without adding as many fats and calories as whole milk.
- Skim Milk (0% fat): This form of milk is sweeter than the other options but has a thinner consistency. By using this milk, you won’t be able to get a creamier texture from your coffee.
Cream
Much like milk, the consistency and taste of your coffee depends on the amount of milk fat and calories in the cream you choose.
- Half and Half (12% fat): This cream is half milk and half cream. It is thicker and sweeter than whole milk and is the thinnest of all the creams. It gives a great balance of sweetness and thickness to your coffee.
- Light Cream (20% fat): It contains a slightly higher fat content than half and half and contains more calories. It creates a slightly thicker texture to your coffee.
- Light Whipping Cream (30% fat): This cream is the start of much heavier and thicker cream options. It further creates a thicker consistency to your beverage.
- Whipping Cream (35% fat): This is much thicker than half and half and also contains a higher percentage of milk fat than the previously mentioned creams. It gives your coffee a much thicker and creamier consistency.
- Heavy Cream (38% fat): This is the thickest and heaviest option of creams you can choose to add to your coffee. It is very rich and can enhance your coffee but only if used minimally.
Dairy Free
Vegan Creamers
These are only a few types of creamers that are vegan friendly. It is both dairy free and lactose free by using different milk bases. Most of these creamers are a healthier option compared to dairy creamers.
- Almond Based Creamers: These type of creamers contain almond milk as the base and can be found in different flavors. Califa Farms is one example to a company that carries this type of creamer and has flavors like Irish Cream and Mexican Cocoa.
- Unsweetened Creamer: 0g sugar, 10 calories
- Vanilla Creamer: 2g sugar, 15 calories
- Soy Creamers: These creamers use soy milk as the base. Soy milk is one of the healthiest plant-based milk. Silk is one company that carries soy creamers.
- Original Soy Creamer: 1g sugar, 20 calories
- Vanilla Soy Creamer: 3g sugar, 30 calories
- Coconut Milk Creamers: These creamers use coconut milk in place of dairy and are also a healthy option for your coffee. An example to a company that carries coconut milk based creamers is So Delicious.
- Original Coconut Creamer: 0g sugar, 15 calories
- French Vanilla Coconut Creamer: 3g sugar, 20 calories
Keto Creamers
For those on a Keto diet, there is no reason you have to forgo using a coffee creamer. There are plenty low carb and Keto-friendly creamers out there to make your morning coffee creamy.
- Coconut cream and almond milk: Creamers of this kind are also vegan and gluten-free and contain no carbs and no sugar.
- Keto specific cacao creamers: These creamers are made using MCT oil, coconut oil, and ghee. They are high in fat and have zero carbs.
- Superfood creamers: Have additional functional ingredients to help you on top of your Keto diet goals. For example, MCT oil, coconut milk powder, coconut oil, and sea algae. They are dairy-free and gluten-free.
Non-Dairy Flavored Creamers
These creamers are a good option for those who are lactose intolerant since they contain no milk. However, even if they are lactose free, they are ususally not vegan because they still contain milk derived proteins.
- Coffee-Mate: This one brand of dairy free creamers has three different forms: powdered, liquid, and concentrate. Additionally, they have 20 different flavors you can choose from, as well as fat free and sugar free options.
- Original Creamer: 0.5g sugar, 20 calories
- French Vanilla Creamer: 5g sugar, 35 calories
- Fat Free Creamer: 0g sugar, 10 calories
- Sugar Free French Vanilla Creamer: 0g sugar, 15 calories
- International Delight: This is another popular brand of a dairy free creamer. Their creamers are available in pints, quarts, and individual single serve sizes. They also have 9 different flavors in fat free and sugar free options for their most popular flavors.
- Original Creamer: 5g sugar, 38 calories
- French Vanilla Creamer: 5g sugar, 35 calories
- Fat Free French Vanilla Creamer: 5g sugar, 30 calories
- Sugar Free French Vanilla Creamer: 0g sugar, 15 calories
Nutrition: With Creamer vs. Black Coffee
With all the creamer and milk options, varying in sweetness, creaminess, and flavors, it is no wonder people enjoy them with their daily coffee. However, is it important to realize that adding creamer, milk, and/or sweetener can greatly change the nutritional value of your coffee.
Black coffee by itself has no calories and contains nutritional value and a variety of other benefits to the body. By adding cream and sugar into your coffee, you can quickly increase the calorie and sugar amounts in just one cup. It is important to not only portion control the amounts of cream and sugar that go into your coffee, but also be aware of the type of creamer you choose. Those containing more fat will give you a rich and thick consistency, but come with higher calories intake.
Enjoying your cup of coffee and cream or instant coffee and cream isn’t a bad thing, but just be aware of the nutritional facts of the creamer you choose and limit the amounts that go into your cup!
Coffees and Creamers Around The World
Adding milk or creamer into your cup of coffee is the norm for those living in the United States. However, other countries have their own preferences and unique coffee concoctions.
- Finland: The Kaffeost is a popular drink in Finland. It consists of pouring hot coffee onto cheese curds (called Juustoleipä).
- Hong Kong: The Yuengyeung is a common drink found in Hong Kong. It is made by combining coffee with milk tea. One fun aspect about this drink is since milk teas come in a variety of flavors, you can experiment with different flavors mixed in with your coffee to create new tastes.
- Vietnam: The Cà phê đá is a very sweet and very strong coffee drink. It is made by adding sweet condensed milk into coffee. It can be served both hot and cold, but iced coffee is the most common form.
- France: The Café au lait is a popular drink not only in France, but also around the world. It is when steamed milk is added to coffee. Latte art made with the steamed milk is also a common thing.
- Portugal: The Mazagran is a popular iced coffee found in Portugal. It is a combination of espresso with ice and either lemon juice or soda.
- Germany: The Pharisäer is an alcoholic coffee beverage found in Germany. It is made with coffee, rum, sugar, and can be topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
- Austria: In Austria, a popular way to drink coffee is the Wiener Mélange. It is an espresso with steamed milk and milk foam. It is also sometimes topped with whipped cream and cocoa powder.
For those who enjoy their coffee with a dash of creamer, we hope this article helped you find your perfect creamer and flavor! Not only is creamer great in brewed coffee, but also is a great addition to instant coffee. Enjoy Waka Coffee’s instant coffee with creamer and sugar or your preferred way of taking coffee! Waka Coffee is a premium instant coffee that lets you easily make a cup of fresh coffee without the brew wait time and long lines at your local coffee shop.
