What you eat seems to have a much more immediate impact on your health as you get older. If you are someone who has had the good fortune of decent health most of your life, as you age you still start to see cholesterol inching higher, weight staying around longer, and aches and pains becoming more frequent.
We’ve all read about how the plant-based diet is the way to go. During the pandemic lock down, I went full throttle and became a Vegan, with a capital V. Forgoing meat and fish didn’t really bother me but giving up cheese and cream for my coffee…. Well, that was a struggle. The one area where I just couldn’t sacrifice was with my coffee. And so began my search for the perfect non-dairy plant-based creamer substitute.
In my opinion, the addition of cream in coffee is one of life’s little pleasures. Just a splash of half and half mellows the coffee’s bitterness and gives a mouth feel that is very satisfying. Like many, I add just enough cream to achieve the appropriate caramel color. I don’t measure, I go purely on looks. That ratio of cream to coffee might change depending on the strength of the coffee but achieving the perfect color, provides the perfect taste.
With all this in mind and in an effort to be healthier, I began a trial and error quest for a plant-based creamer and coffee experience.
There are numerous milk substitutes — almond, coconut, oat, soy, to name a few. In the last few years, the number of options for non-dairy creamers has also grown. You are no longer limited to an overly processed powdered substitute. However, sugar content is something to keep an eye on. I do not like sweet coffee so all my options were unsweetened.
Trader Joe’s Coconut-Almond Creamer: The taste of coconut is strong even though it is mixed with almond milk. I had to add quite a bit to make the color correct and that was just too much coconut flavor for me. But it is a good option if you like a coconut flavor.
Blue Diamond Almond Milk: One of the milder nut milks. Unfortunately, it is just too thin to give you a satisfying color or to mellow the bitter coffee.
SoDelicious Sweet and Creamy Creamer: Coconutmilk provides the base and it comes in a French Vanilla flavor. The thickness was good but unfortunately, the added sugar made this a no-go for me.
Chobani Oat Milk Creamer: I like the taste of oat milk, it adds an earthiness flavor to your coffee. I tried the extra creamy milk and the creamer and neither gave me the color I wanted in my coffee. The creamer was too thin for my aesthetic.
Cailifa Oat Creamer and Califa Almond Milk Creamer: I tried the unsweetened versions of both. The oat creamer had that distinct earthy flavor and was alot thicker than the milk extra creamy version I had tried. The almond creamer had a much subtler flavor and brought out the coffee taste. Both Cailifa choices worked but the mouth feel wasn’t as satisfying as the real stuff.
Nutpod Almond-Coconut Creamer: The combination of the two milks mellows the flavor of the coconut while giving a better thickness. I had to add quite a bit to achieve the right color but it did eventually get close.
Adding Olive oil: Hear me out on this. I was quite skeptical but at a ratio of 4 to 1, this combo is a winner. Whipping the milk and the olive oil together thickens the mixture so you have a nice froth. The olive oil adds the mouth feel that all the other plant-based creamer substitutes are missing. I was worried it would taste oily or give an olive oil flavor but none of those things were a problem. With the right ratio, you really don’t taste the olive oil at all. I’ve tried it with the Nutpod creamer, the Califa extra creamy almond milk, and the Chobani Oat creamer. It worked with all three and was the closest to my beloved half and half that I found.
Adding Cinnamon: If you want to eliminate cream altogether, one option is to brew your coffee with cinnamon. It does add a nice flavor and mouth feel that makes the black coffee delicious. And while cinnamon does not satisfy the caramel color criteria nor does it give that luxurious feel of a coffee with cream, it does work in a pinch. Maybe I could get used to it over time if I close my eyes while I sip my coffee.
