Coffee is so customizable, and how each person makes their coffee is so personal and specific. It’s more than just a drink; it’s part of your daily routine. There are a billion different ways to prepare coffee: Hot or iced? Regular or decaf? Brewed at home or made by a barista? The most important question, though, is: What do you put in your coffee?
Coffee lover and Good Mythical Morning writer Kalyn French is very particular about her coffee. She joined us to serve as an expert on the subject of coffee creamers and help us determine which should make their way into your morning brew. And if you don’t do dairy, don’t worry: The non-dairy coffee creamer ranking is coming your way soon!
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- Chobani Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer
Chobani Sweet Cream Creamer is the crème de la crème of coffee creamers. It’s sweet without being too sweet. It’s creamy while still being light. It adds a slight flavor while still highlighting the taste of the coffee. It hits every note you want a coffee creamer to hit. So many of the creamers we tried are oil-based, but this is dairy-based and you can absolutely tell. This would even be good in tea. Chobani Sweet Cream Creamer is truly a 10/10.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Albertsons
- Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Creamer
Starbucks’ Caramel Macchiato Creamer tastes exactly like a Caramel Macchiato you’d get at Starbucks. Iykyk. And if you’ve never had a Starbucks caramel macchiato, let me tell you that they are delicious. They’re super sweet, but the richness of the caramel complements the coffee without overpowering it. I’m not even a coffee fan and I can acknowledge that caramel macchiatos are tasty. If you need your Starbucks fix on a budget, grab a bottle of this creamer!
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Chobani Hazelnut Coffee Creamer
Chobani does it again with their hazelnut creamer. This was so good that Kalyn liked it even though she doesn’t like hazelnut-flavored anything. Like their Sweet Cream Creamer, this hazelnut version brings a real rich dairy taste to the table. When mixed with coffee, it gives off big chocolatey Nutella vibes. That said, it’s not too sweet and doesn’t read as dessert. This is perfect for anyone who wants to add a little oomph to their coffee.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Coffee Mate Café Mocha Creamer
Coffee mate’s Café Mocha is the best rendition of a chocolate-flavored creamer we tried. It has a rich milk chocolate taste that I think perfectly complements coffee. Kalyn’s not a huge chocolate fan, but she thought this provided “just enough” chocolate flavor to taste great without being overwhelming. Some of the other creamers tasted like a Hershey’s bar, but this creamer tasted like a Cadbury bar. Both are good, but this one feels a little fancier and more high-quality.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Coffee Mate Vanilla Bean Creamer
If you’re looking for a strong, real vanilla flavor, look no further. Coffee mate Vanilla Bean Creamer provided the biggest punch of vanilla flavor out of all the vanilla creamers we tried. Sporked editor May Wilkerson is a lover of all things vanilla and described this creamer as “perfect.” While I’m not the biggest fan of plain vanilla, I can agree that this is a great rendition of a simple, clean vanilla taste. It might not make you a vanilla superfan, but it will certainly please you if you already are.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
- Dunkin’ Extra Extra Coffee Creamer
Dunkin’ Donuts coffee has always been iconic. Anyone from the Northeast will tell you that. And while the chain has expanded to more locations nationwide, there are still many Dunkin’-less cities across the country. Luckily, Dunkin’ makes creamer that will make any coffee taste like Dunkin’ coffee! It has a shockingly short ingredient list and tastes like actual dairy. Kalyn had to apologize for initially making fun of the idea of using Dunkin’ creamer. She was wrong. Everyone should be using Dunkin’ creamer.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
Best of the Best
Best Caramel
Best Hazelnut
Best Mocha
Best Vanilla
Most Surprising
Other Products We Tried:
365 Hazelnut Creamer, Friendly Farms Hazelnut Creamer, Coffee mate Original Creamer, Coffee mate French Vanilla Creamer, Coffee mate Natural Bliss Coffee Creamer, International Delight Hazelnut Creamer, International Delight French Vanilla Creamer, International Delight Caramel Macchiato Coffee Creamer, International Delight Coffee Zero Sugar Caramel Macchiato Creamer, Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha Creamer, Trader Joe’s Classic Creamer, Trader Joe’s Mocha Creamer, Trader Joe’s Hazelnut Creamer, Trader Joe’s Caramel Creamer, Trader Joe’s Vanilla Creamer
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The only downside I’ve found with dairy-based is the shelf life is a lot shorter than the oil-based, because otherwise they’re fantastic. One I don’t see on the list (which is fine, you tasted a lot!) is International Delight’s Cold Stone Creamery flavor, which doesn’t alter the coffee flavor much while still adding that sweetness.
Every Easter season I look for the wonderful Peeps flavor as well, but it’s been gone a few years now, I think.
My go to is International Delight Almond Joy. A bit of coconut, toasted almond, and chocolate.
Maybe a list of best brand colab creamers is needed. 😉
I get very turned off by vegetable oil being a top ingredient in most creamers. The Nestle All-Natural Sweet Cream is my go to, but their All-Natural Vanilla and Hazelnut are also great! They do have an All-Natural Pumpkin Spice during the September/October season. 🙂
I’d like to see the full ranking and not just the best in each category. Starbucks caramel macchiato is the best caramel with 10/10 sporks, but where did the Starbucks caramel creamer land? Was it 9/10 or something really good, just not good enough to beat caramel macchiato, or something awful like 3/10?
Hi Ambrosia! I might be misunderstanding your question, but these are ranked. These are the top 6 creamers we tried ranked in order. All are good, but they are listed from 1-6. Occassionally some have the same score (like 10/10), which means they are all a 10/10 but one still might pull ahead of another slightly. The Starbucks caramel creamer is the #2 creamer we had out of all the creamers.
I do like the Chobani Sweet cream tried it recently but I still prefer the Coffeemate Italian sweet cream it doesn’t cover up the coffee flavor and adds a perfect sweetness. It’s a shame too because I know the Chobani is made with better or more natural ingredients.