Coffee-Mate Creamer...does anyone use this stuff?

[Beach Chick]

Is it just a bunch of liquid chemicals...what's in it?

[jbyoga]

dunno, chemicals I guess. The dry stuff is great for demonstrating how flammable it is if you dust some over a candle. Something we did as bored teenagers (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME) It is also GREAT for ruining coffee!

[Fritter]

I was thginking the same thing about the old poof test. I believe I once read this product is so flamable they do not allow it in many prison systems.
LOL

[Libertycafe]

Very true! That's why neither I nor my SO (who has a Ph.D. in chemistry-based science) will put it into our coffee - my SO confirms that it explodes when you throw it into a campfire.

[Danielle_Rene]

It is flammable because it is a powder. You can do the same thing with fine flour.

[rednails]

My brother has had kidney problems (stones) for over 30 years and can't have too much dairy. He has been using Coffee Mate ever since. He's gotten used to it, since he won't give up drinking coffee. I'd get used to it too, if I were in his situation. My SIL started using it when they got married (and still does), "to keep him company." That's true love, IMHO.

[Brisbane]

gross-it's bad for you-at least try silk soy creamer. it has all those flavors and it is not as bad.

[queencru]

I tried one of the flavored soy milks and it gave the coffee a taste roughly like I imagine eating grass would taste like. As much as I don't like coffeemate, I am definitely not a soy milk fan. Not a big loss since I have to limit my soy intake for most of the month because it triggers migraines.

[rednails]

I don't think my brother would try *anything* made from soy, LOL. Or my SIL, for that matter. They aren't foodies, by any stretch of the imagination. But they're family, so I still love them.

[bkhuna]

I like my coffee like I like my women; dark and bitter.

Unless I'm drinking Cafe Cubano, I have no need to adulterate my coffee.

[jfood]

maybe that's why jfood likes a hot fudge sundae with vailla ice cream. :-))

[rockandroller1]

I don't understand it either. It's OIL. Why would pouring oil into your coffee make it better? Never mind that most of it is partially hydrogenated oil, which is really bad for you, and corn syrup. I mean, I just don't want oil in my coffee, kthxbai.

If refrigeration is a problem, I wish they'd provide powdered milk. I'd rather put that in my coffee than oil.

[tracylee]

I'd forgotten! That's what I'd use in Ecuador, when I was living without a refrigerator. Powdered milk worked just fine in that case.

[Passadumkeg]

If the coffee-mate is kept near the photo copier and you have to clear jammed paper and your hand get all black, put a little coffee-mate powder in your hand and you have an excellent hand cleaner; as good as Go Jo. I have also used it to clean wine stains out of a dress shirt while at conferences.
It will never pass my lips. Give me my coffee, as truckers say, like my women.
Mr Non-PC Granola

[alwayscooking]

ka-ka poo-poo!

Never ever use this - it just tastes weird. If I'm out of milk, I use the frozen cubes in the freezer.

[Muskrat]

You keep frozen cubes of milk in the refrigerator?

(like some of the others in this thread, I don't really have anything of value to add, but like to see my sig on the board)

[alwayscooking]

Did you want an answer then? I freeze low-fat milk into cubes (actually stars from a novelty mold) and keep it in a bag for emergencies. Whole milk doesn't do as well.

[mcsheridan]

Is that 1% or 2% milk? I like this idea.

[alwayscooking]

Either will work - the more fat, the more likely it will separate so you have to stir the coffee well. But it doesn't impact the flavor (unless I reach for that bag at the very back of the freezer . . . but I've recently demunged the freezer and that's a whole other story!)

[swamp]

I tend to be a seasonal coffee drinker and only want coffee in the morning if it is cool out, the other mornings I want iced tea. If I buy 1/2 & 1/2 I don't use it before it goes bad but I can use the powdered Coffee-Mate and it will not go bad. I really like the new Italian Sweet Cream. Of course as I said I am not a coffee freak or purists. Funny thing is when I do drink coffee I want coffee something strong. I find most of my everyday coffee drinking friends do not use enough coffee per cup being brewed.

[janniecooks]

It's an ersatz food product - never use it, would go without if nothing else available.

[juliewong]

We use it on the sailboat - hard to keep milk fresh so instant creamer works. Also use powdered milk for the same reason. Not bad but I do take my tea black..........

[tracylee]

Nope, can't stand anything sweet near my coffee. Took me a long time to learn to drink coffee because of that. Heck, I love sweets, why is sweet coffee so icky?!!??!? Most coffee-mate tastes sweetened to me.

A bit of skim milk is all I take in mine, and I always grind and brew it fresh at home.

[kchurchill5]

I grind mine fresh usually but always coffee mate. Can't stand half and half. I like a little flavor. No sugar. Just a little not much, but I admit. Hate cappuccinos, espressos all those can't stand them. Just black coffee with a little flavored cream. Starbucks ... No way!

[jfood]

Never have...never will

[alanbarnes]

Mmmmm, sugar syrup and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil - aka Crisco - with just enough emulsifiers to keep them together. Throw in some artificial flavoring and you've got - well, I'm not quite sure. But it's not going in my coffee.

I like a little half and half in my coffee, although I don't make a habit of it. I'll even confess to the occasional shot of flavored syrup. But Crisco? No thanks.

[ipsedixit]

Not for coffee, but for cooking.

I've used it in scones, as well as to make french toast.

[Beach Chick]

wow ipsedixit...how did you come up with the scones and french toast idea..did you run out of milk?

[ipsedixit]

We were camping and staying in a "log cabin" and the pantry only had coffee mate creamer ...

[Beach Chick]

sometimes you gotta make do with what you got...that is definitely the beauty of camping!

[Gingerleen]

I use the Sugar Free refridgerated kind...French Vanilla. It's not as thick (oily?) as the sugar kind...tastes good to me!

[janeh]

Brings back memories of a job where the powdered kind was always out by the coffee - my cynical boss always referred to it as "cremate",

[Wahooty]

It's basically partially hydrogenated oil and sugar with some flavorings, emulsifiers, and preservatives.

[Beach Chick]

no offense to schrutefarms and others but why would anyone want to put this chemical stuff in a good cup of coffee vs. half and half?
Is it a flavor thing?

[schrutefarms]

I'm lazy.

[Wahooty]

Don't ask me - I take mine black and unsweetened. When I do feel like cream, I either use light (18%) cream or half and half. But of those I know that use the stuff, they're going for the flavored varieties, so you get your flavoring, sweetness, and "creaminess" in one step. I'm assuming this is the "laziness" schrutefarms refers to. :)

I will admit to a dark, dark phase of grad school where I occasionally used the stuff because that's what was in the lab fridge. But if you'd tasted the sludge that was in our lab coffeemaker by late afternoon, you might forgive me.

My uncle drinks decaf with powdered creamer. At that point, one REALLY has to ask, "what, exactly, is the point?"

[mcsheridan]

"what, exactly, is the point?" I ask the same question of those drinking caffeine-free diet soda. Why not just drink seltzer and get it over with?

I could never understand the powdered "creamer" business, ever, and it certainly would never go in my tea.

I do know people who use the flavored creamers in their coffee, and it seems the flavoring is what they're after. I'll stick with my tea with honey and milk (and the tea's not-decaf, either.)

[schrutefarms]

That is exactly the "laziness" I refer to :)

[Wahooty]

Love your beets, btw.

[schrutefarms]

Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

[thinks too much]

It was initially designed for people who keep kosher, so they could have coffee after a dinner containing meat. It also seems to be a godsend to my lactose-intolerant friends.

Coming from someone who prefers hers black.

[queencru]

I drink one or two cups of coffee per day and am lactose intolerant. Unless we're talking lattes, there's really not going to be enough milk in a coffee to cause problems. Most lactose intolerant people can have a certain amount before it causes any problems.

I've been to plenty of workplaces that only had the refrigerated coffeemate or the powdered kind. I think the refrigerated kind is somewhat better than the powdered, but find them both fairly disgusting. I can't stand the flavored varieties.

[Wahooty]

Ah, but I've seen people do a nearly 50/50 creamer/coffee mixture in their mug. If a lactose-intolerant person tried to do that with milk or half and half a couple of times a day, they'd have some discomfort. Some people view the coffee as a necessary evil - a delivery vehicle for the sweet, flavored creamer.

[roxlet]

The flavor I like best in my coffee is COFFEE! I don't get any of this flavoring stuff and when I see the commericals for this artificial sludge on TV, I find them nauseating. I have to say that I am so surprised that people buy this stuff. To each his own, I guess.

[schrutefarms]

I use the refridgerated one--I feel, because it can go bad, than it must be somewhat "fresh", right? :)

[kchurchill5]

Probably horrible for me I know. But I use the refrigerated one too. Hazelnut, Amaretto, whatever I like it.

[schrutefarms]

I have no idea what's in it, but yes, I use it every day. Hazlenut, French Vanilla, and Italian Sweet Cream.