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Coffee @lemmy.ml

narwhal @lemmy.ml

1y ago

Too Many Coffee Creamers: A Taste Test

26 comments

the no-slurps audio is really clever

I can't watch right now but I'm genuinely interested because creamers fascinate me. It's a super American concept I just don't understand. Why not use milk instead of palm oil and corn syrup concoctions
- They’re often creamier and sweeter than milk. I find them gross though.
  
  Steamed milk is plenty thick, and also adds sweetness! Then add more sugar if you feel you need it. Much better for your body!
  I feel like when you get into creamer territory, people aren't drinking coffee because they like it, but because they just want a sugar and carb hit and coffee is a socially acceptable way to do so.
  EDIT: finally watched, and not surprised the most mentioned words are 'artificial' and 'synthetic' haha.
- Is there a way to buy milk with any of these flavors and sugar already in it?
  It’s so simple for people to open the fridge and dump some International Delight creamer into their cup. I’m sure if there was a good alternative then a lot of people would do it. These creamers are no effort, no cleanup, cheap, and have a much longer shelf life than milk.
  
  Well no. Is it that hard to add a spoonful of sugar if you need it, instead of pouring in some artificial palm oil, corn syrup based junk? You're killing yourself and the planet with this stuff.
  What effort, cleanup, or cost is needed with milk and sugar? 🤣 I bet it's cheaper than creamer in fact.

Now I'm waiting for the Hames Joffman edit
- Those never fail to make me chuckle

I mean I am interested but doubtful that he would like any of them.

A thing that's interesting to me is that a lot of folks have a strong aversion to the oils and sweetener in creamer that they seemingly don't have to plant-based milks, which generally (especially in their "barista" versions) rely on both those things to get the correct flavor, texture, and foamability. Or at least, I see those objections deployed against creamer constantly and against plant-based barista milks pretty infrequently.
Ditto for flavored syrups in espresso-based milk drinks which add tons of sugar (obviously) as well as flavors that are no more inherent to the coffee than "irish creme" flavored creamer. (See also: stuff like cereal milk lattes, which are just, like, a more artisanal way of obtaining basically the same types of artificial flavor.)
This isn't to say that creamer is healthy or good, just that it feels like some people are selectively applying a health judgment to products that are coded as lower class which they do not (or, not as commonly and loudly) to similarly unhealthy products that are coded as higher class.
(FWIW: I generally drink filter coffee black, but often use oat milk in small espresso drinks.)

expired
- Come on. It's still coffee. Milk has been added to coffee for at the very least 400 years and probably way longer than that.
  Just because it's not how you prefer your coffee, doesn't make it any lesser of a drink. It's just not your preference. It's still coffee.
  I'd even venture to say that coffee without milk or sweetener is the abnormal version. There's no need for this gatekeeping.
  
  White russian is a drink. A very tasty one, too. It's not gatekeeping, it's about naming things correctly.
- What's it called, then? If you have to make up a name, then maybe you're just being stubborn on this point. I like where your head is at, but what things are called are based on historical and social norms a lot of times. If someone likes putting cucumbers on their pizza, it's still pizza (I side with Kramer on this, as there's a Seinfeld episode about it).
  
  expired

26 comments