# Are coffee whiteners really that bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 13, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183 "2010-08-13T18:31:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/21 "2010-08-13T20:57:57Z")
> [@brad\_d](#): > > Am I the only person here who has never heard this stuff referred to as “whitener” before? I’ve only ever heard it called creamer. I call it whitener but I thought I was the only one. (I use the term in a postmodern, ironically detached sense. I also use the whitener.) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/22 "2010-08-13T20:58:03Z")
I grew up seeing that bottle of carnation coffee mate on the kitchen counter. The break rooms at jobs I’ve worked always had it too. Milk is such a hassle. It spoils so quick. I didn’t realize some folks still use it in coffee. I learn something new every day. 😉 I drink my coffee black. Saves me a lot of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/23 "2010-08-13T21:01:10Z")
Try using coffee ice cream in your morning eye opener. Mmmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/24 "2010-08-13T21:06:56Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I grew up seeing that bottle of carnation coffee mate on the kitchen counter. The break rooms at jobs I’ve worked always had it too. > > Milk is such a hassle. It spoils so quick. I didn’t realize some folks still use it in coffee. Half-&-half is more substantial than milk (being a blend of half milk, half heavy cream). Half-&-half pretty much “creams” like artificial creamer does (given the right proportions). _Whole_ milk is good in coffee, but you need to up the milk-to-coffee ratio to get it nice and lightened up (i.e. [_cafe au lait_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caf%C3%A9_au_lait)). _Cafe au lait_ is very popular around here, but customers don’t mix in the milk themselves – it’s done by the barista/counterperson. And of course, the ever-popular _latte_ is espresso plus milk. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/25 "2010-08-13T21:14:36Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I grew up seeing that bottle of carnation coffee mate on the kitchen counter. The break rooms at jobs I’ve worked always had it too. > > Milk is such a hassle. It spoils so quick. I didn’t realize some folks still use it in coffee. > > I learn something new every day. 😉 > > I drink my coffee black. Saves me a lot of trouble. In my experience, creamers or whiteners are found at diners and chain restaurants. Upscale restuarants use milk. And every single coffee place has several containers of half-and-half, whole milk, and reduced fat milks to choose from. I’d imagine that most people brought up in the Starbucks Era think of milk as the default when it comes to coffee. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/26 "2010-08-13T21:15:06Z")
Ya. I thought this thread was going to be about some kind of tooth enamel whitener marketed to coffee drinkers specifically or something. Half&Half for me. And I’ve never been to a diner/restaurant/fast food place even, that didn’t offer real Half&Half either in a teeny pitcher or in the plastic little single serve cups. Even 7eleven and the other convenience stores have both Coffee Mate and Half&Half. I cut high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils out of my diet a few years ago. That caused elimination of the powder and liquid non-dairy creamers in one fell swoop. As to the “serving” of powdered creamer - one “serving” is just a single teaspoon. I don’t know anybody who uses just one teaspoon of that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/27 "2010-08-14T00:48:40Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Ya. I thought this thread was going to be about some kind of tooth enamel whitener marketed to coffee drinkers specifically or something. Me, too. Its ‘creamer’ around these parts for everyone I know (now and in past) and interact with, fwiw. Milk-based stuff is just called ‘cream’ (or milk). Powdered creamer (yech!) makes great ~fire-starter helper, ime. Sprinkle a bit of the powder over a smallish open flame and watch it burn quickly (if you care to, that is). Lotta energy in that stuff! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/28 "2010-08-14T01:04:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Well, an entire generation of Americans has used artificial creamer for 60 plus years. It hasn’t seemed to hurt anything. I can’t recall seeing anyone use milk in their coffee for a long time. Every restaurant I’ve ever been in offers artificial creamer. > > Is there some kind of fad to use real dairy in coffee? 😕 > > If artificial creamer was dangerous we’d know it by now. It’s been used since the 1930’s or 40’s. You mean like how people caught on right away that Tylenol causes three times as many cases of [liver failure](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylenol#Dangers) than every other drug combined, or that tobacco causes lung cancer? Even when we know that things cause problems, they don’t immediately get banned. It took almost a hundred years after people recognized that [asbestos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos#History_of_health_concerns_and_regulation) made people sick for the US to ban it; [lead paint](http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/10/a-brief-history-of-lead-regulation/) has a similar history. ---
**Author:** ![BorgHunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@BorgHunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BorgHunter)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/29 "2010-08-14T01:12:24Z")
[Hydrogen dioxide](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroperoxyl)? ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/30 "2010-08-14T01:26:31Z")
It’s not so much that they’re bad, it’s just that I’d rather eat food. Powdered margarine, a synthetic product that is manufactured to resemble cream, has gone a bit beyond that point for me. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/31 "2010-08-14T01:34:00Z")
fyi Here in merry old england coffee whitener is the only term used, never heard creamer. ---
**Author:** ![Ring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/32 "2010-08-14T01:40:30Z")
I you drink a lot of milked / creamed coffee you’re also consuming a lot of sodium. Not so if use Cremora ( 0 sodium). > **[Weight Loss Program Anne Collins](https://www.annecollins.com)** > > 1. There Are No Gimmicks ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/33 "2010-08-14T02:09:45Z")
> [@Valteron](#): > > I usually just laugh and say that my cup also contains a huge amount of the chemical hydrogen dioxide. [I doubt it.](http://www.ehow.com/list_5953222_uses-hydrogen-dioxide.html) Dihydrogen monoxide, possibly. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/34 "2010-08-14T02:38:35Z")
> [@brad\_d](#): > > Am I the only person here who has never heard this stuff referred to as “whitener” before? I’ve only ever heard it called creamer. > > I use the Coffee Mate stuff, and I like it. Nope – I came in here to see what the OP meant by “whitener”, in fact. I like my International Delight creamer (French Vanilla or Irish Cream), and you’ll pry out of my cold dead hands. (I also occassionally will use it in hot chocolate) ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/35 "2010-08-14T02:50:07Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I grew up seeing that bottle of carnation coffee mate on the kitchen counter. The break rooms at jobs I’ve worked always had it too. > > Milk is such a hassle. It spoils so quick. I didn’t realize some folks still use it in coffee. > > I learn something new every day. 😉 > > I drink my coffee black. Saves me a lot of trouble. Dry powdered milk makes a satisfactory, shelf-stable coffee additive in a pinch, and it _still_ tastes better than any creamer/whitener that I’ve encountered. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/36 "2010-08-14T02:54:46Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > [@Valteron](#): > > > > I usually just laugh and say that my cup also contains a huge amount of the chemical hydrogen dioxide. > > [I doubt it.](http://www.ehow.com/list_5953222_uses-hydrogen-dioxide.html) > Dihydrogen monoxide, possibly. Call it DHMO or hydric acid, but remember, whatever the name, that stuff can [kill you](http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html#DANGERS)! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/37 "2010-08-14T03:13:44Z")
Whoa, check this out: according to wiki, the dry stuff is [flammable](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_creamer)! Cool! ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/38 "2010-08-14T04:52:48Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > _Whole_ milk is good in coffee, but you need to up the milk-to-coffee ratio to get it nice and lightened up (i.e. [_cafe au lait_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caf%C3%A9_au_lait)). _Cafe au lait_ is very popular around here, but customers don’t mix in the milk themselves – it’s done by the barista/counterperson. Cafe au Lait is made with very hot milk. That’s why they fix it for you…to eliminate the need to bring near boiling milk to the table. I’ve lived in New Orleans all my life, but I’ve always taken my coffee black with sugar. Rarely with milk or cream…it just tastes weak. NEVER with the powdered stuff. I went into Morning Call one day a few months back and ordered a coffee…forgot to specify “black” and they brought me a cafe au lait. I went ahead and drank it and was surprised at how different it tasted than coffee with cold milk. I’ve actually gone out of my way to Cafe du Monde a couple of times since then to get cafe au lait. Note that it’s made with VERY strong coffee & chicory. I tried to duplicate it at home with Maxwell House and it just isn’t the same. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Handsome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@Gus\_Handsome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Handsome)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/39 "2010-08-14T05:00:50Z")
When I was working as a supervisor in a prison, we banned Coffee-Mate powder because if you threw a handful of powder in the air (dust cloud) & lit it with a lighter, it would ignite and cause a flash. I don’t know if it still does, this was in 1991. Personally, I know it’s unhealthy & disgusting, but I prefer the taste of it to cold milk or cream, plus it keeps your coffee hotter. Good thing for me I don’t drink much coffee anyway. It’s like eating hotdogs, you know it’s bad for you, but man they taste so frikkin good. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/40 "2010-08-14T05:55:01Z")
> [@jasonh300](#): > > Cafe au Lait is made with very hot milk. That’s why they fix it for you…to eliminate the need to bring near boiling milk to the table. > > I’ve lived in New Orleans all my life, but I’ve always taken my coffee black with sugar. Rarely with milk or cream…it just tastes weak. NEVER with the powdered stuff. > > I went into Morning Call one day a few months back and ordered a coffee…forgot to specify “black” and they brought me a cafe au lait. I went ahead and drank it and was surprised at how different it tasted than coffee with cold milk. I’ve actually gone out of my way to Cafe du Monde a couple of times since then to get cafe au lait. > > Note that it’s made with VERY strong coffee & chicory. I tried to duplicate it at home with Maxwell House and it just isn’t the same. So true. The N’awlins version with chicory makes all the difference. I’m surprised how regional the chicory is, it’s hard to find up here. A properly made latte is heaven. That’s with the proper espresso/milk ratio - not the diluted crap Starbucks slings. There’s a local roaster here - Intelligentsia - that is the place to go for a proper latte. So good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183.md?page=3)