# 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:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/41 "2010-08-14T05:59:42Z")
[quote=“jasonh300, post:38, topic:550183”] > [@bordelond](#): > > 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. CdM has a coffee brand that is available in the Navy Commissary that we buy so I can get my cajun coffee fix. Unfortunately I can no longer handle caffeine so I need to find out if they make a \ decaf that tastes reasonably decent. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/42 "2010-08-14T15:33:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Well, an entire generation of Americans has used artificial creamer for 60 plus years… It’s been used since the 1930’s or 40’s. Well, this might be a clue as to people’s negative reaction. Some of us grew up watching our parents (ok, _grandparents_ for you non-fogies) dump CoffeeMate® into their coffee. Their attitude was “Look at what the Brave New World of chemicals and plastics is giving us!” When we grew up (or perhaps woke up) and learned about nutrition, and took responsibility for what was going in our bodies, we were horrified. And partly by Whitener. Add to that emotion the realization that our parents had been lying to us, and that “partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil” becomes a symbol of That Which We Have Risen Above. So don’t be surprised that co-workers, or even total strangers, have a reaction. Same reaction I get at the gym with a Twizzler hanging out of my mouth, or the defense man on my soccer team who plays with a cigarette in his. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/43 "2010-08-14T15:38:00Z")
> [@jasonh300](#): > > I’ve actually gone out of my way to Cafe du Monde a couple of times since then to get cafe au lait. Don’t tell us you got beignets, too, or I’ll be apoplexedly jealous. But, dear readers, keep in mind that **Cafe du Monde** is The. Best. Coffee. Ever. None of jasonh’s comments apply to anywhere else on the world. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/44 "2010-08-14T15:53:28Z")
> [@digs](#): > > When we grew up (or perhaps woke up) and learned about nutrition, and took responsibility for what was going in our bodies, we were horrified. And partly by Whitener. > > Add to that emotion the realization that our parents had been lying to us, and that “partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil” becomes a symbol of That Which We Have Risen Above. So don’t be surprised that co-workers, or even total strangers, have a reaction. Fair point, but it seems a funny thing to get worked up about - I mean, how much whitener do people actually consume? A spoonful or so, maybe three or four times a day if they always use it. That’s nothing compared to chomping through a packet of cookies full of hydrogenated oil. Coffee Mate ingredients: corn syrup solids, vegetable oil, sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, mono- and diglycerides, sodium aluminosilicate, artificial flavor, annatto color. So, it’s mostly sugar and vegetable oil, with a bit of milk protein (despite the “non-dairy” description, that’s what sodium caseinate is) and small amounts of non-toxic additives (emulsifier, anticaking agent). Quite what is so bad about adding a spoonful of that to your coffee (apart from the taste), I fail to comprehend. (As a kid, I used to eat spoonfuls of Coffee Mate out of the jar, for the creaminess. But nowadays I don’t even like it in coffee…) ---
**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, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/45 "2010-08-14T17:36:06Z")
[quote=“aruvqan, post:41, topic:550183”] > [@jasonh300](#): > > CdM has a coffee brand that is available in the Navy Commissary that we buy so I can get my cajun coffee fix. Unfortunately I can no longer handle caffeine so I need to find out if they make a \ decaf that tastes reasonably decent. They used to make a CDM decaf - I haven’t seen it in years though. It came in a green can. I know there are other color cans besides the traditional yellow one, but I’ve never paid much attention to them. BTW, chicory was originally added as a coffee substitute and has no caffeine. But since the coffee is brewed very strong, a cup probably has as much or more caffeine as a regular cup of Folgers. > [@digs](#): > > > [@jasonh300](#): > > > > I’ve actually gone out of my way to Cafe du Monde a couple of times since then to get cafe au lait. > > Don’t tell us you got beignets, too, or I’ll be apoplexedly jealous. > > But, dear readers, keep in mind that **Cafe du Monde** is The. Best. Coffee. Ever. None of jasonh’s comments apply to anywhere else on the world. Beignets are hit and miss. The last couple of times I got beignets from Cafe du Monde, they were overcooked and therefore really crunchy, which is totally wrong. I’ve never had a bad beignet from Morning Call. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/46 "2010-08-15T02:00:21Z")
I’ve never heard of “whitener” either. Calling it that makes it sound like a noxious chemical, like a _thinner_ or _cleaner_. I suppose if you put enough in your coffee to actually make it white, that much is bad for you. No self-respecting restaurant should be serving anything lighter-weight than half and half. I went to a place that actually tried to give me 2% milk to put in my coffee. I poured in the entire mini-pitcher and had to ask for another. The coffee was cold after adding so much low fat milk and it still wasn’t as light as I wanted it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/47 "2010-08-15T08:46:41Z")
I’ve only heard it called whitener at the hospital. They have a pay coffee machine that gives out free coffee in the emergency room, and if you want it, you click the whiten button. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/48 "2010-08-16T16:37:59Z")
You can use them as a detergent, which was demonstrated on Swedish television by an environmentalist some forty years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183/49 "2010-08-16T17:58:21Z")
I remember a column by “On Language” wordsmith William Safire about the meaning of “regular coffee.” He called several restaurants in different parts of the country and one made reference to a “creaming agent.” Safire remarked that in New York a “creaming agent” would refer to a hitman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-coffee-whiteners-really-that-bad/550183.md?page=2)