I have worked in two coffee shops and frequented many more. Mostly I see that establishments have skim milk, 2% OR whole milk (4%), and half-and-half OR light cream available. Half-and-half more commonly, but the Wawa chain popular in the Delaware Valley (where I live) offers light cream instead of half-and-half, and so do many specialty coffee shops. Soy milk is usually available only upon request (since it’s much more expensive and not as commonly used).
I think the main reason we traditionally use half-and-half instead of light or heavy cream in this country is because people here are so fat-phobic and always seeking to cut down their calories, and yet humans crave fat and love the taste and texture of it… half-and-half still has that richness but with less fat and calories than true cream.
I don’t know if I agree with you on the half-and-half being popular because it has fewer calories and fat than cream. It’s still plenty fatty & caloric, and people who are watching their weight go for the skim or non-dairy creamers.
I think half-and-half mixes better with coffee than real cream and (as I mentioned above) is less likely to clump. Heavy cream in coffee tends to get a greasy feel IMO. And trust me - I love fat, I love grease, and I avoid carbohydrates as I’m diabetic. If cream tasted better in my coffee I’d gladly use it instead of half and half, but it’s just not as good.
Well I almost exclusively use heavy cream in my coffee by choice, so we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one! As long as it’s fresh and kept cold, I don’t have issues with it clumping.
Light cream though is a different animal than both half-and-half and heavy cream. It’s about 20% fat, where heavy cream is 40% and half-and-half is about 10%. In my mind light or ‘table’ cream is the perfect compromise of taste, texture, and ease of use. Plus you don’t need to use as much for the same satisfaction, as you do half-and-half.