Flavored coffee is becoming quite popular in coffee shops. People are slowly starting to explore other coffee beverages apart from black coffee, like Blueberry coffee, that are made using flavored coffee beans.
Flavored coffee beans give you a chance to brew coffee that tastes to your liking.
Many coffee drinkers use these coffee beans to brew coffee that tastes like something they love, such as oranges, pecan nuts, or caramel.
Apart from flavored coffee beans, another way to enhance the taste of coffee is by using creamer.
What is Coffee Creamer?
When you first hear the term coffee creamer, you may be forgiven for thinking it’s milk cream you can add to coffee. Is that the case? No.
Coffee creamer is a powder or liquid substance similar to milk or cream that replaces these products in coffee-making recipes.
You’ll find creamer in the dairy section of the refrigerator aisle in the grocery store. Powdered versions are available in the coffee section.
If you are used to adding half&half, or whole milk to your coffee, you may wonder what makes coffee creamer different. The answer is the fat and sugar content.
Coffee creamer is sweeter and more creamy than whole milk or half and half. That’s because it contains additives like gellan gum and cellulose that thicken it.
Many creamers also contain fats like palm oil, which increases their fat and calorie content.
Besides their flavor and consistency, coffee creamers also contain preservatives that give them a long shelf life.
Many coffee drinkers prefer to have a bottle of creamer in the fridge for their coffee instead of milk or real cream, which goes sour fast.
These coffee flavoring agents are dairy-free. They also come in various flavors to add a different taste to coffee.
The most important use for coffee creamer is to reduce the bitterness of coffee beverages such as Espressos.
That’s why coffee creamers give coffee a creamy texture that’s quite different from what you get when using milk, cream, or half and half.
While you can buy coffee creamer at the grocery store, good creamer is expensive, especially if you like to use lots of it in your coffee.
Store-bought creamers also contain lots of preservatives that are harmful to our health.
You can use simple ingredients to make rich and flavorful coffee creamer at home.
That will give you the freedom to omit harmful additives from it. You will also be able to make it as calorie-rich as you like and include any kind of flavoring to it.
An excellent example of creamer you can make at home is Irish cream coffee creamer. It is characterized by vanilla, chocolatey flavor notes that give it a creamy, delicious taste.
Irish coffee creamer has a taste reminiscent of what you get when drinking Irish cream liqueurs such as Baileys.
To understand just how flavorful Irish cream coffee creamer is, we must look at the drink that inspires its creation: Irish cream.
What is Irish Cream?
Irish cream is a liqueur made with cream and sugar whose base is Irish whiskey. It smells of hazelnuts and almonds and has a pleasant creamy chocolatey taste.
This Irish cream liqueur was first produced in 1973. It inspired the creation of non-alcoholic coffee creamers such as Irish cream coffee creamer.
There are those who create alcoholic creamers for coffee cocktails using the basic ingredients used in Irish cream liqueur.
While the term Irish cream is often associated with alcohol, most coffee creamers associated with this term are made of sweet condensed milk, chocolate, and cream.
These ingredients give it a nutty flavor and warmth that makes it a great addition to decadent coffee beverages.
You can also add Irish whiskey to this type of coffee creamer if you enjoy taking coffee cocktails.
It is an excellent option for anyone who takes a little alcohol in their coffee, such as when making Irish coffee.
Here is a recipe for Irish cream coffee creamer you can try at home.
How to Make Irish Cream Creamer
Ingredients
A can of sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 Tbsp of chocolate syrup
1 Tsp of arrowroot starch
1 Tsp instant coffee granules
1 Tsp hazelnut extract
1 Tsp almond extract
Directions
- Blend the sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, arrowroot starch, chocolate syrup, coffee, hazelnut, and almond extract on a low setting in your blender.
- Pour your homemade Irish cream coffee creamer into an airtight container and store it in the fridge.
- Add the Irish cream coffee creamer to any coffee beverage you like. Remember to shake the creamer before use.
You can store this homemade creamer in your fridge for up to a week.
How to Use Irish Cream Coffee Creamer in Coffee Making
While you can add Irish cream coffee creamer to black coffee, it is also a great ingredient to add to other coffees.
Some examples are White Russian coffee and iced Irish cream coffee. Here is a recipe for each.
White Russian coffee Recipe
Ingredients
30 ml Irish cream coffee creamer
1 cup of steaming hot milk
A cup of hot black coffee
1 tbsp of chocolate syrup
Whipped cream
Chocolate chips
Procedure
- Brew your cup of hot coffee and pour it into a tall coffee glass.
- Pour in the hot steamed milk and add some Irish cream coffee creamer to it.
- Stir some chocolate syrup into the milky coffee.
- Garnish your glass of White Russian coffee with some whipped cream and chocolate chips.
- Enjoy your White Russian with some chocolate-covered espresso coffee beans.
That’s how to make White Russian coffee using Irish coffee creamer and no alcohol.
You can add 30 ml of Kahlua to this coffee if you like alcohol in your coffee.
Iced Irish Cream coffee
Ingredients
1 cup steamed milk
1 1/2 cups strong black coffee
2 cups of ice cubes
2 Tbsp of Irish cream coffee creamer
2 Tbsp of chocolate syrup
Whipped cream
Procedure
- Pour the black coffee and steamed milk into a tall glass and refrigerate the drink in the fridge for 2 – 3 hours.
- Stir in the Irish cream coffee creamer and chocolate syrup.
- Pour in the ice cubes and top your drink with some whipped cream.
- Drizzle chocolate syrup on the whipped cream to garnish.
- Enjoy your glass of iced Irish cream coffee with some cookies.
Conclusion
That’s how to make Irish cream coffee creamer. It is the best creamer to use whenever you feel like a rich cup of sweet coffee.
Homemade Irish cream coffee creamer makes a better-tasting addition to coffee than store-bought creamer.
Once you learn how to prepare good coffee creamer, you’ll be surprised at how much money you save by not buying artificial creamers from the grocery store.
It will also help you to avoid the preservatives, fats, and sugars used to make commercial creamers.
We’ve also given you some coffee recipes you can try that will taste amazing with some Irish cream coffee creamer in them. Why don’t you try them?
You can also experiment with other coffee creamer recipes, such as how to make Almond Coffee creamer, Caramel Coffee creamer, and Pumpkin Spice coffee creamer.
