Cream in your coffee? Maybe not. You have a lot of options.

By Bill Daley / Chicago Tribune

Coffee and cream go together so well that a popular song of the 1920s featured the line “you’re the cream in my coffee” to illustrate two lovers’ closeness. But that bond has been broken. Today you have a multitude of choices when it comes to creamers for coffee.

You can go dairy, selecting anything from skim milk to heavy cream. You can go nondairy with various “creams” or “milks” made from nuts, seeds or plants. You can choose nondairy powders.

And people are clearly choosing what works for them. New research from Mintel, the market research firm, shows the same percentage of consumers polled, 32 percent, used dairy and nondairy milk in their coffee or tea.

“Non-dairy milk brands are responding to consumers’ interest in more healthful non-dairy milk products; non-dairy milk drinkers are more interested in milks with health benefits than dairy milk drinkers,” Mintel notes in a trend report published in September.

“More non-dairy milks are hitting the market with strong functional claims, stating the products are fortified with vitamins, probiotics, or stating the amount of protein per serving. Many consumers (especially iGens) already perceive non-dairy milks as healthful, and prominent on-pack health claims can help non-dairy milks compete with dairy milk and can help individual non-dairy milk brands stand out in the market.”

All well and good, especially for those “iGens,” which Mintel has defined as people born between 1995 and 2007, but how do these various nondairy milks and creams taste and interact with coffee? I’ve always found that half-and-half, that popular mix of milk and cream, had the right degree of dairy sweetness to dull any coffee bitterness while adding a touch of plushness to the brew. Heavy cream, I thought, is too voluptuous; skim milk too meager.

I like my coffee strong with lots of half-and-half and sugar. So, I brewed up a big pot of my favorite morning joe, Cafe Bustelo espresso-style coffee, and began tasting that familiar coffee with various creamers and milks.

I wandered around the dairy section at the local supermarket, looking at the various nondairy options presented. I tried to pick products that looked unflavored — or rather, that they were aiming to taste like whatever they were made of, not pumpkin spice or chocolate. Some of the products were sweetened; some were not. The prices listed are what I paid.

I tasted each of the milks and creamers on its own first, then I poured 1 tablespoon of each into a coffee cup and added coffee. I sipped, and I took notes.

Everyone’s taste is different, particularly when it comes to coffee, and that’s why this tasting is a solo effort. Do try a similar tasting at your home or office, and let me know how it went.

Silk almond milk. This off-white almond milk had an appealing freshness that countered its somewhat chalky mouthfeel. It played well with coffee, taking off the bitter edge. $3.79 for 64 ounces.

So Delicious coconut milk. Although dairy-free, this beverage reminded me of skim milk in color. While skim milk can feel thin on the palate, this coconut milk had a very creamy feel. There are both coconut milk and sugar in this product, but you don’t really taste them, either on its own or in coffee. This beverage took the edge off the coffee and gave it a creamy feel. $2.29 for 32 ounces.

Good Karma flax milk. Pearly white with a definite chalky note, this product had a very neutral flavor profile on its own and in coffee. Indeed, it seemed to vanish into the coffee, adding neither flavor nor texture. $4.49 for 64 ounces (half-gallon).

DairyPure half-and-half. Very white in color with a creamy medium consistency. Had that slight “grassy” dairy flavor. The half-and-half muted the coffee’s bitterness, but I still found myself adding sugar just as I do at home. This cup offered the comfort of the familiar. $3.29 for 32 ounces (quart).

Tempt hemp milk. On its own, this product has a pronounced flavor: “Hemp-y” perhaps? This hemp milk, colored an antique white, has a thin consistency even when shaken, but there is a definite creamy chalkiness that reminded me of an antacid. Cane sugar is one of the ingredients, but this product is no sugar bomb. This hemp milk colors the coffee, but the flavor disappears into it. The coffee texture, to me, remains unchanged from black. $3.99 for 32 ounces.

Califia Farms almond milk creamer. The label reads “Real Almond & Coconut Cream,” and that’s exactly what you taste. The sweet note of almond comes followed by the coconut. Consistency is thin but coats the mouth. This pearly white creamer gives a nutty, almost grassy note to the coffee, followed by a suggestion of coconut. It’s not a bad pairing; just different for a traditional dairy half-and-half user like me. $4.99 for 25.4 ounces.

Silk soy milk. The flavor of this off-white soy milk is at once bright and nondescript with a light sweet note. The texture is thin, smooth. This soy milk lightens the coffee and tones downs the bitterness, while allowing the coffee flavor to come through. Not bad. $2.59 for 32 ounces.

Rice Dream rice milk. This product had a dairylike blandness with a touch of sweetness from brown rice. In coffee, it smoothed out the flavor but didn’t leave any sense of added creaminess. $3.19 for 32 ounces.

Coffee-Mate creamer. Very white in color, mild in flavor and with the tiniest note of sweetness on the finish, this nondairy creamer coats the mouth before quickly vanishing. Maybe it’s because I use Coffee-Mate a lot at work, but I found it plays well with coffee, lightening up the brew but letting the flavor come through. $3.29 for 32 ounces.