Can Expired Coffee Creamer Make You Sick? 3 Ways to Find Out

Can expired coffee creamers make you sick? 

The other day I was chilling with my girlfriend and I convinced her to make us coffee. She found an expired creamer in the fridge and this made us wonder whether an expired coffee creamer can make you have health issues. Stick around, in this comprehensive article I go over coffee creamer and how to use it in your coffee. Make sure you read to the end of the article as I share a delicious recipe with coffee creamer.

Let’s jump straight into it. 

Can expired coffee creamer make you sick?

Expired coffee creamer can make you sick, especially if you have a sensitive stomach. Coffee creamer in a form of powder is a safer option compared to liquid as it is vegetable oil. Expired coffee creamer tastes horrible, so there’s no reason to make coffee with it.

What coffee creamer is made of

Let’s go over the ingredients of powder and liquid coffee creamer:

• Sugar
• Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Coconut or Palm kernel)
• Corn Syrup Solids
• 2% Sodium Caseinate (milk derivative)
• Natural and Artificial flavours
• Dipotassium Phosphate
• Salt
• Mono-and Diglycerides
• Sodium Aluminosilicate

Coffee creamer powder 

As you might have guessed it comes in powder form. The way you use it is to mix it with hot water and stir it up until its texture is smooth. Then you can add it to your coffee. Why should you go for a powder coffee creamer? It’s dairy free and you don’t need to store it in the fridge (since it doesn’t contain milk it doesn’t go bad easily).

Coffee creamer liquid

This is the more popular coffee creamer between the 2 as it’s fairly simple to use. It blends well with cold coffee and it comes in different flavours. 

The most popular ones are: 

• Vanilla
• Hazelnut 
• Caramel
• Chocolate

How to store coffee creamer 

As already mentioned, coffee creamer that has gone off tastes terrible.

Here’s a bunch of tips and tricks on how to store your coffee creamer the right way: 

• If it’s liquid creamer and you open it put it in the fridge
• The lifespan of a powder coffee creamer is months while liquid is 1-2 weeks
• Keep powder coffee creamer in a cupboard and away from sunlight and moisture
• Buy portions of coffee creamer that you estimate you can consume within the expiring date
• Once you used the liquid liquid coffee creamer remember to put it back in the fridge (otherwise it might go bad)
• If you forgot liquid coffee creamer out of the fridge for several hours, it’s wise to throw it away

How do you know if coffee creamer is bad?

You can tell if your coffee creamer is bad in different ways. 

The most obvious one is to check the expiring date, if it has passed, your coffee creamer is going to taste bad. 

Another way you can tell your coffee creamer is bad is to smell it – if its smell is nothing but pleasant, it’s not wise to use it in your coffee.

One more simple way of checking your coffee creamer whether it’s gone off or not is to taste it (just go for very little of it). If the taste is terrible it means your coffee creamer isn’t good and it’s better to get rid of it.

How long can coffee with cream sit out?

Coffee with cream can last a couple of hours. 

It’s a great idea to have straight away as your coffee with cream is going to be hot – who wants to drink lukewarm coffee in the end? 

If (for whatever reason) you can’t have it straight away, then it’s good to pop it in the fringe which can stay there for about 7-8 hours without being spoiled. When it’s time to have it’s wise not to heat it (especially if the coffee creamer you used was liquid and contains dairy) as it might be spoiled and it’s going to taste horrible.

Why people add coffee creamer to their coffee

People add coffee creamer to their coffee for different reasons including:

• Adding an extra layer of taste to their coffee
• They can moderate the level of strength of their coffee (typically coffee with creamer is less strong than coffee without)
• To make their hot brew colder faster (especially in the morning before work)
• Making coffee less bitter (some coffee blends are bitter and coffee creamer makes them less)
• To make coffee less acidic (coffee creamer is less acidic than coffee) which is good for those suffering from acid reflux

What does coffee with creamer taste like? 

It does taste sweeter and richer.

I’ll be honest with you, I rarely drink coffee with creamer, I prefer black coffee in general. 

But every now and again, I’ll have it as it contains sugar that is a great energy source and keeps me going during the day.

If you have never tried coffee with creamer, I highly recommend brewing black coffee with a dripping coffee machine and adding a serving of creamer to see whether it’s up your alley or not. 

Pros of coffee with creamer 

Here are the pros of coffee with creamer: 

• Sweeter coffee
• Richer coffee
• It gives you energy
• It cools down hot coffee faster

Cons of coffee with creamer

Let’s go over the cons:

• The flavours of pure coffee are spoiled
• It contains more calories 
• It’s not good for those intolerant to lactose

What does coffee with expired creamer taste like? 

Coffee with expired creamer tastes horrible.

First off, it smells bad which makes it almost impossible to have a sip. I believe coffee is a treat and we shouldn’t make any compromises. For this reason, it’s good to drink nothing but delicious coffee with fresh coffee grounds and creamer, milk or whatever you add to your coffee.

How many calories are in a serving of coffee creamer? 

Let’s go over the number of calories of a serving of coffee creamer: 

• 1 serving (1 tbsp) contains 20 calories 
• 20mL of full fat milk contains 12 calories
• 20mL of skimmed milk contains 7 calories 
• 20mL of coconut milk contains 46 calories 
• 20mL of almond milk contains 3 calories

If you’re on diet and want a lower-calorie option than coffee creamer, you can go for almond, skimmed or even full fat milk. 

Can you froth coffee creamer?

Yes you can froth coffee creamer and  in fact, there are many different ways you can go about it. 

Here are 3 ways: 

• One of the easiest ones is to use a hand wand to make it look even and give it a smooth texture
• Another way is to use a French press by pushing the plunger up and down until the creamer is ready to be poured into the coffee
• One more simple method is to use a whisker and whisk the coffee creamer in a container for about 2-3 minutes. 

Is it better to froth with milk than coffee creamer? 

It depends on the type of milk you use.

For example, if you use full fat milk to make a cappuccino or latte, your coffee will taste better as full fat milk is high in protein meaning that it will create rich foam and at the same time it’s not as sweet as coffee creamer. 

This way you hit the right balance of making a milky coffee with rich foam that is subtly sweet.

If you use coffee creamer though, you’ll still make rich foam but your latte or cappuccino is going to be too sweet. 

Unless you like your coffee to be too sweet, full fat milk is the better option for frothing.

Substitutes of coffee creamer 

Let’s go over a bunch of coffee creamer substitutes to use for your coffee: 

• Full fat milk
• Skimmed milk
• Coconut milk
• Almond milk
• Hazelnut milk 
• Oat milk 
• Soy milk

I suggest you try different ones and see whichever floats your boat.

How to make coffee with creamer

Let’s go over the steps of making the perfect coffee with creamer:

• Start by turning your dripping machine on
• Make sure there’s enough water (preferably bottled or filtered) in the tank
• Add the coffee grounds to the basket (it’s good to ground your own ones)
• Once your coffee is ready, pour a serving of coffee creamer and stir it up till the colour of your coffee is even.

Let’s wrap it up

Can you tell now if your coffee creamer has gone off or not? It’s good to be able to recognise bad coffee creamer since nobody wants to have coffee that tastes bad. Stay tuned as I’m going to write more articles about coffee and brewing.

FAQ

Let’s quickly go over a couple of FAQs to help you learn more about the topic.

Does coffee creamer go bad if not refrigerated?

Yes it does go bad if it’s not refrigerated. By the moment you open it, you should place it in the fridge which is going to expand its lifespan by about a week. 

How long is coffee creamer good for after expiration?

If it has gone off, it’s not good to use it and it’s definitely not worth risking it as a coffee creamer is a relatively affordable product to buy – you can get a good one for around $5.

Does Coffee Mate pump creamer need to be refrigerated?

Because Coffee Mate pump creamer is lactose-free it doesn’t need to be refrigerated but it’s not necessarily wrong to keep it in your fridge, especially if you want to cool down your hot coffee.