Creamer

I just want to make one thing clear up front:

I. Hate. Powder. Creamer.

And I mean, with a passion. I haven't hated anything as much as powdered creamer since LONG DIVISION. And if you knew me in the fourth and fifth grades, trying to figure that crap out, you'd understand how serious a statement this is.

I'm not sure what it is, but it totally ruins the flavor, much like artificial sweetner does. But that's another story for another day.

Powder creamer is the reason I learned to drink office coffee black with sugar. I used to volunteer at the Cincinnati Museum Center, and they provided the breakroom with powdered whitener. I skipped it, pouring in extra sugar to compensate. That was hard to get used to, but I like it well enough now. Black and sweet is how I like my coffee, just as I like...well nevermind that.

And really, that's a lie. I don't like black coffee as a general rule, with or without sugar. I'm a half and half guy. My grocery list almost always includes Kroger half and half, in the plastic bottle please. In a smallish bottle so it won't go bad before I can use it all, since I don't drink quite so much coffee these days.

I must be getting old.

Anyway, I'm kinda rambling (and I blame the second cup I'm currently drinking).

I'm currently out of half and half, and I deliberately ran out because I went camping a few weeks back with Joe. While I do own a camp kettle with a percolator, I find it to actually be tastier to bring Clasico instant coffee. I also bought some International Delight vanilla creamer. I chose this stuff because a) you don't need to add sugar it's so sweet b) it's too thick to freeze and c) it won't go bad. And I mean, ever.

While it tastes good, my mouth is used to a dairy creamer. It feels like I'm picking up every last chemical in this stuff. It's sweet, but it's got an artificial sweetner flavor to it. And that last point up there, about it never going bad? That kinda scares me. Things that don't go bad prolly shouldn't be in my body. Who knows when I'll be able to flush it out of my system?

So ultimately, my standard choice is half and half. If I want something more tasty and rich, I go with heavy whipping cream. That'd prolly kill me faster than International Delight, but I think it'd be almost worth the trip...no Splenda taste.

So what goes in YOUR coffee for whitening, hm?