If you’re a true coffee lover, you’d do anything to get your hands on your daily dose of black coffee. But even the diehard fans of coffee might want to try something different once in a while. You might want to add a nice surprise to your caffeine jolt and that’s when you ask this question.
Can you put heavy cream in coffee? Yes, you can add heavy cream to your coffee. Adding heavy cream to your coffee helps its looks, texture, and flavor. Heavy cream brings down the bitterness of the coffee making it easier to drink. Unless you’re lactose intolerant, you can reap the health benefits of heavy cream in coffee.
Why Add Heavy Cream To Coffee?
There are a couple of reasons why you’d want to add heavy cream to your cup of coffee.
The first reason is the taste. If you’re finding it a bit hard to get used to black coffee, you can try adding some heavy cream. It will bring a good flavor to your coffee and you don’t have to resort to additives like sugar.
Adding heavy cream as opposed to added sugar or an artificial sweetener is a better idea as you might not get addicted to sugar (or others) over time, and you can also reduce the calorie intake in the long run.
The second reason why you’d want to add heavy whipping cream to your coffee is the texture. Adding some heavy cream to your coffee makes it silky and smooth. It’s definitely an upgrade to plain black coffee.
In my opinion, both these reasons go hand in hand. No one’s going to say that they like the flavor but hate the smooth texture and vice versa.
While there are many coffee creamer variants in the market (think half-and-half cream), adding heavy cream gives your coffee a richness that you’ll not get from these made-for-coffee varieties.
If you have plans to add cream to your coffee, try heavy cream first. It might look heavy, but it will trump half-and-half in terms of taste and richness.
Also Read: 17 Healthy Ways To Sweeten Coffee
Health Benefits Of Heavy Cream in Coffee?
When it comes to using dairy products, there is a lot of misconception out there in the wild. Dairy is often associated with fat and that’s a no-go for a lot of health-conscious people.
Is heavy cream bad for your health? What’s the actual truth?
If you do a bit of research, you will find that fat is important just like other nutrients. Good fat must have a place in your everyday intake no matter what.
Heavy cream comes with a fat content of 35 to 38% which is pretty high. But this alone doesn’t make it an unhealthy additive for coffee.
Let’s take a look at some of the health benefits of heavy cream in coffee.
- Adding heavy cream to your coffee can keep your gastrointestinal health in check. This is due to the presence of butyric acid in heavy cream. If you have a history of gut-related issues, this can help.
- Caffeine can cause acid reflux and jitters in some people. Adding heavy whipping cream to your coffee can eliminate them. If you’re someone who gets acid reflux soon after your black coffee, try some heavy cream next time and tell us the difference!
- Heavy cream helps to keep your blood sugar levels stable. If you’re a diabetic who is trying to control your sugar levels, this might come in handy.
- Heavy cream helps in weight loss. What? Yes, and it’s great when you’re trying to reduce your calorie intake. Coffee with heavy cream can create a filling feeling that will prevent you from eating junk food in between meals.
These are some of the health benefits you get from adding heavy cream to your coffee.
Do keep in mind that you have to be moderate when it comes to adding heavy cream to your coffee. Overdo it and you might not get the benefits and even face some side effects. More on that later.
Heavy Cream’s Effect on Coffee
What happens when you add heavy whipping cream to your coffee? Does it become greasy? Does it taste better?
Let’s find out.
Appearance
When you add heavy cream to your coffee, the first thing you notice is the change in its appearance. Coffee turns lighter in color.
You can also see that your cup of coffee gets thicker. With thickness, your coffee gets a nice new shiny look. If not anything else, adding heavy cream makes your black coffee a lot more appetizing.
If you fancy a fancy cup of coffee, then heavy cream is your friend. Inviting some coffee-loving friends over? Give them a lavish black coffee topped with heavy whipping cream. They’ll love it just for its looks.
Taste – Is Heavy Cream Good in Coffee?
Heavy cream doesn’t bring a lot of flavor to the table. It is the taste of sweet and unsalted butter (the best way we could describe it).
Having said that, there is a pretty good impact on the taste of the coffee once you put heavy cream in your coffee.
No, coffee doesn’t lose its flavor. You still get your load of caffeine without any compromise. Heavy cream does well to bring out the flavor and enhance it.
Heavy cream masks the bitterness to an extent and also increases the sweetness in your coffee without the need for adding any sugar or other sweeteners.
When trying to reduce the bitterness of their black coffee, people go for stuff like honey, maple syrup, powdered sugar, and others. These can increase the calories of your coffee significantly and are not a good choice for a lot of people.
Heavy cream does bring in some calories, but thanks to the good fat, you will use it a lot sooner.
As far as the taste is concerned, that’s all there is to it. Heavy cream won’t change the taste of your coffee completely. It will smoothen the texture and will make your coffee not taste like bitter water. If you’re not a fan of bitter black coffee, heavy cream might be your friend.
Health Side Effects
Heavy cream is quite high in calories.
If you’re someone who doesn’t want a lot of calories, you might want to stay away from heavy cream. We did say that heavy cream helps in weight loss but only when you know what you’re doing. It’s not a recipe for everyone.
If you’re lactose intolerant, then heavy cream, despite being a dairy product, is a good idea for your cup of coffee. To be fair, coffee whipped cream comes with very little lactose. There are only 5 grams of lactose in 15 ml of heavy cream which is pretty low.
It might not even trigger any reaction from you, but just to be safe, don’t use heavy cream if you have an intolerance towards lactose.
These are some of the common problems you might come across when adding heavy cream or whipping cream to your coffee.
If you don’t have any of the conditions mentioned above, then you may not face any of these side effects. Though keep in mind to use heavy cream in moderation for the best results.
How Much Heavy Cream Should I Put In My Coffee?
So I’ve sold you the idea of adding heavy cream to your cup of java and now you want to try it? Awesome.
Wait, there is one more minor detail you need to know before you add too much heavy cream to your coffee and blame me for it.
Yes, I’m talking about the amount of heavy cream you should use.
If there is one word you should remember here, it is moderation.
Do not add too much heavy cream or whipping cream to your coffee. It will overpower it and you will hate the idea of it forever.
Always start with a small amount of heavy cream and see how it affects the taste and texture with respect to your liking. Everyone’s liking is different so we just can’t say add these many tablespoons to your coffee.
To start, try a teaspoon or two of heavy cream. If that doesn’t make an impact, then try adding a tablespoon. Increase the amount of heavy cream added to your coffee by half a tablespoon until you reach a point of content.
In most cases, you won’t have to add more than 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to your coffee. When it comes to whipping cream, be a bit more conservative as comes with more commercial elements than its healthier brother.
Does Heavy Cream Curdle In Coffee?
If your heavy cream is past its prime or old, then there is a good chance that it can curdle when added to your cuppa joe.
Coffee drink comes with a lot of acids. The acids are the ones that give coffee its taste and flavor. When these acids come in contact with old heavy cream, a reaction happens and heavy cream curdles.
Curdling can also happen when you add heavy cream to your hot coffee. The higher the temperature, the higher the chances for curdling.
When heavy cream curdles, you can see that visually. If you haven’t noticed, drinking curdled coffee can be bitter or sour. Unless you are a risk-taker, we suggest throwing away that cup of coffee.
After adding heavy cream to your coffee, you might find the surface becoming a bit greasy. This is not curdling. It is probably the cream separating from the coffee. Stir your coffee and things will get back into place.
Also Read: Why Does Cream Curdle in Coffee?
Heavy Cream in Coffee – Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Put Heavy Whipping Cream in Coffee?
Yes, you can add heavy whipped cream to your cup of coffee.
Though these are made with more commercial elements, adding them does impart a stronger flavor to your coffee.
Why Use Heavy Cream Over Half-and-Half Cream?
If you’re looking to make your coffee richer, then heavy cream is better than half-and-half cream and coffee creamers. Half-and-half is a lighter option as it is only half cream. The rest of it is made up of fresh milk.
Coffee creamers are also fine but they are usually made from non-dairy products like almond milk, oats milk, coconut milk, and so on. These non-dairy creamers are mostly flavored so they will impact the coffee’s taste more than heavy cream.
if you’re looking for a dairy option, then heavy cream trumps both half-and-half and creamers.
What Are Some Coffee Drinks With Whipping Cream in Them?
While there is no right or wrong way of doing things, here are a few options you can try and even get over the counter in your favorite coffee shops.
- Black coffee with whipped cream
- Frappe coffee
- Irish coffee
- Even some keto coffees
- Bulletproof coffee with cream instead of butter
These are some coffee drinks that incorporate heavy cream. You can try adding heavy cream to pretty much any coffee you like and see how it works out. You might also love some vanilla extract or cocoa powder in your coffee. Do give it a shot.
Whether it is iced coffee, a cold brew, instant coffee, or dalgona coffee, you can try some heavy cream on it.
Heavy Cream in Coffee – Wrap Up
That’s all folks.
We hope you enjoyed this article. Heavy cream in coffee works great. For some, heavy cream coffee could be the best coffee they’ve tasted their entire life. If you’re looking for a way to enhance the flavor of your black coffee, then heavy cream might be a good idea.
Have you tried adding heavy cream to your coffee? How did you like it? Or are just going to try it now? Whatever it is, do share your opinion with us. If you have any Qs, we’re right here.