I love coffee. I mean I went to college in Seattle what would you expect?

But I like my drip coffee with a little liquid creamer in it. Not so much that you can’t tell it’s coffee anymore but enough so that it’s not black.

Over the years I have bought every brand and flavor (minus hazelnut or amaretto- remember tree-nut allergy). But once I got out of the all-nighter college haze I began to think clearer about health. I saw that a lot of  creamers had ingredients I could not pronounce. And I began to question: Why? There has to be a simpler and more natural way.

So then I started buying vanilla Coffeemate Natural Bliss. The ingredients stated online are milk, cream, and sugar (supposedly that simple). But it comes in a small container and it costs more then the fake stuff (go figure).

Finally my husband asked me a very good question: “Why don’t you make your own coffee creamer? It will probably cost you a lot less”.

So I did my research and have been making my own coffee creamer for the past 3 months.

Here’s what I use: 1 % milk, Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (fat free), and a little vanilla extract. Usually I will use half a can of condensed milk, about 7 ounces, and mix it with 7 ounces of milk.

But I will change this up. I can add a little cinnamon, cinnamon extract, ginger, peppermint extract, or canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Then you have all you need to make your own pumpkin spice creamer, gingerbread latte, mocha, or peppermint mocha creamer. Just look at your spice rack or baking shelf and experiment!

In going with the chocolate theme of the month, I added some cocoa powder to my creamer mix. If you want to use cocoa powder heat up the powder with a little milk so it dissolves.

I store my coffee creamer in a to-go Starbucks cup giving to me by my brother and sister-in-law who live in China. It is a good reminder to pray for/ think about them.

How do you like your coffee?

Do you use cream or sugar?

Do you have a favorite coffee creamer or flavor?