As a counter to all the times people come into r/askamericans and ask what creamer is… What do Europeans put in their coffee?

I understand a caffe latte is the same thing as here… Espresso and foamed milk…

But do you have half and half in the store to put into coffee? Heavy cream? Or is it always just milk? Oat milk? Almond milk?


40 comments
  1. Put in coffee?  I don’t understand? Coffee should be like metal, black.

    I sometimes put moonshine in, but only at festivities. 

  2. Most commonly full fat cow’s milk. Some people will also use low fat milk or cream. Vegans might use oat milk or almond milk. I take mine black.

  3. Regular milk or, if you don’t drink that, plant-based milk. But most people just drink black coffee. 

  4. Normally just milk (pre-warmed, I hate lukewarm coffee). But I am vegan for a month every year (like right now) and then I drink it black. I really don’t like plant based drinks in coffee, and I tried every single one.

    ETA Turkish coffee is just coffee and sometimes sugar, very very rarely with milk

  5. Milk. Fresh and not skimmed.

    I like the Dutch/German/Belgian/French style of coffee, not the Italian style or the made up US “Italian” styles.

    Source: UK.

  6. Regular 3% cow milk

    Although, I’ve started to like oat milk now for some reason.

    If I feel for something sweet, I have an old bottle of vanilla syrup. I bought it over a year ago, so I don’t use it very often.

  7. I don’t drink coffee but people around me do. Those who don’t drink it black put in normal cow milk, and some add sugar or a sweetener.

  8. It depends on what kind of coffee I drink

    – Turkish coffee: I brew it together with orange and cinnamon, that’s it
    – High quality or specialty coffee: nothing, it should taste good on its own
    – Regular machine coffee: a teaspoon of coconut sugar and around a tablespoon of almond milk
    – French press: nothing, it should taste good on its own
    – Stovetop coffee maker (kotyogós) coffee: a ton of almond or regular milk, and sweetener

  9. >But do you have half and half in the store to put into coffee? Heavy cream? Or is it always just milk? Oat milk? Almond milk?

    Any and all of the above. Well, except half and half, but condensed milk is almost the same consistency.

  10. I’m lactose intolerant so oat milk for me, it comes the closest to how milk behaves in coffee.

    No sugar though unless I’m at a cafe and I drink an oat latte.

    Edit: my mam is german and takes kaffeemilch in hers. The bear brand (I suspect she’s autistic like me lol)

  11. My grandparents put double cream in their coffee. My parents use milk, I usually just drink mine black, maybe a splash of oat milk if I buy it somewhere.

  12. Dutch people generally use unsweetened evaporated milk in their regular drip coffee. We even literally call it [“coffeemilk.’](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koffiemelk?wprov=sfla1) Probably because it contains less water than regular milk, so you dilute the coffee less. It’s especially convenient when drinking coffee out of a thermos.

    I only found out that other countries don’t use this when I went to visit family across the border. It’s so common that when my mother tried to make her first cappuccino at home (years ago), she used coffeemilk. Nowadays making lattes at home is much more common, and those people may not bother with evaporated milk anymore.

  13. Vast majority of my coffee is either straight espresso or straight French Press. Sometimes I take sugar. Rarely, I take a cortado with oat milk.

    In Switzerland we have something called “Kaffeerahm” (“coffee cream”), which I believe is cream with lower fat content (something like 10-12%) but I don’t like dairy taste, so I never tried it.

  14. I put regular cow milk in my coffee. I’ve seen coffee cream in the stores but I don’t know anyone personally who uses it. And I have no idea what “half and half” is. Half of what?

  15. No idea what half and half is. I assume you don’t mean beer? 🍻

    Half of what?

    I put plain cow milk in it.

    The generation of my parents predominantly put Evaporated milk, known in some countries as “unsweetened condensed milk”.

  16. Just regular old milk for me. I don’t like black coffee and I have no idea what half and half or creamer is.

    I’ll sometimes opt for a latte or a cappuccino, but they’re just variations on the coffee with milk theme really.

  17. A small amount of “blue” (2% fat) or “red” (3.5%) milk is typical in Finland, like 1 cm to a 3 dl cup. Finns usually drink large amounts of light-roast strong coffee. It’s not exactly espresso, but it’s stronger than American coffee. Then again, personally, I tend to use dry creamer or an oat milk formulated specifically for adding to coffee.

    Unfortunately, Italian style coffee has began to penetrate the market, and is displacing filter coffee, so that the latter may not even be available anymore. But Italian coffee is way too dark a roast and is made too strong.

  18. Milk/plant based alternative or coffee cream. Coffee cream is cream with 10%, 12% or even 15% cream. Personally, I only know older people that use coffee cream.  Lots of people drink just plain coffee with nothing in it. 

  19. Usually filtered coffee, light roast (1-2/5, I don’t like darker roast 3-5/5 coffee): lactose free zero fat milk or if not available, lactose free coffee cream or lactose free coffee milk. If none of them is available then any milk, but zero fat preferred. For some reason I like my coffee with zero fat milk. The lactose free attribute is because of other people, I don’t mind the lactose but they do if I have some. Sometimes some sugar, specifically the first and the last cups of the day.

    Espresso: always double, sometimes some sugar but nothing else. Maybe chased by a small glass of water. This applies to Greek/Turkish coffee as well.

    Cappuccino: whatever they bring me, add a bit of sugar.

    I don’t usually touch the “coffee” from automats and the horrendous taste is there nevermind what is added. If I happen to get some coffee from a real pot (too lazy to make that myself) the same rules apply as with the filtered coffee.

    An interesting side note: if the milk is ecological non-homogenized milk then the lactose is fine.

  20. Personally, nothing. Black coffee is the best. Aeropress, drip, espresso, cold brew, all good. Maybe once or twice a year I buy flavored (cinnamon & cardamom) oat milk to make lattes but that’s more like a dessert for me.

    For the population in general: In the small towns and countryside it’s either black or with cold cow’s milk. In the cities same but a lot of people use cold oat milk instead (like almost everyone in our office if they use milk in coffee).

  21. Milk and sugar.

    In lack of milk or cream, I’ll use coffee creamer if available. Coffee creamer is common/known here.

    Many Danes just drink straight black coffee though, no milk or sugar.

  22. Nothing for myself, I drink coffee because I enjoy the taste of black coffee as it is. Sweden’s a big coffee drinker nation and from what I’ve observed, the three most common ways to drink it, by far, are plain black, with a bit of cow milk or with a bit of sugar. Other options (syrup, flavored creamers, nutmeg, other spices) are much less common though these days it’s not a problem to get a supply if that’s how you like it.

  23. Creamer does exist in the UK. It’s known as CoffeeMate. It’s powdered and is really only used by people who drink instant coffee.

  24. Oat milk, specifically the barista kind. I would say the most common way to drink coffee here is with cow’s milk, black or with oat milk. Some people use sugar.

  25. I make filter/drip coffee. One Spoon Coffee powder for a Cup. Two sugar and a bit of milk.

    Strong but not heart attack inducing, sugar and milk to take the edge off.

  26. I don’t put anything, because i don’t drink coffee, but people here usually use just milk and/or sugar or just drink it black.

  27. Depends on my mood, I like espresso/black. but if its milk I just make a latte and steam milk (sometimes soy or oat) like normal cafes.

    Or milk and a little vanilla syrup for iced coffee.

    Lately I’ve been drinking matcha at home though.

  28. I moved to dark roast and started drinking it black. If I get a specialty coffee, I’ll have it with plant milk, that goes well with coffee in my opinion. Coffee is also a plant

  29. Others have already mentioned that coffee drinkers in Sweden prefer black or with a bit of milk (cow mostly, but some use oat or similar) and/or a little sugar (traditionally sugar cubes). Of cause you can also find coffee shops selling lattes.

    To that I’ll add that there’s a type of cream with 10–12 % fat called kaffegrädde, “coffee cream”. That would be similar to half and half, right? It was popular before. Now milk is more common than coffee cream.

    As for less common things to put in coffee, in northern Sweden and Finland there’s an old tradition of kaffeost, a type of fresh cheese (that can also be eaten as a side dish to the coffee). [wp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_cheese?wprov=sfla1)

  30. In Portugal there’s a very limited amount of things you put into coffee – bear in mind the standard is espresso. You’ll be offered sugar, and if it’s a fancy place, a cinnamon stick to stir in.

    If you want anything else, you usually order it: a glug of brandy, a dash of milk, or a bit of whipped cream are usually what’s on offer to go on espressos; beyond that you’ll have to order the specific drink – which, tbh, are mostly variations on the coffee:milk ratio and then a couple other mixes like the moka.

Leave a Reply