This traveler’s quest to find coffee creamer in the U.K.
When I decided to move to London in 2017, of course I had anticipated a lot of changes. I had planned to downsize to a small flat, expected to miss my family tremendously, and joked about adding the words “lovely” and “quite” to my vocabulary. This all made sense.
What I did not plan on, was giving up my daily fix of caffeine-and-dairy heaven, also known as “coffee with cream.” And when I say “cream,” I usually mean half-and-half. I had been drinking coffee with half-and-half in it for my entire adult life. My parents used half-and-half daily during my childhood. My siblings use half-and-half too. Half-and-half is practically synonymous with morning in my family. I could not believe I had been taking it for granted. Even amidst an international move, I never, ever, EVER thought to myself “what if half-and-half goes away?”
In the US, half-and-half is made by several brands, and is available everywhere. It is a magical combination of 50% dairy milk and 50% actual cream, and adding it to coffee is monumentally better than adding milk. That’s right, monumentally better. It makes the coffee richer and tastier than milk could ever dream of. (You half-and-half drinkers out there know this is true.)
In London, I could not find half-and-half (or any suitable coffee creamer) anywhere. Not at Waitrose. Not at Marks & Spencer. Not at Sainsbury’s. Not at Tesco. Not at Co-op. Surely Whole Foods must have it…?!? Nope. Not even at Whole Foods. Instead, UK grocery stores have “single cream” and “double cream,” neither of which, came close to what I was used to. Not to mention, these UK creams were usually ingredients in cooking, not to be added to coffee.
After ample research, I learned it all comes down to fat content. Milk contains too little fat (3.5%) and cream contains too much fat (35% or more). So half-and-half is truly the greatest invention of all time (12–18% fat). I had to look this up of course, but now I know all of the fat percentages in various dairy products and I finally understand what makes half-and-half the heroine (and heroin!) of coffee accoutrements.
Nothing I could find in the UK had the right amount of fat to transform my black coffee into the creamy, caramel-colored elixir I had relied upon for daily functioning for nearly three decades. This was not a small inconvenience like needing to hang my laundry outside to dry, or learning to look right instead of left when crossing the street. This one really messed me up and added to my culture shock and homesickness.
I tried all the UK cream/milk in the grocery store. I also tried adding soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, and oat milk to my coffee. Yes, you can get all those things here. I tried everything. I asked for cream and half-and-half at coffee shops, restaurants, and cafes. None carried any kind of cream to add to coffee.
I even trekked across town to the sole Dunkin’ Donuts in London. Yes, there is only one, near Baker Street Tube Station. I thought they MUST have some kind of cream or half-and-half for their coffee. In the US, Dunkin’ uses “light cream” as their main creamer. Even though it’s slightly heavier than half-and-half, with 20% fat, it also falls into the supremely delightful range. For God’s sake, ordering a “Regular” at Dunkin’ translates to “coffee with cream and sugar.” Cream is the default. If you don’t want cream, you need to say “no cream.” (I’ve never said that.)
The London Dunkin’ Donuts did not have any type of cream. When I asked the woman working there if they had cream or half-and-half, she said that sometimes people asked for it… but no, they don’t have it. London Dunkin’ customers drink their Dunkin’ drinks with milk in them! There is nothing “Regular” about that.
Some of you will read this and think I’m crazy. You will wonder how I could be SO picky. But I’m confident that “half-and-half-or-cream-in-your-coffee” people out there will 100% understand my dilemma.
My sister, back home in Boston, was like “What??!! What do you mean they don’t have half-and-half or cream over there? How is that possible? Can I send you some? Can you smuggle it in your suitcase?” She understands 100%.
Unable to give up yet, I tried to order little individual coffee creamers online, the kind you would get at a diner in the US. The only thing I could find on Amazon.co.uk ended up tasting like watered-down milk with very bad chemicals added to it. The smallest order size was 100 little capsules. I had to throw away 96 of them.
After that, I had no choice but to give up. I started drinking less coffee, and when I did, I had it with… gulp… whole milk. A daily joy was stifled. Sigh…
Let me be clear, none of my British friends sympathized with me. Many of them don’t even drink coffee, never mind worry about adding some kind of cream to it. They drink tea, sometimes with milk. What did I expect? This is a nation of tea drinkers. I have met adults in this country who have never tasted coffee. Yep, never.
I finally let go of my search. What else could I do?
About two years after I moved to London, my college roommate visited me from Boston, with her entire family. Everyone came… her husband, two kids, and even her parents, whom I adore. We were out to dinner one night at a restaurant having a great night. When it came time for dessert, we went around the table, ordering from the waiter, and then her parents… in the most normal, natural way also asked for “two coffees with evaporated milk, please.”
WHAT THE…?!
I had to back up. “Excuse me…. what did you just order?!”
They too were addicted to half-and-half and cream in their coffee. They went on to explain that whenever they traveled to places without creamers, they ordered evaporated milk instead. They had traveled extensively and had found (through trial and error) this was the closest option. They’d been doing this for years! It had become so routine for them that they hadn’t flinched or over-explained one bit when they placed their order.
Mind. Blown.
I tried it. It tasted pretty darn great! The color was right. The consistency was familiar. The taste was smooth. How random??!!
The next day, I bought some evaporated milk to have at home with my coffee.
To be clear, it is not exactly the same. However, it is by far the closest thing to half-and-half out of everything I’ve tried, and as you now know, I’ve tried a lot. My two-year quest was over. Equipped with this new information, I could resume some sort of “coffee pleasure” in my London life.
However, each time I come home to Boston for a visit, my mom makes sure there is plenty of half-and-half in her fridge for me. It’s my own special little “Regular” order.
Regular, like the sunrise.
Regular, like a healthy heartbeat.
