10 Chobani Coffee Creamers, Ranked

There is no shortage of coffee creamer brands available in the grocery store. Not only can you find basics like plain sweetened cream, but also ones that allow you to make your favorite coffee shop beverage at home. I'm talking hazelnut, vanilla, white chocolate mocha, and everything in between. And one brand that has received its fair share of accolades is Chobani. The brand, which is known mostly for its Greek yogurt, carries an entire lineup of zero-sugar and regular creamers in flavors that are both familiar and funky.

I'm a coffee hound, so I'm no stranger to coffee creamers. Chobani dominates the shelf space at my local grocery store, so I wanted to see which flavors of this pricey creamer were truly worth buying. In order to do so, I rounded up all of the flavors that I could find before tasting and ranking them from worst to best based on factors like overall potency of flavor, mouthfeel, and whether they made the coffee I added them to — a plain, unsweetened cold brew — more enjoyable to sip on.

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer/distributor/etc.

I had a feeling going into this review that the way people feel about this Chobani zero-sugar creamer (and zero-sugar creamers in general) is wholly dependent on how they feel about the taste of artificial sweeteners. In some foods, it's easy to hide artificial sweeteners behind other flavors. But in a creamer — where the only flavor is "sweet" –  there's no place for the oppressive bitterness and fakeness to hide. This was certainly the case for Chobani's zero-sugar sweet cream coffee creamer, which tastes fine for the first three seconds... until the stevia reared its ugly head. I didn't expect I would leave a  "sweet cream" creamer tasting with a more bitter flavor than when I went in, but here I am.

It was easy to pinpoint why this creamer tasted so awful. Chobani uses both allulose and stevia extract in its creamer, which come across as very sharp and bitter. The fact that I, a person who drinks diet soda on the regular, picked up on this flavor says something about the creamer's overall quality. I felt a headache brewing after taking a couple sips of this cold brew, which immediately sent me to the sink to dump the rest of the contents. If I couldn't have regular creamer, I would rather drink my coffee black than use this zero-sugar variety, which is ultimately why it earned the last place spot in this ranking.

After I tried the sweet cream zero-sugar creamer, I had an inkling that its salted caramel version wouldn't be much better. I think salted caramel is a great flavor to play with in a coffee, as the complex, toasty sugar flavor is an excellent foil to the bitter coffee and subtly salty undertones. And indeed, that's what I got for the first two sips of this beverage. The salted caramel flavor wasn't overly synthetic. Instead, it was genuine, coaxing, and like a snake in the grass. As was the case with the zero-sugar sweet cream creamer, I was hit over the head (and sideways) by the artificial sweetener's bitter flavor. What was a sweet and gentle caramel flavor quickly turned into one that was sour and acrid. It was almost like my senses were trying to warn me that there was danger afoot, and like the bitter flavor was my body pleading with me to put down the glass of cold brew. Luckily, I listened.

There is a huge gap between this coffee creamer and the ones that ranked above it. Like the other zero-sugar offering, unless you have a specific reason to buy this creamer, it's one that I would recommend skipping. No amount of salted caramel goodness (no matter how initially tasty and welcoming) could right the ship.

Pumpkin spice is one of Chobani's seasonal creamer flavors. And out of all the flavors on this list, it's arguably the one that gets the most amount of hype. Fall time is always pumpkin spice this and pumpkin spice that — so much so that it can feel like a rat race for brands to outcompete one another with their pumpkin spice-ness.

If you were expecting a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte when you sipped on this creamer, you might want to lower your standards a little (read: a lot). Like Chobani's other offerings, this pumpkin spice creamer has an excellent creaminess and mouthfeel, which I find, overall, to be better than many other brands. Though, the main issue that I have with this creamer is that it doesn't scream "pumpkin," nor does it scream "spice." The two are intermingled into every sip and I lose both of these benchmarks in the sea of creaminess and general "sweetness."

There are few coffees in which I feel this creamer could actually work. You would have to make a latte that's so diluted with milk to help this pumpkin spice flavor show up, or forego the coffee and make a steamer with milk and creamer instead. When paired with a cold brew, like I did for this tasting, or even a burnt-tasting, acidic plain iced coffee, I think that this creamer would be wholly lost. There are far better creamer options than this one, but it still wasn't as unpleasant to drink as the zero-sugar ones.

Should there be such a thing as cookie dough creamer? Absolutely not — but Chobani has done it. I expected something sickly sweet, rather than something that could achieve the complex nuances of brown sugar, chocolate, and vanilla. After all, it's a coffee creamer — not a dessert.

And I will give Chobani credit where credit is due. As I sipped, I couldn't help but notice its creamer did indeed taste like chocolate chip cookie dough — but more like the movie theater candy version than the beloved recipe I make in my KitchenAid mixer. The chocolate flavor comes off as subtly bitter, while the buttery flavor tastes stale and flat. If I was blindfolded and you had asked me what flavor this creamer was, I probably would have assumed something generally sweet rather than specifically cookie dough. It's not as sweet as I expected it to be, though, and I'm grateful that it dialed back the sweetness. Chobani could have taken cloyingness to a new level with this product, though it decided to offer customers a slightly more complex, albeit undeveloped flavor instead. It only ranked above the pumpkin spice creamer on this list because its flavor was more easily identifiable. Overall, though, it's an enigma of a coffee creamer, and not one that I'll actively seek out again.

Cinnamon coffee cake is a rather unique and inventive flavor, and I had high hopes that Chobani was going to knock my socks off. Its name conveys imagery of a complex, multi-layered cake with cinnamon streusel and a sweet and vanilla-forward cake base. That flavor in a milky, cozy latte would be heavenly.

Despite my glass half-full approach, I was left wishing that this creamer's flavor was a little more robust and heavy on the spice notes. It was the only creamer on this list, aside from pumpkin spice, that could have it heavy with a cinnamon profile, but it failed to deliver here. Even when I gave it a whiff from the bottle, I found that the cinnamon notes were sweet and that the cake flavors — vanilla and sugar — stood out more than the spice itself. I was expecting more of a cinnamony undertone from the creamer overall. Like some of the lower-ranked flavors, the mouthfeel that this one offered was great, and I liked how it worked with the flavor of the cold brew. If I were explicitly looking for a cinnamon-centric coffee creamer, this is not one I would grab. Though, its flavor is not so unenjoyable that I felt inclined to spit it out.

Of all the Chobani creamer flavors on this list, sweet cream was the one I was most looking forward to, solely because of the fact that it's difficult to mess up. Sure, you may think that the creamer giant took the easy way out by selling a flavor that's generally "sweet" and "creamy," rather than chasing a goalpost for a flavor that it may or may not be able to accomplish. Based on the other creamers I've tried from the brand, I knew that Chobani could do both "sweet" and "cream" well, and I had high hopes for its success. It was a safe bet, and it paid off for Chobani.

When I took a whiff of the plastic container, all I could decipher were sweet, creamy, and mild aromas. The sugar was perceptible but not grossly artificial, and when I added it to my coffee, I could see its color blossom into a beautiful nude hue. I'd be hard-pressed to find anything wrong with its flavor, as it wasn't chasing dessert in a coffee, nor was it trying too hard to imitate any flavors. The mouthfeel was clean and bright, and it made for a clean-tasting cold brew. It didn't give me any reason to dislike it, which is why I ranked it reasonably high on this list. However, in a sea of fun, inventive, and out-of-this-world coffee creamers, sweet cream just comes across as too tame.

I'll be honest; birthday cake confetti was the flavor that I was looking forward to trying the least for this Chobani creamer roundup. I've drunk black coffee for my whole adult life, so the thought of infusing my morning beverage with a Funfetti-inspired creamer is not my idea of a fun time. When I took a whiff of the container, I knew immediately what it was. It had the aroma of a bag of birthday cake-flavored pretzels: sweet and plasticky. When I poured the creamer into my coffee, though, I felt my feelings about it relax a little bit. It gave my cold brew about the same flavor as a glass of the sweet cream-infused cold brew, except with more profound vanilla notes. While there was some synthetic flavor to this vanilla, I appreciated how its flavor was cushioned a bit by the cream and the general sweetness.

Like the cookie dough creamer, if you closed your eyes and sipped a coffee infused with birthday cake confetti creamer, you may not be able to tell what the brand was getting at, unless you eat birthday cake-flavored things on a regular basis. Personally, it's not my cup of tea (err, coffee), but I ranked it higher than the plain sweet cream because its flavor was a little more vanilla-forward and complex. It has the makings of a good coffee creamer, but it's not going to be everyone's favorite.

White chocolate mocha is not one of my favorite Starbucks drinks, so I didn't think Chobani's spin on it would fare well. I feel the same about it as I do most coffee creamers: Why would I want to drink chocolate before 10 a.m.?

Dare I say that this creamer was not as bad as I expected it to be? Despite not being a white mocha stan going in, after trying this coffee, I may be a convert (so long as it's in the afternoon and I'm drinking this in place of dessert because man, is it sweet!). Compared with all of the creamers I tried for this ranking, this one turned my coffee the palest shade of white. The white chocolate flavor was decidedly white chocolatey, yet also had subtle notes of caramel. Since white chocolate doesn't have too much flavor aside from sweet, I couldn't really pull out many complex notes from it. But, that didn't make it any less enjoyable.

If you don't add sugar to your coffee regularly, this is not a creamer that I would recommend you add to your cart. Moreover, I felt that the "mocha" undertones were wholly lost in this creamer and Chobani only gave it its name so it would have brand association with Starbucks' iconic white chocolate mocha. Moreover, I don't think I would want to add this creamer to a hot coffee as I think the flavor would become lost. It's great in a cold brew or an over-ice coffee, though, and I plan on using it — albeit sparingly — in my coffee routine.

Despite how universal vanilla coffee creamer is, it's one variety that I could take or leave. I find that, all too often, the vanilla flavor in the creamer is synthetic and fake-tasting, rather than natural and robust. Sure, there are few coffees it doesn't work well in (winning it versatility points), but I would much rather have a plain "sweet" creamer or one that has a bit more creative direction.

On the nose, this vanilla creamer smells like melted vanilla ice cream: sweet, vanilla bean-y, and very tantalizing. Even based on aroma, I could tell that Chobani put some serious thought into the type of vanilla that it used for its creamer. While other vanilla creamers that I've had taste very synthetic and fake, this one tastes more natural (as much as I hate using that word). The vanilla notes flow into the subtle sweetness like a wave crashing gently against the shore. The transition in flavor is not abrupt nor jarring, and I felt myself pleasantly sipping on my cold brew made with this coffee without a second thought. Unlike some of the lower-ranked flavors on this list, it's easy to tell that this creamer is vanilla-flavored.

While it didn't capture my attention quite like my top pick on this list, I really thought that this was an excellent creamer and one that I would stock in my fridge for special occasions. While its price is a little prohibitive for everyday drinking, I can appreciate that it's a versatile product that can be used in hot and cold coffees alike.

The hazelnut creamer and I almost didn't cross paths, as both stores I bought the products from did not say that they carried this flavor on their websites. However, nestled behind the other, likely more popular, Chobani flavors was this hazelnut creamer. I think that hazelnut is one of those divisive flavors that some people love, and some people hate. Other flashier coffee creamer flavors have pushed hazelnut to the wayside (both metaphorically and physically), and I kind of think that this is unjust — especially considering how tasty this creamer was.

When I took a sniff of the container, I wasn't impressed. It smelled a little stale and almost bitter, but the contents were anything but. I didn't need to use a lot of creamer to taste its flavor, which was mildly nutty and just a hint sweet. I was glad to see that Chobani didn't bulldoze my taste buds with sugar here, as the sweetness was the perfect complement to the nutty undertones. Another thing I really liked about this creamer is that its taste wasn't at all synthetic. All too often, hazelnut creamers take on a very plasticky mouthfeel that is not at all pleasant. This one did no such thing, and I think that the use of real cream had something to do with it.

Whether you buy this flavor will come down to how you feel about hazelnut-flavored coffee. But I'll be the first person to admit that if I was in the market for a higher-end creamer, this would be the flavor I would pick.

While everyone's coffee preference varies, I decided to test these Chobani coffee creamers using a basic, low-acid cold brew coffee. To prevent watering the coffee down, I skipped the ice and chilled down the coffee in the fridge overnight before adding in 2 tablespoons of the respective creamer to an 8-ounce serving. I made sure to shake each creamer container to encourage the flavor to redistribute before pouring it into my coffee.

As I sipped the coffee, I assessed the overall flavor of the drink and how the creamer complemented the coffee's naturally acidic and bold flavor profile. The sweetness should lend a helping hand, but not overwhelm the entire drink. If the creamer comes with flavors besides generally "sweet," like salted caramel or white chocolate mocha, those flavors should be detectable and pair well with the natural flavor of the coffee. The creamy consistency should also balance the watery consistency of the drink. In short, the highest-ranked creamers on this list showcase an excellent balance of flavors and would have wide appeal among all kinds of coffee drinkers, while the lowest ones were not enjoyable and were not ones I would buy regularly.