6 Store-Bought Cold Foams, Ranked Worst To Best

"Coffee creamer" is a term that is actually broader than you'd think. Not only does it cover your standard creamers in staple flavors like vanilla and hazelnut and seasonal varieties (including the beloved pumpkin spice), it also includes a relative newcomer on the coffee scene: cold foam. Cold foam was popularized by Starbucks in 2014, and the brand eventually expanded to include protein cold foams and seasonal flavors like lavender and strawberry. Other fast food coffee brands caught on, and now it seems like you can't go far without seeing ads for some iced beverage topped with fluffy, sweet foam. 

I'll be honest: Cold foam isn't my usual coffee topping. I'm stingy (especially considering the price of fast food coffee nowadays), and I prefer to drink my iced coffees black. However, when I found out that I could stock up on cold foams and make my own drinks at home, I was sold. But is there a difference between cold foams that cost $3 and those that cost upwards of $5, and is there a brand that makes a better cold foam than the rest? 

To answer these questions, I bought an array of cold foam products and sampled them with a home-brewed cold brew over ice. After trying just the cold foam, then the cold foam with the iced coffee, I considered the overall texture, flavor, and mouthfeel before ranking the products from worst to best. And, spoiler alert: some of them were even better than Starbucks.

I was, understandably, a little freaked out by this cold foam, which came out of the canister both sounding and looking like shaving cream. It was thick, frothy, and looked just like whole milk that you've frothed a little too much for a cappuccino. Sipping on a coffee with it was like sipping on air. The bubbles were refreshing and light on the tongue, offering hints of sweetness and a flavor that was definitely and unequivocally French vanilla. Coffee mate, as I've come to learn, may pride itself on being "America's No. 1 creamer," but I still think of it as a sub-par, gas station-quality creamer that you only add to your coffee to make it drinkable. And this cold foam is no different. 

Cold foam is supposed to toe the line between being a liquid and a foam, and I think this one is a little too foamy for my liking. Although it does sink after a while, the mouthfeel is more like drinking a cold cappuccino than an iced coffee. Since the foam is so frothy and light, it never really mingles with the coffee underneath, meaning you get a shot of French vanilla flavor followed by the stark bitterness of the coffee. The only way you could like this cold foam is if you prefer your coffee with just as much creamer as you do coffee — which is definitely not my favorite way to drink it. 

Trader Joe's has everything — and I mean everything. I found two varieties of cold foam at its store when I went scouting for products for this review: this vanilla creamer and the pumpkin-flavored one. I elected to try this vanilla cold foam, as I felt the flavor was more neutral and could be enjoyed with different types of coffee (not to mention, all year round). 

When I tasted this whipped cream-style cold foam, I couldn't help but notice that it had some of the same flavors as my favorite whipped cream brand. It was fluffy, creamy, and not too sweet. This same flavor translated well into the cold brew. The vanilla cold foam perched itself on top of the coffee like a floating, fluffy cloud. It wasn't super sweet at all, and there was very little mixing or sinking into the glass, at least for the first half of the beverage. The cold foam never really mingled with the coffee like a conventional creamer, so there was an extremely harsh contrast between light, sweet foam and bitter cold brew. As such, I think that this is a very acquired mouthfeel and something that not all coffee drinkers would love. Rather, it's a comparatively simple cold foam that isn't too cloying, creamy, or syrupy. I would only use it if I wanted to highlight the natural flavor of the coffee or drink underneath — like I would with an iced chai (but at that point, do you really need cold foam?). 

I've tried International Delight's cold foam before and was impressed by it, but this is the first time I've tried its more generically-flavored variety: sweet and creamy. This cold foam poured thickly from the canister onto the coffee and floated on the top for mere seconds before sinking into the depths of the cold brew. As a result, the mouthfeel was less frothy than some of the higher-ranked brands. I think this could have its perks for some people, though, especially those who don't add creamer or sweetener to their coffees and are looking for a one-stop-shop that offers the classic cold foam mouthfeel and a flavored coffee underneath. 

International Delight was definitely on the sweeter end of the spectrum, though it wasn't so offensively sweet that I couldn't drink the whole coffee. The creamer lacked some creaminess and freshness, and because the foam started to sink, it left an almost oily sheen on the top of my drink — like a cold foam from Starbucks. I prefer a more uniform cold foam that doesn't melt as quickly into the liquid. 

Since this was an unflavored version, it didn't offer much in the way of vanilla notes. However, there was a slightly oaky flavor to the base, which I could pick up on when I tried it directly from the canister. Otherwise, it's not a creamer to write home about. 

I had two flavor choices for Aldi's Barissimo cold foam: white chocolate mocha (the thought of which is gaggable, even if I enjoyed Chobani's white chocolate mocha coffee creamer in a previous ranking) and this seasonal pumpkin spice rendition. I didn't want to inflate pumpkin spice's ego more than needed, but I was ultimately glad that I grabbed this pumpkin cold foam from the refrigerated section of my favorite discount grocer. It nails both the pumpkin and spice notes that I was looking for, and I think it would be an excellent addition to any fall-inspired iced coffee you plan on whipping up. 

The texture, though, is where it loses some points. This cold foam comes out of the canister just like a whipped cream. It's not as frothy as Coffee mate, and it does thin out significantly over time. However, I felt that I could have used it as a substitute for whipped cream on anything from an ice cream sundae to a hot chocolate. Within seconds of hitting the cold coffee, its texture turned into more of a liquidy, classic cold foam, though it still didn't sink as rapidly as some of the lowest-ranked cold foams on this list. 

Barissimo showed some restraint with this cold foam, as it could have been very sweet or fake-pumpkin-y, but I was glad it wasn't. While its texture is a little off, it came together in the end, earning it a middling spot amongst much more expensive and well-known brands. 

I had my doubts about how this cold foam was going to perform. It's a non-dairy cold foam, made from oat milk. In the past, I've found that oat creamers (and non-dairy creamers as a whole) don't hold a candle to their dairy-containing counterparts. I wanted something very rich and decadent from my cold foam experience, and when I shook the can and noticed it felt more like water than cream, I got a little nervous. But it poured like any of the other creamers I sampled for this ranking. The froth stayed on the top longer than International Delight's cold foam, which gave me hope that it would hold up well.

When I tasted it from the can, I didn't really pick up on "maple" or "brown sugar" at all. It was almost like a pecan pie flavor instead — nutty, syrupy, and sweet, though more complex than just a standard "sweet and creamy" cold foam. While this flavor didn't really stand up to an admittedly strong cold brew, I really liked the taste of it when I tried it straight from the canister. It did curb the bitterness of the cold brew somewhat, and I was glad that it had a little more flavor than the plain cold foams on this list. However, it still lacked the creaminess and frothiness of my top pick, which pushed it back in the rankings somewhat. It's a valiant effort from a non-dairy creamer, though.

If Trader Joe's vanilla cold foam was whipped cream-like, this selection from Dunkin' was certainly more marshmallow-like. It came out of the bottle very thick and very rich, almost like it was made with a sticky sugar syrup (as you would use to make homemade marshmallows). When I first took a sip of the coffee, I was met with a milk mustache that covered my upper lip. It was satisfying in a very childlike way, and it's something that made me instantly smile. 

The richness of this cold foam is preserved for several minutes before the bottom layer starts fizzling into the drink below. The flavor is about the same as when I tried it straight from the canister: thick, rich, and syrupy. Dunkin' touts that it uses real cream and sugar in this foam, and it clearly shows with every sip. There is no exact flavor described on the label, since all I saw was "Extra Extra." And, I kind of think this is a very fitting title, seeing as it's both extra sweet and extra creamy. 

But was its flavor life-changing? Not necessarily. It hit all the notes that it needs to for a cold foam — it sits on the top of the iced drink and gives a creamy mouthfeel when you come in for a sip. I also liked it more than Trader Joe's because there was less of a harsh contrast between the bitter coffee underneath and the sweet foam on top. This was a very consistent and reliable option, compared to the other cold foams I sampled, earning it high marks all around. 

In order to ensure peak freshness, I tasted each of these cold foams on the day that I purchased them. I tried them first whipped cream-style — by giving the can a couple of shakes and pouring it straight into my open mouth (the life of a food writer isn't glamorous; I'll tell you that). As I swirled the cold foam around in my mouth, I considered its balance of flavors, mouthfeel, and whether it represented the flavor listed on the label. While eating cold foam straight from the can isn't its intended use, it allowed me to see how the flavor transformed when paired with a coffee. 

After I made my initial observations, I sampled each of these cold foams with a home-brewed iced cold brew. I selected a stronger brew so I could see how the flavor of the cold foam stood up against the black cold brew. The top-ranked cold foams had a very bold flavor that elevated the overall experience of the cold brew, rather than distracting from it. My top pick, Dunkin's Extra Extra cold foam, is versatile enough to pair with an array of iced coffees and adds the perfect texture to an otherwise one-note coffee, though I would recommend the top three cold foams on this list for anyone looking to zhuzh up their caffeine routine.