I Tried International Delight's New Apple Butter Coffee Cake And White Chocolate Peppermint Bark Creamers...unfortunately

I hate to admit it, but I love creamer in my coffee. Not even an excusable amount of creamer, either: I like my coffee so rich, creamy, and sugary-sweet that people joke I actually just like a little coffee with my creamer. I'm the reason coffee creamer brands have such increasingly unique flavors, and I admittedly love trying every new release that hits the shelves. That's why, when I saw International Delight released new fall and winter flavors, I headed out to try them right away — because if there's one thing that makes coffee even better, it's the flavors of the coldest months.

The new coffee creamers in question come in the flavors Apple Butter Coffee Cake and White Chocolate Peppermint Bark. Infused with sweet apples and the warming vanilla notes of coffee cake, the Apple Butter Coffee Cake is meant to be iconically fall, like infusing your coffee with a healthy dose of apple cider or an old-school apple crisp. White Chocolate Peppermint Bark, on the other hand, is the bright and minty new flavor meant to represent winter, a sweet and extra-chocolatey take on the season's typical peppermint mocha. In theory, both flavors should be home runs in any coffee. However, as I quickly found out, not everything is as good as it sounds.

To fully test both flavors, I tried the creamer in both hot coffee and iced coffee. I brewed a cup of coffee using Trader Joe's medium roast coffee beans and added creamer to test how the creamer tasted in hot coffee. Then, I used STōK Unsweetened Black Cold Brew Coffee, with a cup of ice, to test how the creamer tasted in cold coffee. This method helped determine if the flavors tasted better warmed up or cold.

International Delight creamers are sold in grocery stores nationwide and can be found at your closest store using the product locator on the International Delight website. The brand is sold in superstores like Meijer, Kroger, Walmart, Giant Eagle, Publix, and some Targets. The Apple Butter Coffee Cake was released in August 2026 and will be sold through fall until winter flavors replace it. The White Chocolate Peppermint Bark coffee creamer was released around the same time, and will be sold through December while supplies last. Each creamer costs $3.77 per 32-ounce bottle (though prices may vary based on location).

Both flavors of International Delight creamers have the same nutritional information: 1 tablespoon-sized serving contains 35 calories, 1.5 grams of total fat, and 5 grams of total sugars. What's particularly unique about International Delight's coffee creamers is their dairy content. Because they do not contain lactose, they are considered lactose-free. However, the creamers aren't truly dairy-free, though, because they contain sodium caseinate, which is a a milk derivative. This means that while the creamers are technically safe for those with lactose intolerance, they should be avoided by those with milk allergies or vegan diets.

There are other ingredients that are important to look out for in coffee creamers, though. While International Delight uses palm oil instead of hydrogenated oil, it does contain carrageenan, a thickener that has been linked to stomach troubles and inflammation (via Nutrients Journal). On the plus side, the ingredient lists of both products don't include any artificial sweeteners (sugar is used instead).

I have to admit that I haven't had many, if any, apple-flavored creamers, and it's likely because it is a difficult flavor to replicate when mixed with coffee. The flavor of apple can be sweet, but is typically mildly so. It is best when paired with warming flavors like vanilla, brown sugar, or cinnamon. Starbucks did it well in one of their discontinued fall drinks, the Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato, which balances the sweet apple with toasty oat and nutty caramel. The Apple Butter Coffee Cake creamer tastes like it's trying to do the same; it just doesn't have all of the right components.

The apple in this creamer is cloyingly sweet, in a way that reminds me of the green apple candy lollipops. It is artificial and slightly sour tasting, making it a mismatch for the bitter nuttiness of hot or iced coffee. This creamer would be far better with more prominent caramel or vanilla flavors,  which might bring forward the coffee cake component and let the apple speak for itself.

Peppermint mocha is my go-to Starbucks order and one of my favorite coffee drinks of all time, so I have high expectations for any kind of peppermint creamer. This creamer is built for success (with flavors of creamy white chocolate, rich dark chocolate, and peppermint) which should combine into a drink that is a basic replica of a peppermint mocha. In all fairness, this creamer does the trick — and, since its being sold for approximately half the price of more expensive creamers — it isn't a bad thing to use to get into the holiday spirit. The truth is, though, that it just isn't the best on the market.

There's a certain astringency to this creamer's flavor that leaves an unpleasant aftertaste, especially when used in iced coffee. It isn't as smooth or rich as more expensive creamers, and the peppermint tastes more artificial. This may be a small price to pay for an inexpensive coffee creamer, but if you're looking to create a high-quality peppermint mocha at home, you may want to look elsewhere.

With so many highly ranked coffee creamers on the market, it can be hard to navigate which ones to pick up and which ones to leave on the shelf, so it's important to me to be as honest as possible in my reviews. I try to be as impartial as possible, even asking others to sample the products when I'm unsure if my personal preference is getting in the way. I asked an apple-loving secondary sampler to try the Apple Butter Coffee Cake creamer, and the results were the same. He hardly made it through a second sip and, without prompting, offered the exact same notes I had already written down about the flavor. The apple creamer is definitely a miss, but our feelings about the peppermint creamer our more mixed.

I've had spectacularly bad coffee creamers, and the White Chocolate Peppermint Bark is far from that. The sweetness doesn't taste artificial (and is at just the right level), and the chocolate is rich. The peppermint is where the creamer could stand to improve, and that's only because it's a little too bright, acidic, and minty, like a particularly strong extract or a spearmint mouthwash. In a lineup, it might not be my favorite peppermint creamer on the market, but it's worth picking up if you want to get into the holiday spirit.