5 Coffee Creamers That Add More Sugar Than You May Realize

Steamed milk is poured from a stainless steel pitcher into a small ceramic mug of brewed coffee. Because standard serving sizes for retail creamers are measured in single tablespoons, freehand pouring at home routinely doubles or triples the intended amount of liquid sugar.

Coffee creamer can make a morning cup taste like a coffeehouse treat, but a little splash can add more sugar than you might expect. Many popular flavored creamers contain around 5 grams of sugar per tablespoon, even when their sweetness doesn’t seem especially strong. The serving size is also smaller than many people realize, making it easy to pour more than the label recommends.

Five grams might not sound like much, but it equals about 1¼ teaspoons of sugar. If you drink two cups of coffee each morning and use two tablespoons of creamer in each, you could consume 20 grams of sugar before breakfast. Here are five familiar brands to check, how their sugar content compares, and why the numbers can add up so quickly.