As any of my regular readers already know, I love Caf-Lib (see contest post directly below this one for a chance to win some great products from Caf-Lib) coffee, some teas...And in all of them, I like to add a "splash" of cream or even better, a non-dairy alternative to cream.
I tried So Nice for Coffee (Original) a few months ago and I loved the creamy and pleasant taste it added to all kinds of hot beverages.
I must admit a long-ago weakness for sigh....Coffee Mate (click to read the bad news about that product) non-dairy creamer (the powder kind!) which I did ditch many years ago, in spite of also loving the taste.I had used this Coffee Mate before ingredient lists were on most "food" products and having to cringe at what was actually in the jar. ;<)
So Nice for Coffee reminded me of Coffee Mate's smoothness and taste without all the guilt LOL.
But what I was curious about in regards to So Nice for Coffee was one of the ingredients in this creamer: Dipotassium Phosphate which I found out is an additive that keeps ingredients in a product from separating. A coagulant. Other than that, the list of ingredients was readable and had nothing else that raised any particular concerns.
I try to avoid food additives as much as possible these days and in spite of the article at Wikipedia listing this ingredient as generally considered safe, I thought it was worth contacting the company to see just how much of this ingredient is actually added to this product.
Here's my email from June, with the reply that I received promptly after that:
Sent: June-27-12 10:40 AM
To: EarthsOwn
Hi from
BC,
I host a product
review blog at: www.myreallifereviews.com
I’m interested in
reviewing your: So Nice for Coffee product.
I wanted to find out a
bit more about the ingredient: dipotassium
phosphate. Is there very much of this coagulant added to this
creamer?
I’ve been checking
around online and it seems to be ok in terms of being safe to consume. At the
same time, if a person drinks 3-4 beverages in a day, with your creamer, would
this be excessive?
Love the taste of this
product but don’t want to recommend or review if it’s an issue re: this
additive.
Thanks in
advance,
Geraldine
Hartman
My Real Life
Reviews
Good Afternoon Geraldine
I will check with our R & D team and get back to you as soon as I can.
So Nice Regards!
Dorothy
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Well Dorothy, it's 3 months later and I'm still waiting for a reply!
I think it's SO important for companies of all kinds to follow- up with consumers, when they write with product questions or concerns. I love the taste of this product but I've decided not to use it anymore, given my concerns for this additive included in the ingredients.
I'm actually trying to wean myself off any creamers in coffee etc, and hopefully I'll eventually like hot beverages served "black" just as much. It's too bad that this didn't prove to be a viable alternative to dairy cream for me as I did love the taste.
Overall rating for this product: Fair. 2 out of 5.
Funny ya know, I hated the taste of coffee mate and any powdered creamers. I don't like cream in my coffee either. I like it with 1% milk.
ReplyDeleteMy sister in law swore by coffee mate and never used milk or real cream. Makes me shudder to even think of it. I was thinking about it and aside from that taste, I think it may be cos my mom tried to trick us with powdered milk and I DESPISED that crap!
Oh well to each their own.
Excellent review. It's so true that companies should respond to customers questions promptly and completely. that wasn't the case here. I liked the taste of this too but won't be using it either.
ReplyDeletei dont usually use any type of creamer....straight black, but i might be willing to try if it was good....
ReplyDeleteGood for you, for checking the ingredients.
ReplyDeleteI use soy milk in my coffee, (just the kind I drink), but I notice that sometimes it doesn't stir in well. I'm wondering if the additive helps to make the soy product blend in well. However, I think additives are a good thing to avoid if possible, so maybe just using the soy milk itself, is okay.
Before I started drinking soy milk, I used regular 2% milk in my coffee.
Years ago, I did drink it black, it's pretty good that way too. (I never liked coffee mate, though) :)
Maybe you will still hear from this company?
Brenda
I use cream even if I love Soy, soy makes my thyroid go high and nuts, but I like it anyway, everything that is good for me throws my systems haywire
ReplyDeleteI, who have as an adult lived on Organic food and vegetables raw and sometimes cook, no meat but soy burgers which I enjoyed...and still I broke down health and all go figure now I eat whatever I feel like 'cause no matter what soyor not , my thyroid is nuts....lol so I take with a grain of salt,mmmdo love that Sea Salt and I do my best,
Hi Cathy, LOL, ahh...the perils of CoffeeMate. I didn't give a second thought to a scoop of this in coffee after coffee in my office days. How times change eh? And thank goodness for ingredient lists.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe, Most companies and individuals I write to about reviews are very prompt and helpful in reply. I did get a reply from this company initially but no answers after that. Not good customer service.
Hi Brian, Good for you. Beverages "straight up" cut down on the calories and in some cases, unnecessary additives in our diet.
Hi Brenda, I use soy milk in coffee sometimes but it just doesn't have that nice creamy consistency of these creamers. If it's just a case of needing to shake vigourously before using, I'd be fine with that. I think a lot of the additives are just to make products more appealing but are they all really necessary? Probably not.
Hi Lorraine, That's all we can do L, try to do our best in terms of food choices. Interesting what you have to say about soy products. Its still something that's being debated, the benefits vs the negatives. We eat quite a few things with soy in them so I hope it comes out on top. :<)
Thanks for stopping in and for your interesting comments, G :<)
Since I am not a coffee drinker, the creamer issue isn't a problem. But I am trying to cut out dairy, so thought maybe coconut milk might be a good way to go....
ReplyDeleteSo here I am checking your sidebar for items that might work for me.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Here's an update email I just got from the company re: my question above:
ReplyDeleteHi Geraldine,
I am so sorry it has taken me so long to respond but I have your answer from our R & D team:
There would be no issue for the customer consuming this product 3-4 times a day. In fact, they could likely consume litres with no ill effects related to the dipotassium phosphate. (This is not an endorsement to consume litres of this product though J )
The dipotassium phosphate in the So Nice for Coffee is added to prevent coagulation/clumping of the product and is safe to consume. It is a very common ingredient used in the food industry for many decades and is considered GRAS (generally recognized as safe) by the government. Further, the So Nice for Coffee uses dipotassium phosphate at a very, very, low amount. In fact, the body breaks down and uses both the potassium and phosphate for normal body functions. For example, both are required for proper muscle functioning and tissue and bone repair among many other uses of these two molecules. The body self regulates the absorption process, meaning that any excess of either potassium or phosphate will be filtered into the bladder and excreted with other waste products
So Nice Regards!
Dorothy
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I guess it's up to the consumer to decide if they still want to use this product. Personally, I haven't decided.Hope this is helpful. GH