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I'm going to be making the switch to mostly paleo living (after years of swapping back and forth between SAD) and I'm sure I'm going to have a million questions.. First one is about coconut milk in my coffee. Do you just use canned coconut milk (full fat/lite) in place of milk or creamer? I just can't seem to do the black coffee thing.. And how do you store what's remaining in the can? How long does it keep? Thanks for the help and support!!

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Welcome to PH, lab713! Others enjoy coconut milk or cream in their coffee and I'm sure they'll chime in. I don't like the taste/texture of coconut products in coffee, so I use a little heavy cream and tiny bit of honey. It's what works for YOU. – Nance Mar 5 2012 at 21:12

28 Answers

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I tried full fat coconut milk in my coffee, but to me it was disgusting. I'm sticking to heavy whipping cream.

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Plus one. AMEN. Coffee is not worth drinking without heavy cream. – gydle Sep 1 at 13:59
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I love coffee and I love Coconut Milk but I really don't recommend having them together.

Organic cream is healthy and tastes so good in coffee! Any decent coffee shop will be able to offer an Espresso Con Panna (even if its not on the menu).

Also, consider enjoying a fresh black coffee, ditch the complexities and enjoy the simple, natural taste. Start on a medium roast filter coffee, then before you know it, you will be adventuring into a double espresso in no time :)

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Try some grass fed butter in your coffee....taste just like cream!!

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oh wow.. never would've thought of that! awesome!!!! – lab713 Mar 5 2012 at 21:36
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Ooooh, will have to try that. Unsalted? – PaleoVenus Mar 6 2012 at 15:37
Strangely enough, salted butter works just fine ... There's also "Bulletproof Coffee" - blend together freshly brewed coffee, one to two tablespoons of butter, and one to two tablespoons of coconut oil. – cerement Sep 1 at 17:22
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I think there are plenty of people who just use coconut milk (full fat!) or creamed coconut in their milk, no other cream or sugar. (I don't- another heavy cream user, sorry!)

But regarding the rest of the can, I can tell you this- don't store it in the can. Most of us pour it out into a glass or plastic jar. I use a glass pint-sized mason jar. It keeps in the fridge for a couple weeks generally. You can open up the jar and give it a BIG whiff- if it smells funky or "off," dump it out! It will smell funny before anything starts growing on it.

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+1! Every time I get lazy and throw an opened can in the fridge I regret it. Take the minute and pour it into a mason jar. It keeps very well. – syrahna Mar 6 2012 at 3:48
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I've used Wilderness Family Natural's coconut cream - it is a fully emulsified liquid with no additives, comes in a tetra pack with a small opening like a juice box. Nice and thick like heavy cream at room temperature, and you can even whip it up just like whipped cream. It's awesome.

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I use their coconut cream in my coffee too..it blends really well and is extremely delicious. There coconut milk actually whips up better than their coconut cream in my milk/cream frother gadget. – Lisa Mar 5 2012 at 21:42
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My morning coffee is my favorite part of my day, literally. It's the last thing I think about before I fall asleep and what gets me out of bed in the morning! I'm not crazy about coconut milk in my coffee, and if I was just going to use cream on its own I would end up using several tablespoons per cup and I try to avoid that. So here's what I do: Pour a tall mug of black coffee, then pour it directly into the blender. Add one 1/2 tablespoon of pastured full-fat cream and 1/2 tablespoon of raw extra virgin coconut oil (I use Nutiva.) Blend for 1 minute. I actually usually do two mugs of coffee, 1T cream, 1T coconut oil at once for two cups. Super fast, simple, DELICIOUS and it keeps me full for hours; I don't have my first meal until about 2PM (an hour post-workout.)

Seriously, try it. Just make sure to adequately blend it to keep the coconut oil from seeming, well, oily.

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I used a 'Blender bottle' with one of those ball shaped wisks in it and it worked like a charm!Just make sure to first pour the coffee in a mug with a spoon to absorb some of the heat before pouring into the blender bottle...insta latte! – ladymcfick Mar 6 2012 at 17:42
I would love to do this, but am dairy free. Do you know if coconut creamer would be a good substitute for the regular cream? Or is that too much coconuty stuff (coconut cream and coconut oil)? – Jill Apr 28 2012 at 18:23
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I use coconut milk in my coffee, as dairy isn't an option for me at the moment. All the "dairy tastes better, just use that" suggestions are great... if you can handle the dairy.

You get used to it. I still prefer the taste of dairy milk in coffee, but the coconut is certainly better than black.

I've used both canned and homemade coconut milk. Canned works better, IMO - the homemade is too thin. At the moment, I just blend coffee with a few teaspoons of shredded coconut, and that works well (pour through a strainer if you don't want the fibery bits in your coffee).

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Seconded for dairy not being for everyone! That seems to be a missing point on this post. Also, great idea about the shredded coconut! Totally trying that right now :) – ParkerNotSoPerfect Apr 2 at 13:28
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Sometimes I use grassfed heavy cream, but I do like coconut milk also. I get Golden Star coconut milk from Wal Mart- it is cheap and has no additives! I just scoop out the cream from the top, and I either chuck the water or use it in a smoothie- I find that it waters down my coffee if I include the water. This recipe is great too- http://followingmynose.blogspot.com/2010/10/primal-non-dairy-coffee-creamer.html It's dairy free and delish!

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A small tab of heavy cream is going to be better than coconut milk which never worked for me. I drink way too much coffee and it has to be cream or I wait till I can. Even drinking superior coffee I still like my hit of cream. Coc milk seems to separate and look oily.

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I've noticed the oily look too. Same with some ultrapasturized creams, or cream that has extra gunk added in it- you get some separated oil floating on top. Gross. – Chris Mar 5 2012 at 21:27
Find yourself some preservative free, additive free Coconut CREAM and it won't do that. I agree it's probably the extra gunk that makes it separate. – Paul D Mar 6 2012 at 4:17
Either that or try blending it. An immersion blender is the best $17 investment I ever made. – Kim Jan 19 at 4:30
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Coconut cream in coffee is my favourite part about paleo, hands down!

I use concentrated coco cream which is great, and fills me up, so I don't always have to eat a big breakfast in the morning. http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/coconut_cream_concentrate.htm

This stuff is great too, although only lasts about 2 days max. Basically, if you use this your going to want to make a smoothie that day too. http://www.philamfood.com/AROY-D-COCONUT-CREAM-33.8OZ.html

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+1: Love the aroy-d coconut cream in coffee (and by itself, with frozen berries, whipped...). We find it at our local Asian Food Market. – Paul D Mar 6 2012 at 4:09
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I love coconut milk in my morning coffee! I use full fat and scrape the thick cream that has separated and put that in my coffee. I put the remaining milk in a ball jar and shake it up. I assume it would last quite a while, but I go through a can every 4 days or so. I also sometimes add a little pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon.

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I use coconut milk. Full Fat!! I open a can and take a couple of days to drink it..some in my coffee...some just for snack, some in meals...etc. I would try not to drink it all in one day cause it will act as a laxative.

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Give this one a whirl. Mix the coconut milk with a little honey and cinnamon, drop that in your coffee and throw some into your scrambled eggs, and then think about all those poor suckers eating Special K and Sugar Smacks in the morning. I also just tried mixing 100% cacao powder into the coconut milk, with a bit of honey, and chilling it for a while in the fridge, its my replacement ice cream, fantastic.

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delish!! thanks!! how paleo is the honey part? not that i need to go absolutely 100% paleo.. – lab713 Mar 5 2012 at 21:33
How paleo is honey? It beats sugar! Try to think 80/20: go for paleo 80% of the time - give yourself 20% lee-way. Or consider going Primal (marksdailyapple.com)... – Paul D Mar 6 2012 at 4:12
Love the coconut ice cream idea - super simple and sounds great! – Paul D Mar 6 2012 at 4:18
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Nothing wrong with honey, and its just a little bit, every now and again. We have to live like men, we are not robots. – Grover Mar 6 2012 at 4:25
this is great!! thank you!!! – lab713 Mar 6 2012 at 14:09
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YUMMMM!! I use coconut milk from a can. I buy it at Trader Joe's and they ONLY have lite. Other full fat versions I've found at other markets have all kinds of craptastic preservatives.

DO NOT store it in the can. I use a washed out empty almond butter jar (glass) and store it in the fridge.

Something I've noticed about lite vs. full fat: if the coffee is hot and the coconut milk is cold and shaken up, the lite coconut milk foams up when I pour it in! Insta-latte! Full fat doesn't do that (maybe full fat without preservatives would? I haven't found any yet).

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Totally agree. Trader Joe's all the way. It was this key piece that allowed me to eliminate dairy from my diet completely (except when I eat crap and cheat). – mosa Mar 6 2012 at 4:21
great!!! it is TJ brand? i'm a little nervous about eliminating dairy altogether.. – lab713 Mar 6 2012 at 14:08
Yep, Trader Joe's brand. comes in a green-ish can where I live (NYC). – PaleoVenus Mar 6 2012 at 15:36
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I use a vanilla protein drink instead of milk!!!

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I whole heatedly second what karate_schnitzel wrote. I like my coffee black, but add Aroy-d 100% Coconut Cream to my morning coffee to cool it so I can drink it quicker before heading out the door to work. I find that 1 oz (2 Tablespoons) is enough in a 7 oz mug of coffee to cool it, but not overpower it with coconut (though I DO like the coconut taste). It definitely changes the taste of the coffee, but a little research will show that black coffee on an empty stomach is not the best thing for you - a little fat makes it much better. I've never tried butter in coffee, but I'm really tempted now...

As for storing the remainder of the carton: I'll divide the remainder into two glass jars (empty coconut butter jars :)) and keep them in the fridge. The coconut cream seems to last a little longer as the second jar does not get opened until needed. It is true that the Aroy-D, being preservative free, will only last a couple of days once opened, but we routinely use it for up to 4 days. I actually like it better as it gets older as it gets even creamier.

I'll echo what others have stated: find what works for you and go with it!

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I just started a raw food diet and needed to substitute creamer for my coffee. I really liked the powedered coffee creamer. But yesterday I bought a new item called Native Forest Unsweetened organic coconut milk. It comes in a 13.5 oz. can and it is fantastic. I never thought i could find something so natural that tasted like creamer but only healthier for me. with no soy or corn syrup in it. try it you will be very pleased!

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I also buy Wilderness Farms Organic Coconut Cream in the juice box style carton. I cut the tip off and pour some out into my coffee cup, then pour in the hot coffee. Stir and drink. The taste of this stuff is awesome and I haven't tasted any coconut cream that tastes better. I also use it as a hair conditioner, but that's another story. I've kept mine in the refrigerator using some every day for just over a week and it was fine.

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I either make my own almond/cashew milk in the blender by soaking the nuts over night and then blending and straining the "milk" out or I use canned coconut milk. I really like milky-coffee so for a while there I was getting in to trouble using the full fat coconut milk. Yes Fat is good for you, no... it isn't inherently bad but for someone like me who literally likes about a 6-8 fl oz of milk with her 6-8oz of coffee, you can get in to real trouble, caloric-ally. I think the almond milk is pretty tasty when it's home made. The tetrapak crap from the store is overpriced and gross.

Another thing I noticed was that unlike dairy-milk, the nut milks don't raise the PH of the coffee very well, so even with a lot of milk it's still more bitter than it would be with dairy. A tiny pinch of baking soda helps and then you can use less creamer. Buying a really good high end coffee will help with that too.

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Coconut milk may not compare well with heavy cream in terms of richness but I think it's the best alternative if you wanna be dairy-free. It lasts about a week but I buy cans of them (about $3 bux each) and use them (about 14 oz. per can) before they spoil. I store them in small glass bottles, though, since you don't want it to sit in an open can for a week.

I've found that incorporating coconut milk with a stronger cup of coffee works well -- it's weaned me from coffee with heavy cream and half & half. I tried black coffee with some coconut oil solids but I simply prefer coffee with some milk, dairy or otherwise.

So I switched over completely to instant coffee from filter coffee. I know some of you might not like that but it's easier to make stronger coffee and add other ingredients that improve the taste: unsweetened cocoa, some stevia, cinnamon, instant espresso, etc.

I blog about it right here. Let me know what you think.

http://mednutrition.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/how-instant-coffee-replaced-filter-coffee/

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i use milk creamer. Try organo gold coffee. its amazing http://mycapturepage.com/cp23.php?id=470

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I found a recipe somewhere for coffee creamer where you blend up some coconut milk with a few dates. That works beautifully for me. I use about 3 dates per can, and keep it in the fridge. It does separate a bit but oh well. Tastes nice.

I used to use just a teaspoon of heavy cream, so this works for me.

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I found a recipe for "Primal Cream". You blend an egg (raw) with 1 can of ff coconut milk. The added protein/fat helps the primal cream mellow the coffee. Just right when frothed with my $3 Ikea frother.

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Make your own coconut milk in a blender. Canned/carton c/milk has other stuff in it like emulsifiers which obviously aren't paleo. Make a batch and use it over a few days, it's easy and tastes much better.

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I use full fat coconut milk (Native Forest Organic brand) and found that if I heat it up before adding it to my coffee it is smoother and does not alter the flavor of the coffee much.

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I make homemade ghee with kerrygold unsalted butter and put that in my coffee. I like coconut but it just never went well in coffee to me. But anyway I store remaining canned coconut milk in glass jar in fridge for 3 days or else I pour it in ice cube tray and just take out a cube at a time.

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Coconut milk from cans usually ruin the taste of coffee. If you can, you should make your own. You can store the coconut milk can in the fridge after you open it(open it partly and then close it again or cover with foil).It will keep for about a week(just go by smell).

Recipe to make your own fresh coconut milk that isn't diluted: http://ilovetraditionalfoods.blogspot.ca/2013/02/how-to-make-coconut-milk.html

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Whole foods organic coconut milk is great in coffee.

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