I Tried 6 Peppermint Mocha Coffee Creamers and the Winner Is Seriously a Holiday Treat

Picture this: It’s a snowy December morning, you’re decked out head to toe in fleece or flannel, maybe a robe or even slippers, and you’re making your way to the coffee machine for a cup of festive joe. The holiday season and flavored coffee creamers—these things go together like the matching family pajamas on your Christmas card.

And perhaps there is no flavor more associated with this time of year than peppermint mocha. With so many brands jumping on the peppermint mocha train, which one is most likely to take your pre-caffeine grogginess and turn you into someone closer to Buddy the Elf before breakfast?

What to Look For in a Peppermint Mocha Creamer

As with any creamer I add to coffee, I’m hoping for a rich and—for lack of a better word—creamy pour, ideally caused by real milk and cream. But when it comes to flavored holiday creamer, the cozy factor also plays a key role. Whichever creamer promises the perfect backbone of peppermint and chocolate without overshadowing the coffee, but has enough flavor so that it’s not just a faint aftertaste, will earn my seal of approval. 

The balance between peppermint and chocolate is also important. We’re talking peppermint mocha here, so it shouldn’t only be the mint that’s swirling around in there. In fact, if the creamer is a shade of brown, rather than white, attributing to the cocoa, it gets bonus points. “Natural flavors” can include chocolate, sure, but just peppermint won’t fly.

How I Tested

First, I sampled each creamer on its own, taking note of color, consistency, and, of course, flavor. Once I had an order of preference, I brewed one pot of dark roast coffee and divided it into six cups so it was consistent in strength. Creamer was added to the coffee in the appropriate ratio to the creamer’s thickness and sweetness, ensuring the creamer was the focus without losing the coffee flavor altogether. How each sample performed was weighed against how it tasted on its own and how it tasted in coffee, with how it tasted in coffee being more important.

Creamers on their own obviously taste different than when used in coffee. Additionally, I don’t think anyone is buying peppermint mocha creamer to drink it straight. The stuff in the bottle is destined for coffee from the get-go. So while a raw taste test is important to get a feel for the stuff, how it performs in that morning jitter juice is what really counts. 

6th place: Great Value – Peppermint Bark

I swear I do not have a vendetta against the Great Value brand or Walmart. It’s just that the things I’ve been sampling from it recently haven’t been nailing it. This creamer is the whitest of the bunch and the mint is absolutely there. It smells like melted peppermint candy or even a peppermint marshmallow hybrid. But what starts out as good slowly fades into something very synthetic and almost astringent. It’s sweet, it drags out the flavor a bit too long, and, oh yeah, they forgot the chocolate! 

I think calling the creamer “peppermint bark” instead of “peppermint mocha” is perhaps a way to get around the chocolate bit but—sorry to burst your bubble, Walmart—peppermint bark is made of both white and dark chocolate, so you aren’t getting off that easily. In coffee, it just doesn’t bring enough flavor to the party. If I’m getting up on a snowy morning to make myself a cozy Christmas coffee, Great Value just isn’t scratching that itch.

5th place: Barissimo – Peppermint Mocha Almond Milk

Don’t let the chocolate on the front of the bottle fool you, this one also seems to be missing it. That being said, almonds give this creamer a very muted chocolate milk appearance. Almond milk creamers tend to lean a little minty to me, even when the flavor is vanilla, so I was hopeful that would lend itself well to this. Well, lovely reader, it did not. This was similar to what I imagine the experience would be like to drink liquid toothpaste. But, if you stare at the candy cane on the bottle long enough while you’re tasting it, you can convince yourself that it is festive.

What’s delightful, however, is the consistency. Especially for alternative milk creamers, which often lean quite thin. This one is not like the others—it’s thick. And, luckily for Aldi’s brand, when the creamer meets coffee, it highlights the peppermint in a lovely way. While the creamer on its own is too strong, once it’s mixed with coffee, it’s actually very good and could easily win fourth place on this list. I’ve never liked an almond milk creamer as much as this. 

4th place: Coffee Mate – Peppermint Mocha

So why is Coffee mate—a creamer that’s nearly stark white in color with the same ingredients as Great Value—listed above Barissimo? Well, for a couple of reasons. First, the ingredients may be the same, but there’s a big improvement in the flavor department over Great Value. It tastes more peppermint candy-like and leaves out the chemical aftertaste. Second, the body of the creamer is fuller and adds a richness to coffee that the almond milk creamer just can’t compete with. I’m still missing that all-so-important chocolate, though.

3rd place: Starbucks – Inspired by Peppermint Mocha

Remember how I said no one is drinking these straight? You might contemplate breaking the rules with this one. It tastes like minty chocolate milk and looks like one, too. If we were ranking these on raw taste alone, this one would win, hands down. You could make a strong case that this is an after dinner drink, more than a creamer. Just toss in a little coffee liquor or peppermint schnapps. Or use it in a tawny grasshopper instead of cream. Even better—and more appropriate—add a bit to an espresso martini.

But I digress. This creamer has a lovely subtle peppermint that doesn’t overwhelm. I’d describe it as delicately festive. It’s a solid showing in coffee, and it doesn’t take much to imagine why the holiday coffees are so popular at Starbucks.

2nd place: International Delight – Peppermint Mocha

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: International Delight does a great job with its flavors. Its peppermint mocha is the darkest one of the bunch, with rich chocolate flavors at the forefront. The peppermint is also stronger. In fact, this is what I’m used to tasting when it comes to peppermint mochas. It’s only in second place because there’s another brand that happens to taste fresher and more sophisticated, but that doesn’t mean International Delight isn’t homey and festive and truly a delight.

1st place: Chobani – Peppermint Mocha

Little can go wrong with an ingredient list that reads milk, cream, cane sugar, cocoa, natural flavors, and peppermint oil. Sampled on its own and in coffee, Chobani presents itself in a sophisticated manner. The peppermint is there, but not in your face. The cocoa prances about like one of those reindeer, and no flavor overstays its welcome as some relatives do. It’s a little thin, but pour the right amount into your cup, and you’ve got a solid start to your holiday.