If your Instagram algorithm is anything like mine you’ve probably seen targeted ads for Javvy’s Protein Creamer, which has mysteriously replaced the Collagen Creamer on almost every corner of the internet. The bag says it contains 10 grams of protein, yet it also says that said protein is 0% of your daily nutritional allotment. To further compound the Mandela Effect surrounding this purchase, Amazon replaced the former with the latter in my order history. I can tell you with utmost certainty that I tried the Collagen Creamer, and I wholeheartedly endorse it even if it ends up being some Tyler Durden-esque figment of my imagination.

A 22-gram dose of this vibrant white powder will feel like a lot in an 8-ounce coffee, but it dissolves seamlessly and adds a tinge of vanilla aroma to the cup. The sweetness that buzzes around the aftertaste arrives via Purified Acacia Hyrdolysate, aka Sukre®, which is a nice substitute for the uncanny sugary tang of stevia that’s so popular in bougie beverages and supplements these days. The mouthfeel is gentle and creamy, with a nice halo of froth atop the cup. This is not something my body could handle on a daily basis now that the excellent brewing skills of the Fellow Aiden have effectively weaned me off coffee creamer, but it’s a nice treat when you’re hungover or stuck with a subpar coffee situation.

Though collagen is at the front and center of this product, I can’t present any empirical evidence that it did anything to undo the harm of two-plus decades of alcohol consumption, plus a decade in the dreary Pacific Northwest. The argument regarding the quantifiable benefits of collagen seems unsettled as of yet, though my skin did feel much less irritated than usual after a weekend of eating, drinking, and couchlock around the Thanksgiving holiday, so I’ll take that as a win nonetheless.

Laird Superfood

Protein Creamer

Laird Superfood takes its name from cofounder Laird Hamilton, an infamously aggro big-wave surfer who’s best known for being Kevin Costner’s stunt double in the 1995 clunker Waterworld. Hamilton and sand volleyball superstar Gabrielle Reece, his wife, founded Laird Superfood in 2015 with the mission of helping the wellness-curious “take something [they] do every day and make it better.” I don’t drink protein powder every day, but I do drink enough coffee to drift into space quite often and fantasize about what my life would be like if I had the cojones to get towed by jet ski into a 50-foot wave in Tahiti and hope for the best, like Hamilton did in 2000.

Adding dairy-based protein to acidic light roast coffee can be a chunky affair, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that the rib-sticking dose of protein (12g) and saturated fat (10g) that highlights this chunky tan powder is 100% vegan and derived from pumpkins, hemp, and peas. The dehydrated coconut milk does most of the heavy lifting as far as flavor and aroma is concerned, so if your palate is not ready for the hefty whiff of tropical sweetness that emanates from the bag, then you may want to look elsewhere.

Coconut aversions notwithstanding, this magical dust is a great pick for anyone who wants to add a little more oomph to their morning brew, whether that be some extra protein for gains, or an extra hit of nutrients and satiety that might ward off a pre-lunch snack attack here and there.

Earth Fed Muscle

Morning Charge

Rather than overwhelm the senses with a menagerie of bold flavors and pumped-up protein, Earth Fed Muscle plays it safe with a mellow, understated creamer that’s just what you want and nothing more. The key selling points on Morning Charge’s package are 4 grams of collagen and 500 milligrams of Lion’s Mane Extract per serving, plus a light dusting of protein (4 grams per dose) that rounds it off quite nicely without filling you up like an in-your-face protein creamer. An extensive list of amino acids is listed, highlighted by 880 milligrams of Glycine and 408 milligrams of Hydroxyproline.

Both the “cream” and the sweetness in Morning Charge come from coconut milk and sugar, respectively, which is appreciated if you’re put off by sugar substitutes like Stevia and Sucralose. A light tinge of coconut sweetness hits the front of the palate, and a warm finish of bittersweet chocolate and the faintest hint of savory mushroom notes complement the swallow. The texture is smooth and unobtrusive, letting the quality of your coffee (or lack thereof) poke through the flavor profile. This is a solid everyday sipper that’s built for comfort first and performance second.

Since becoming a barista at the age of 24, my coffee journey has been a long, winding path with quirky creamers and add-ins at every turn. It wasn’t until about a year ago that I started drinking the coffee I brew at home every morning black, and in the time since I’ve been reducing my flavored creamer intake purely because my palate is no longer attuned to a daily blast of sugar. Until trying Everyday Dose’s riff on collagen creamer, I just assumed every product in this space was sweetened in one way or another. I personally don’t find this bothersome, but the common use of things like monk fruit and stevia to mask the off notes of everything else in the stack could be annoying for hardcore health nuts who find all sweeteners to be excessive or downright evil. Whether you hate sweetness or can’t have it for health reasons, I’m pleased to tell you that Everyday Dose Creamer+ is the add-in for you.

Billed as a “Probiotic Powerhouse,” the Creamer+ blend from Everyday Dose is a pleasant surprise when it comes to doing more with less. You can focus hard and pick up earthy flavors under a very light dusting of coconut sweetness, but the overall flavor at the end of the sip defers to the notes of your coffee rather than this smooth white dust that’s accented with small brown flecks. By the end of my week with this one, my gut felt extra fortified against the regular barrage of rich, bowel-wrenching foods I dump into it on a daily basis. I won’t go into any further detail on this matter, so you’ll need to take my word for it when I say the shiny bags’ claims about digestive health may actually be true.

Rasa is a purveyor of coffee alternatives that occupy the aesthetic halfway point between old money Bay Area hippies and their minimalist millennial offspring. The packaging balances schwilly Deadhead charm with modern flourishes and colors, and their products err on the side of cautious intent rather than psychedelic maximalism. A small dose of mushrooms and ginseng provide the boost in this modest creamer, which offers a mere whisper of coconut flavor that barely registers on the sweetness scale. When mixed with a good light roast coffee with low acidity the end product is a cozy cup of nutty goodness that subtly reminds you it’s here to expand your mind ever so slightly. Pair this with some avocado toast and the latest Khruangbin album and you’re in for a pleasantly mild morning.

Bulletproof

Peppermint Mocha Creamer

Elder millennials like myself have an endless supply of warm and fuzzy memories of the second Obama era. Rent was cheap, music was hopeful, restaurant burgers included fries at no extra cost, and the self-help and wellness space was mostly benevolent and uplifting. The Bulletproof brand harkens back to this era when characters like Tim Ferris and Mark Manson were encouraging young adults to outsource rote tasks and ditch toxic relationships, and the general notion of improving yourself wasn’t automatically hitched to a specific pole of the political spectrum. A lot has changed for the worse since then, but Bulletproof has quietly gotten better. What started as a quirky DIY trend that pissed off baristas and caused overwhelming GI distress is now a stately brand that predates the ecosystem of fly-by-night snake oil merchants in this space by at least a decade.

The days of finding your own grass-fed beef and MCT oil to add to your coffee are over if you want them to be, thanks to Bulletproof’s ever-expanding catalog of add-ins that are accessible, palatable, and easy to blend. I’m a sucker for holiday creamers, so I was delighted to learn they carry limited-edition seasonal flavors like pumpkin spice and–my personal favorite–peppermint mocha. This rich brown powder packs a generous dose of smooth mocha flavor with just a light tickle of peppermint and stevia sweetness on the finish. The combo of butter and coconut-derived MCT oil punches up your cup with a rich mouthfeel that makes its presence known but doesn’t linger too long. My only knock on the creamer is that it all but envelops the flavors of your beans, which may be a good thing if you’re using this product to mask the off notes of cheap coffee you’d rather not taste in the first place.

As far as Bulletproof’s signature metabolic and cognitive boost goes, I can say with confidence that I missed the brain buzz facilitated by this creamer when my week with it was over. It didn’t do much to help me organize my thoughts and tasks while it slowly took hold of my brain, but I was able to harness it quite well by creating a to-do list in advance of consumption, which I then crushed with abandon after a cup of peppermint-y goodness was sloshing around my innards. On that topic, I’m pleased to report that the days of Bulletproof Coffee racing straight through your bowels may be over for most normal people, assuming you stick with the dosage guidelines and avoid taking a two-pound breakfast burrito to the dome before adding this to your coffee. This isn’t the perfect product–stevia is not for everyone, and the silty residue it leaves in the bottom of your cup makes your final sip or two pretty gross–but it’s noticeably better in both taste and function than everything else I tried in this experiment.