I Tried 8 Kinds of Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer and This Was the Winner, Hands Down

Come late August, two divisive words hit the food landscape: pumpkin spice. A spice blend consisting of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves (and sometimes a bit more), pumpkin spice spent the last decade or so in a retail renaissance. These days, it's ubiquitous even in places you don't expect it, like cream cheese, candy, noodles, and even SPAM.

Aside from baked goods and Trader Joe's, one singular item catapulted pumpkin spice's flavor profile to mainstream success: coffee. Coffee culture, especially drive-thru coffee culture, turned pumpkin spice into a household name and the pumpkin spice latte into an acronym.

But when we don't want to go out and spend upwards of $7 on a PSL, we look for ways to recreate the same cozy cup of Joe at home. The easiest of which is adding a flavored coffee creamer to our seasonal rotation. So, in the spirit of all things fall, I tested eight different types of pumpkin spice creamer, all available at stores or online, to determine which one reigned supreme once and for all.

Best Pumpkin Spice Creamer at a Glance

Best Overall: International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer
Runners-Up: Coffee mate Pumpkin Spice and Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Coffee Creamer
Best Natural Pumpkin Spice Creamer: Chobani Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
Best Non-Dairy Pumpkin Spice Creamer: Chobani Pumpkin Spice Oat Coffee Creamer and Coffee mate Natural Bliss Oat Milk Creamer

What I Looked for When Ranking Pumpkin Spice Creamer

Flavor: Just because something is heavily flavored doesn't mean I want to be overwhelmed. The ideal pumpkin spice creamer needed enough spice flavor to embody the autumnal spirit, but not so much that it tasted like potpourri. I also took the varying degrees of sweetness into account to help balance the coffee's bitterness.

Price: Clearly, we're not expecting to pay Starbucks drive-thru prices every day, so the more affordable we can make our pumpkin spice coffees, the better.

Texture: Coffee creamer doesn't just flavor your coffee, it also affects the viscosity, so I considered consistency as well.

How I Tested Each Pumpkin Spice Creamer

Something you learn from trying different coffee creamers is that, for the most part, there aren't very distinct differences in taste. The acidity in coffee neutralizes the eggnog-like sweetness in these creamers, which means that if you're really going to get into it, you've got to try them on their own. I tested the coffee creamers both by sampling straight sips and stirring them into numerous cups of coffee over the course of many days, broken down, frankly, to what I could handle at one time. It's not for the faint of heart. Here's what I thought:

The Best Pumpkin Spice Creamer