Ranking 15 Coffee Ice Cream Flavors From Popular Brands
Americans love coffee. Most adults in the United States drink more than one cup each day. That deeply satisfying caffeinated beverage is the fuel that powers many through early mornings, providing a sought-after feeling of refreshment. The jolt we receive from our daily cup of coffee works quickly, giving us an immediate energy boost. But our love affair with coffee extends outside of practicality. Many long for coffee's deep flavor — the bitterness, the earthy profile, the chocolate undertones, and the interplay of acidity and sweetness.
This is why coffee ice cream is such a treasured pairing. It blends our love for a strong caffeine buzz with the comfort and nourishment of a rich and creamy bowl of ice cream. Since Americans enjoy about four gallons of ice cream per year, many brands have realized the power of this iconic duo and have created coffee ice creams to satisfy our coffee-loving sweet tooth.
But just like there's an incredible variation in the type of coffee you enjoy each day, there's a whole world of coffee ice creams to choose from. Your favorite might reflect how you like your daily coffee: with or without sugar, adding a hearty portion of oat milk, opting for a mocha or a sharp espresso or an ever-popular cold brew. We tried a number of coffee ice cream flavors from popular brands to bring you the best of the best.
15. Breyers Coffee
In a survey of Tasting Table's reader's favorite ice cream brands, Breyers was the runner-up. But its coffee places last in our definitive ranking. Breyers is a time-honored institution dating back to the American Civil War. In 2015, Breyers pledged to use only high-quality ingredients, specifically, 100% Grade A milk and cream — dairy coming from cows that aren't treated with hormones. This made us want to love this one, but sadly, we didn't.
The second ingredient on the Breyers carton is corn syrup, and you can taste that artificiality in every bite. In fact, the contents aren't even technically ice cream, but rather a "frozen dairy dessert." What should be a rich and creamy texture instead tastes false and is much too fluffy. This is weakened by additives, including vegetable gums and mono and diglycerides, which reveal themselves in the foamy mouthfeel. In terms of the actual coffee flavor, Breyers uses coffee extract, leading to a very mild coffee taste that doesn't come close to achieving the strength and bitterness of the real thing. Our best description of this dessert is artificial milk with a side of weak coffee.
14. Edy's Coffee
Another longstanding American ice cream brand is Edy's, which got its start in 1928 and is credited with the creation of the iconic ice cream flavor, Rocky Road. This illustrious history gave us hope for their Coffee ice cream's flavor profile. Alas, we found ourselves once again disappointed. According to the packaging, Edy's Coffee ice cream is made with no artificial colors or flavors, and, like Breyers, Edy's uses milk and cream that comes from cows not treated with hormones. Unfortunately, this is where the positives mostly end.
The coffee aroma of Edy's is mild at best and the coffee flavor is almost undetectable. For us, this likens Edy's Coffee ice cream to a milk-forward latte, as each bite was excessively milky. Our favorite aspect of Edy's was the creaminess, which was thicker than Breyers, but still too liquid for our liking. The first listed ingredient in Edy's Coffee ice cream is skim milk, which makes sense given the overpowering milk flavor of the ice cream that completely lacks richness. Corn syrup is the fourth ingredient — two ahead of coffee — which is evidenced in the absence of depth in the coffee flavor.
13. Turkey Hill's Colombian Coffee
Turkey Hill's Colombian Coffee ice cream is where things start to look promising. This ice cream is made with roasted Colombian coffee beans — though coffee appears after milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, whey, and nonfat milk on the carton's list of ingredients. The ice cream branch of Turkey Hill has been around since the 1980s when the dairy business was transformed to include the making of America's favorite frozen dessert. All the dairy for Turkey Hill's ice creams is sourced from local cows within 75 miles of their producer in Conestoga, Pennsylvania.
Turkey Hill's Colombian Coffee ice cream is smooth and has a gentle, but pleasing coffee aroma — the strongest coffee scent we experienced thus far. Taste and texture are where things falter. Turkey Hill is overly runny, like a cappuccino with too much milk. Similarly, the coffee taste doesn't fully come across here. We longed for an amped-up creaminess and a stronger coffee flavor that never arrived.
12. Oatly Coffee
In case you haven't heard, non-dairy milks are taking the world by storm. Though almond milk used to have a firm hold in the alternative milk space, oat milk is quickly becoming the milk substitute of choice for consumers who are forgoing dairy. Oatly, which placed number one in our ranking of best oat milk brands, is currently leading the charge with a milk alternative that is thick and creamy without too much sweetness. So how does all of that translate to their ice cream?
From a texture perspective, Oatly's Coffee frozen dessert has the same creaminess and richness as its milk, which gives this coffee ice cream a very pleasing mouthfeel. The coffee flavor could be stronger, as the oat milk taste slightly overpowers the bold intensity we were looking for. On the plus side, Oatly's Coffee frozen dessert is made with organic, fair-trade coffee, vegan (hence the oat milk), certified non-GMO, and glyphosate residue free— reducing your potential exposure to carcinogens. Overall, the coffee flavor could have been more prominent, but if you're looking for a non-dairy ice cream alternative, give this one a try.
11. Blue Marble's RISE Nitro Cold Brew Coffee
Blue Marble's RISE Nitro Cold Brew Coffee is the first coffee ice cream thus far that is made exclusively with a particular coffee roaster. RISE brewing co. cold brews its coffee beans with nitrogen to enhance the coffee's taste and texture. The coffee beans are from Peru's Cachimayo Valley and are organic and single-origin. Blue Marble is a B Corp-certified organization based in Brooklyn that is women-owned, non-GMO, and USDA organic. All of its ice creams are made with ingredients that are sourced from fair-trade purveyors and organic farms.
Blue Marble's RISE Nitro Cold Brew Coffee ice cream has a much stronger coffee flavor than all of its predecessors, with a pleasantly tangy intensity that makes this ice cream refreshingly coffee-forward. When we move onto the texture, Blue Marble is somewhat less successful as it lacks true creaminess and has a slightly unpleasant icy finish. We'd compare Blue Marble's RISE Nitro Cold Brew Coffee to a mildly overwatered Americano — the coffee taste is there, but the richness is absent.
10. Tillamook's Coffee Almond Fudge
Attention flavored coffee lovers: Tillamook's Coffee Almond Fudge ice cream might be right for you. Tillamook is a farmer-owned company that was established in Oregon in 1909. They've since established a health and sustainability initiative called, "Dairy Done Right®" with the promise to remove artificial flavors, sweeteners, and colors from their products, and to abstain from using any dairy that is produced with artificial growth hormones. Unlike many of the aforementioned ice cream makers, Tillamook is committed to using no high-fructose corn syrup, which helps them achieve a richer, more authentic flavor in their ice cream. So, how is their Coffee Almond Fudge?
Tillamook's ice cream base is the best so far on this list, with a deeply satisfying creaminess and rich mouthfeel – thanks to the first ingredient on the carton: cream and the inclusion of egg yolks. Almond shavings are generously distributed throughout this ice cream, enhancing the texture and creating a nice chewiness. The chocolate fudge is less evenly woven through, so some bites have a chocolate intensity whereas others taste mostly of almond. On the negative side, the coffee flavor is somewhat weak in Tillamook's Coffee Almond Fudge, paling in comparison to the coffee and the almond. Of course, this could be a plus if you prefer your coffee dressed up in flavorings.
9. Häagen-Dazs Coffee
Häagen-Dazs is one of Ina Garten's favorite ice cream brands and we have deep respect for her palate. Häagen-Dazs' Coffee ice cream is refreshingly made with simple, straightforward ingredients: cream, skim milk, cane sugar, egg yolks, and Brazilian coffee beans – in that order. The history of Häagen-Dazs dates back 60 years when Polish immigrants, Reuben and Rose Mattus, came to the Bronx and founded the legendary ice cream company. Their goal was revolutionary for the time: to create mainstream ice cream using real ingredients. In addition to chocolate and vanilla, coffee rounded out its three original flavors. But how does it stand the test of time?
Häagen-Dazs Coffee ice cream is extremely rich and creamy. This ice cream has a nice coffee aroma that is just strong enough to stay with each and every bite. The coffee flavor is similarly pleasing but on the milder side. Overall, the ice cream's sweetness overpowers the boldness we generally look for in our coffee. Simply said, Häagen-Dazs Coffee ice cream tastes like a cup of coffee made for a kid, as it's loaded up with lots of cream and sugar.
8. Talenti's Coffee Chocolate Chip
Talenti is a gourmet gelato and sorbet brand that was originally only available in select markets and can now be found widely across the U.S. Both gelato and sorbet are appealing alternatives to regular ice cream because of their lower fat content. Gelato has the benefit of also having a signature decadent taste, which is satisfying and delicious. All of Talenti's products use non-GMO sourced ingredients, are free of high-fructose corn syrup, added hormones, and antibiotics, and are OU-D certified kosher. Now for the flavor.
Like Tillamook's Coffee Almond Fudge, Talenti's Coffee Chocolate Chip gelato prominently features chocolate in conjunction with coffee, making this selection desirable for fans of mochas. Spread throughout Talenti's Coffee Chocolate Chip gelato is a generous smattering of dark chocolate shavings that brilliantly bring out the rich coffee taste. A strong coffee aroma amps up the flavor profile of this dessert, but for hardcore coffee fans, the ratio of coffee to chocolate may be weighed too heavily in favor of chocolate.
7. Ben & Jerry's Coffee Coffee Buzzbuzzbuzz!
Speaking of chocolate, Ben & Jerry's Coffee Coffee Buzzbuzzbuzz! Is loaded with giant chunks of espresso chocolate fudge throughout the entire pint of coffee ice cream. Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield famously began making ice cream in a converted gas station in Vermont in 1978. That small venture has since exploded into a worldwide ice cream sensation that is as focused on delivering rich and creamy ice cream as it is about promoting social activism.
The star of the show in Ben & Jerry's Coffee Coffee Buzzbuzzbuzz! ice cream is undoubtedly the espresso fudge, which embodies the perfect marriage of chocolate and coffee. Smaller chocolate chips have ground espresso beans in them, enhancing the rich flavor pairing. The ice cream itself is just sweet enough without being overpowering and there's a smooth, satisfying texture to the base. This ice cream is non-GMO and uses cage-free eggs, fair-trade coffee, responsibly sourced packaging, and "caring dairy" — ethically supporting cows and farmers. Coffee Coffee Buzzbuzzbuzz! is another supreme coffee ice cream choice for lovers of mochas and mocha Frappuccinos.
6. McConnell's Coffee
McConnell's Fine Ice Creams began in Santa Barbara, California in 1949 when husband and wife team Gordon "Mac" and Ernesteen McConnell decide to enter the ice cream market with a similar goal as Häagen-Dazs — to create delicious ice cream free of artificial sweeteners, flavors, and colorings. Today, McConnell's Fine Ice Creams maintains that mission, while also expanding its scope, as all of its ice cream is made with fresh dairy and cream from free-range cows, local eggs from organically-fed, cage-free hens, pure cane sugar, and zero stabilizers, fillers, or preservatives.
One of the first things you'll notice when you dig into McConnell's Coffee ice cream are the dense speckles of ground coffee beans. This gives the coffee ice cream a texture similar to Turkish coffee, which is immensely satisfying and pairs wonderfully with the rich creaminess of the ice cream base. While the coffee aroma could be stronger, the taste is exceptionally pronounced, delivering bitter, tart, tangy, coffee decadence in every bite.
5. Jeni's Coffee with Cream & Sugar
Jeni's ice cream has taken off in popularity in recent years. With roots in Columbus, Ohio, Jeni's was founded in 2002 by Jeni Britton who is a James Beard Award-winning ice cream maker. Over 20 years later, Jeni's is a household name and a Certified B Corp thanks to increased distribution in grocery stores around the country and the ice cream's undeniable excellence. All of Jeni's ice creams use Direct Trade ingredients and are free of artificial flavorings and additives.
Jeni's Coffee with Cream & Sugar achieves its rich and sweetly creamy coffee flavor with Intelligentsia Black Cat espresso, Madagascar bourbon vanilla extract, and cane sugar. Throughout the ice cream, you can see and taste speckles of ground Intelligentsia Black Cat espresso beans, which add a subtle texture that isn't as prominent as the ground coffee beans in McConnell's, but that contributes powerfully to the strong coffee flavor and aroma. While sugar is in the name of this ice cream, Jeni's Coffee with Cream & Sugar isn't overly sweet. Instead, it masters its name's promise, giving you ice cream that is truly equal parts coffee, cream, and sugar.
4. Van Leeuwen's Limited Edition VL X BIGFACE COFFEE AFFOGATO
An affogato is an Italian dessert that features one shot of espresso over a thick scoop of ice cream. Van Leeuwen's limited edition ice cream flavor, VL X BIGFACE COFFEE AFFOGATO, replicates the pleasure of digging into a hearty bowl of ice cream with espresso drenched over it almost perfectly. Van Leeuwen is the youngest ice cream brand on this list, which got its start in 2008 in a truck in New York City. It's since expanded to open scoop shops in major U.S. cities and is widely available in major grocery stores.
Van Leeuwen refers to its dairy ice cream as French ice cream because of the number of egg yolks it uses. Those egg yolks add to the ice cream's decadence and creaminess, which is on full display in VL X BIGFACE COFFEE AFFOGATO. The coffee flavor is bold and surprisingly reminiscent of salted caramel. The ice cream base has a rich density and a pleasing smoothness, which more than earns it a top five spot. In keeping with the tradition of Jeni's and Blue Marble, Van Leeuwen's coffee ice cream is made exclusively with a particular coffee roaster, in this case, BIG FACE coffee, which was founded by NBA star Jimmy Butler. This ice cream flavor is a limited edition, so be sure to get your hands on a pint before they're all gone.
3. Trader Joe's Coffee Bean Blast
If you're surprised to see Trader Joe's ice cream so high on this list, you're not alone. We weren't expecting to respond so passionately to Trader Joe's Coffee Bean Blast ice cream, but it's one of the best options we tried. There's very little overrun in this ice cream, which means it's creamier than ice creams that have more air whipped into them. That texture is hard to argue with, as it makes every bite thick, rich, and decadent.
Perhaps even more importantly, Trader Joe's Coffee Bean Blast ice cream has the strongest coffee taste, aroma, and overall flavor profile of any of its predecessors. Joining the ranks of Jeni's and McConnell's, Trader Joe's brews Colombian coffee and finely ground French Roast coffee beans directly into the ice cream base, pairing the creaminess with the satisfying nuanced texture of the ground coffee beans. Any true coffee aficionado will find themselves drawn to Coffee Bean Blast ice cream's bold and mildly bitter flavor that's well balanced by cream and sugared egg yolks. Trader Joe's Coffee Bean Blast delivers a flavorful cup of Colombian coffee in a single scoop of ice cream.
2. Graeter's Vienna Coffee
Choosing our top two coffee ice cream flavors wasn't an easy feat. After much deliberation, our runner-up is Graeter's Vienna Coffee. Like Van Leeuwen's VL X BIGFACE COFFEE AFFOGATO, Graeter's Vienna Coffee is a masterful homage to a particular coffee specialty. Vienna coffee is a caffeinated delicacy that marries coffee, whipped cream, and espresso. The beans used in the Graeter's ice cream rendition are a blend of roasted Sumatran and Colombian Arabica coffee. The flavor of these beans comes across powerfully, providing a nuanced coffee taste while also achieving a remarkably creamy consistency.
Graeter's has been a family-owned company since 1870. The operation started in Cincinnati, Ohio serving homemade ice cream from a cart and has developed into an ice cream powerhouse with distribution across most of the U.S. Graeter's pays homage to its storied history by still making their ice cream the same way it did back in 1870, in small-batch French pots. This commitment to quality and handcrafted decadence is evidenced in its ice cream's incredible smoothness. Graeter's Vienna Coffee tastes to us like the perfect coffee-forward latte magically transformed into a bowl of ice cream.
1. Adirondack Creamery's High Peak Perk
Our favorite coffee ice cream comes from a small creamery in the Adirondack region of New York. Adirondack Creamery was the dream of its founder, Paul N. Nasrani, who spent his childhood churning freshly made ice cream in Pennsylvania.Adirondack Creamery produces unbelievably fresh, rich, and creamy ice cream in Upstate, New York with dairy and eggs sourced directly from local family farms. All of its ice creams are kosher certified, made with milk and cream free of any artificial growth hormones, and free of stabilizers, emulsifiers, artificial colorings, and ingredients.
Beyond its all-natural, locally sourced mission, Adirondack Creamery's High Peak Perk is our winner because of its exceptional taste, aroma, and texture. The consistency of this coffee ice cream is smooth and decadent while simultaneously having an exquisite crunch thanks to the freshly ground coffee beans that are generously spread throughout. This technique appears in previous ice creams on this list in an attempt to conjure Turkish coffee, but the texture is truly mastered in High Peak Perk. The aroma of the coffee is immensely powerful and the sweetness is perfectly balanced. The last ingredient in High Peak Perk is cocoa, which amplifies the rich coffee taste by bringing out its delicate nuance. Coming in at the top spot, Adirondack Creamery's High Peak Perk is something we never knew we needed: cookies and cream in a coffee ice cream. We'd say that's worthy of No. 1.