I like to make coffee in my room, but I've been getting a lot of conflicting messages about how long the unrefrigerated milk you can buy lasts. I don't have a refrigerator and I don't want to worry about the milk going bad. Someone told me it's good for two days after opening. True? Also, can I get anything equivalent to powdered coffee creamer?

Thanks!

Many neighborhood supermarkets and definitely WalMart and Carrefour carry Nescafé brand powdered creamer sold alongside the instant coffee.

I have no idea why anyone would use any brand of coffe creamer. Do you know what's in it? I don't, but I do know mighty few cows are involved. It's mostly a bunch of not very good for you oils with a few other things thrown in to preserve it, keep it from caking and stabilise it. On the other hand UHT milk does keep quite well. With no refrigeration I guess it would be good for 3-4 days once it has been opened, provided it was kept in a cool place out of the light. Unopened it can be kept for ages ( see the packet).

Where Non-Dairy Creamer Comes From

It starts with a cow, of course. Ironic? Indeed—one might say that the irony was delicious. In an industrial factory, cow's milk is dehydrated through the standard process. The resulting mass is chemically rendered with potassium benzoate (a benzene derivative) to yield casein, a protein. Next this protein is mixed with sodium hydroxide (common table salt) and blasted with ionic radiation until it reacts, forming sodium caseinate—the only milk derivative that is non-dairy and therefore kosher.

note: sodium hydroxide is lye

not sure how much of that is right, but i do know that sodium hydroxide (NaOH) ain't common table salt (NaCl plus additives)... and how can a milk-derivative be non-dairy?

but anyway, this is all by-the-by: what's wrong with black coffee?

Not sure if you're actually looking for powdered coffee creamer since you mentioned "equivalent" - but you can buy powdered milk at any large supermarket and Nescafe creamer at most Hao You Duo domestic supermarkets.

The milk in the small pouches are good for about 30 days until you open them - then it's a 1-2 day shelf life depending on the weather (temperature, humidity, number of bacterial microbes floating around, etc).

I have been searching far and wide for the best milks in Yunnan. My search has led me to Kunming. But is there any better milk in kunming than just the milkbags in walmart?

Thanks in advance. This is urgent! I am extremely lactose deficient.

-Mr.T.eats

@T
Assuming you're serious (as opposed to your screen name), the best fresh milks are in the cartons in the refrigerated sections of the grocery stores (blue and red labels). Failing that - New Zealand milks (aka Anchor etc) are the best for sealed, packaged milk (Metro).

Last time I checked Salvador's sold organic milk from Dali. Not sure about any other places to get it at the moment.

www.gokunming.com/en/listings/item/sal_1/salvadors_coffee_house

At the suggestion of my non-coffee drinking girlfriend, I have used a reputable brand powdered milk in my homemade coffee. It does not require refrigeration (probably has less chemical components than the coffee powder creamer) and tastes better than the "powder coffee creamer" in my coffee. Just add one to two teaspoonfuls to your coffee according to your personal taste.