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Since I drink coffee pretty much around the clock, I started buying the bottled syrups so I could add my favorite flavors to the cappuccinos and lattes I made at home. However at $10 or so a pop that can be a fairly expensive habit, especially since I like to mix up my flavors often. I decided to make a simple syrup base and then added various flavorings to find out how they tasted in comparison to the store-bought variety. The results were very favorable, in fact one friend of mine swears she can't tell the difference between various Starbuck's drinks and my own homemade versions. I still think there is nothing quite like the original, but these are a reasonable facsimile at the very least. To make a simple syrup, combine 1 cup water and 1 cup white sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until it has reduced by half, which should take about 5 minutes. Now if you want flavoring, you have to add those ingredient(s) at the same time you add the water and sugar. Keep in mind, the following are just examples. I don't really have a precise recipe for this as I usually just wing it, so play around with the amounts and make what suits your own taste.
Vanilla bean
If you use vanilla beans in cooking, always reserve the pod (wrap and refrigerate) once you have scraped the seeds out because it is perfect for something like this. Simply add the pod to the water and sugar mix, prepare as above, and remove it once the syrup has reduced. If you are only making a small batch, you might want to only use a portion of the vanilla pod. If you don't use vanilla beans at home, you can add approximately 1 tsp. vanilla extract to the water & syrup instead.
Cinnamon syrup
Add about a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the water and sugar mixture. If you want the syrup to resemble the Cinnamon Dolce flavor, use brown sugar instead of white.
Experiment with other flavors, spices, and extracts to find the ones that suit you best. If you like pumpkin pie, use the same spices you would add to a pumpkin pie, etc. Practice in small batches, but once you find a blend you like, you can make larger portions and refrigerate.
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8-13-2011 @6:53PM Ray said... Ok, I have made the Vanilla Syrup with about a bottle worth of water. But instead, I used 1 Tablespoon of Organic Vanilla Extract, and instead of regular sugar, I used Stevia. The amount of Stevia I used equals about 40 carbs for the whole serving. Do you think it would be too much sugar, or not enough?
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2-18-2007 @12:11PM Kitty said... Chocolate mint...added some cocoa powder and two drops of peppermint oil. It's excellent.
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2-20-2007 @3:41PM Marty Chamberlain said... I have what will probably be a really stupid question. We don't have a starbucks where I am..and no I don't live on the moon, however it's close..Anyway, I see these recipes for the syrups, what do you do with them.. do you just add them to black coffees? and if so, how much do you add?
Cheers
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2-20-2007 @6:57PM Joanne Lutynec said... Marty - that is a great question. When I make mine, I make a fairly large batch and keep it in a bottle in the fridge for up to 30 days.
As far as how much to add, it is personal taste. I would start by adding 1/2 oz (to either black coffee or espresso / cappucino) and go up gradually from there until you find the mix that you like.
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2-23-2007 @4:08AM Dave said... Hi all, read the thread with great interest here in the UK. Any ideas on how I would change a basic syrup (sugar & water) into Irish Syrup tasting???
Thanks for any info/ideas in advance.
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2-23-2007 @10:33AM Bonnie said... Hey Marty, I am also nowhere near a Starbucks. I was raised by a family of wolves along the Canadian border.
About what to do with the syrups, I make my own lattes and cappuccinos by making stove-top espresso in one of those little cast alluminum moka pots, adding my syrup, then some milk heated on the stove which I forth with a manual plunger-type frother. It's a labor of love, but good coffee is something I simply refuse to live without.
Mostly, I make pretty basic flavors like vanilla and almond and hazelnut, all of which are pretty tasty when drizzled over some cake or some warm bread pudding or rice pudding.
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3-04-2007 @8:14PM BoozeMiller said... "Hey Marty, I am also nowhere near a Starbucks. I was raised by a family of wolves along the Canadian border."
I was raised by a cup of coffee. =p Great tip. I am trying these tonight!
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4-29-2007 @12:55AM sue said... A long time ago I was in Peru for the summer and they had a very thick coffee syrup, unsweetened, that they added milk to to make coffee. Has anyone every had such a syrup?
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6-06-2007 @9:15AM Krystel said... Question on the lime syrup - are you using key limes for that calculation? If not, how can the amount of rind be adjusted to achieve the same flavor if key limes are used?
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6-06-2007 @1:25PM Krystel said... I just remembered something: In place of cocoa and mint for the syrup you can use a chocolate mint plant. You can get one at Home Depot and grow some yourself. I'm not sure if it'll produce the same flavor, but I'll give it a shot this afternoon.
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6-18-2007 @12:43PM Christima said... Hey Bonnie,
How do you make the hazelnut? Does simply adding sliced or chopped nuts to cooking mixture do it, or is it more complicated?
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9-09-2007 @11:50PM brian78 said... If I wanted to make a ginger beer syrup would I
just boil the beer with sugar? And how much sugar
per amount of ginger beer? Any Idea's or suggestions,
I'm open to them. Also I have made blueberry syrup though I think mines a bit thicker used about 3 cups of sugar to one cup water. Can I keep that in the pantry or cuboard or do I have to refegerate it?
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9-15-2007 @1:56PM cheekygeek said... "in fact one friend of mine swears she can't tell the difference between various Starbuck's drinks and my own homemade versions."
The best slams are the ones where people actually think they are being complimented.
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9-25-2007 @1:59PM Darlene said... I'm interested in any responses to the previous question? Does anyone know how to make Pumpkin syrup? Thanks/Darlene
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