Homemade Coffee Syrup Recipes: My 5 Sweetest Ideas!

Personally, I’m on the pure coffee team. Good beans, the ideal grind setting, the correct brewing temperature, that’s it. Still, I know that others have different tastes, which is why I’m bringing you these homemade coffee syrup recipes.

Add-ons like syrup and sprinkles are simply part of a cappuccino, iced coffee or latte macchiato for many folks. And if your coffee recipes can’t ever be sweet enough, you have a choice: buy high-quality bottled stuff or make coffee syrup yourself.

In this post I’ll show you a few coffee syrup recipes, explain the ingredients and make suggestions on how you can refine espresso drinks and cold brew cocktails.

DIY Coffee Syrup Recipes: My 5 Favorites

Even though there are plenty of flavors, the basic recipe for coffee syrup is always the same. The basic ingredients are:

The ratio of ingredients depends on your desired flavor profile. Still, to get syrup, you always have to cook them together, with the total time varying significantly. Some folks prefer brown sugar syrup, while others are fine with basic simple syrup made from white sugar. Either way, I’d tend to avoid using dark brown sugar.

Spice Syrup With Vanilla, Cinnamon or Chai

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to the boil briefly and simmer until the mixture thickens. The cooking time will be about 20 minutes.

For chai syrup, boil sugar, water and ginger together, crush spices with a mortar and pestle and add them to the liquid. Simmer for 15 minutes, add the tea bags and leave to infuse for another five minutes.

Once cooled, strain the finished spice syrup through a filter into a clean bottle.

Caramel Syrup

Slowly caramelize granulated sugar in a pan over low heat, then stir in the water. For a more viscous consistency, add a little less liquid. Once the syrup has cooled, pour it into a bottle or Mason jar.

Hazelnut Syrup

Start by lightly toasting the hazelnuts in a pan without oil. Add the granulated sugar and let it melt before adding the water and cooking for about 10 minutes. Finally, strain and bring to the boil again.

Pistachio Syrup

Boil the water, remove from the stove and soak the pistachios in it for about 30 minutes. Next, puree the mixture in a blender or food processor, strain and return to the pot. Finally, add the granulated sugar and heat gently until it has fully dissolved.

Herb Syrup With Mint or Lavender

Start by boiling the water and sugar together in a saucepan. Next, add the lemon slices and herbs, and leave to infuse for 24 hours. Finally, strain the mixture and bring to the boil again.

For Calorie Counters: Sugar-Free Coffee Syrup Recipe

“Skinny” coffee syrup from the supermarket is usually sweetened with sucralose or acesulfame K. These sugar substitutes are often frowned upon by doctors, and there’s always chatter about them causing cancer or increasing obesity risks. With all that said, they’re still FDA-approved.

Those who want to make their own sugar-free syrup usually use xylitol or erythritol. After all, these substances are generally considered to be pretty safe. That’s why I use erythritol for my sugar-free lemon syrup recipe:

Bring everything to a boil together, let cool then pour into a bottle.

If you want to use sugar alternatives such as honey and coconut blossom sugar, you should pay attention to the ratio:

Depending on the sweetening power, you can often use the same 1:1 ratio of sweetener to liquid. That’s the case with coconut blossom sugar, for example. With liquid-sweet alternatives such as honey or maple syrup, you’re better off using three parts water to two parts sweetener.

Either way, if you use sugar alternatives you won’t get the same consistency as with sugar syrup. In addition, you should only make as much as you’ll use within a few days. That’s because sugar is a natural preservative that is missing here.

In addition, you should keep in mind that most supposedly healthier alternatives bring just as many calories into coffee as regular sugar. Then again, in my opinion, that shouldn’t matter anyway.

Recipe Ideas & Beverage Examples: From Espresso to Iced Coffee

Whether in a Frappuccino, iced caramel macchiato, classic latte macchiato with extra sweetener or a complex Starbucks recipe, there are endless ideas for using coffee syrup. Here are some current examples:

The Most Important Thing? Good Coffee Beans as a Base!

Syrup or not, good coffee beans are the most important factor in tasty coffee drinks. In fact, I’ll go one step further: If you can’t stand your coffee without additional flavorings, you’ve likely never experienced the good stuff.

Because high-quality coffee that’s been expertly roasted has a natural sweetness and balance. With that in mind, feel free to check out my Coffeeness Signature Espresso Roast. It’s a well-balanced blend with distinct notes of chocolate, caramel and nuts.

Coffeeness Signature Espresso Blend

High-quality beans through direct trade

Notes of Chocolate & Hazelnut

Easy on the stomach

Freshly roasted right in Brooklyn

Medium roast

Discover now

Barista Tips for Using Coffee Syrup

Just pour coffee syrup from the bottle into glasses and call it good? In my time as a barista, I learned that you can do better. For example:

If you want to refine your latte or coffee-based cocktails particularly easily, you’ll have a lot of fun with the Jura J8. A unique coffee syrup cartridge ensures that the milk foam comes out of the spout already perfectly sweetened.

Check Out: Jura J8 Review

Store-Bought vs Homemade Coffee Syrup: Which Is Better?

Whether you make your own coffee syrup or buy it is a matter of taste. Store-bought versions don’t require any effort, don’t need a stove and, depending on the quality and price, are very economical.

If you use a lot of syrups for desserts, coffee cocktails and coffee drinks, homemade syrup is the best option. However, if you only upgrade your food or drink with a few drops, life is easier with store-bought syrup.

Since I want to offer the right equipment for every coffee fan, I’ve started selling Coffeeness vanilla, caramel and hazelnut syrups in Europe. Let me know in the comments section if this is something you’d like to see in our North American shop!

Conclusion: Easy to Use, Tons of Flavor

Even if you like to add flavored syrup to your coffee drinks, the sweet addition should not play the main role. Because good coffee is a flavor bomb all by itself. So, syrups should ideally enhance your morning coffee rather than overpower it. But if you prefer to mix, you can really let off steam with infinite flavored coffee variations.

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