Four Homemade Coffee Syrups and My Favorite Cold Brew.
Humor me while I talk about sugar and water please.
Late last night I was all prepared to tell you about chicken today. It was the plan. But then I was all… it’s Monday. Coffee Monday. Who cares how simple? We must discuss.
These syrups. We gotta talk about them.
I made homemade vanilla bean syrup. Traditional and easily loved by me. Cinnamon brown sugar syrup – because earlier this winter I was losing my mind over the dunkin donut’s flavor. Homemade almond syrup, because anything amaretto flavored makes me nutty. Pun intended. And my real – but shocking – favorite: fresh blackberry syrup. GAH. I love it so much.
I don’t care much for raspberry flavored things, but the idea of blackberry? I was all over that. It is SO good. And you can obviously use these syrups for other things, I mean this is embarrassing because they are literally just flavored simple syrups.
But, like, why haven’t I been doing this for a year?
Ever since making this fresh mint syrup for iced coffee, I’ve been read-my-lips-OBSESSED with making homemade coffee syrups. And even though I lost my taste for coffee a few weeks after sharing it, I was still so in love with the whole coffee experience that I wanted to KEEP drinking it. Kind of like how I forced myself to drink it in the first place.
The problem was that I’d go get some and no matter how small the size was, I’d only take a few sips and have to be done. Just couldn’t do it. I did go a few weeks completely without a drop of coffee, but then the taste came back to me and I’ve thoroughly been enjoying it – iced only.
Sometimes I’ll still head out and get coffee – though I’ve never been able to finish one, so it’s much better if I just make it at home. And EASIER! And cheaper. Says my raging basic Starbucks addiction.
Back in April I also shared a cold brew concentrate method with that but over the months have been loving this one below so much more. It’s kind of a major pain to grind the beans but I tell you: the flavor is so much better. I’ve done regular and decaf beans. I’ve experimented over and over with using filtered versus unfiltered water and surprisingly prefer the filtered. I didn’t think it would make a difference, but it does. TOTALLY. Is it less acidic? Are my taste buds just in overdrive? Either way, I’m finding it WORTH IT.
Big deal for this person.
Also, I find it easiest to just use a bowl or a pitcher. I have a Toddy, but it’s rather obtrusive and, well, the real issue is that my husband LOATHES coffee and the scent so much that if it’s in his view or if he gets one whiff, he throws a major tantrum. I think that’s weird because even though I’ve spent most of my life hating coffee, the scent always brought me back to my childhood and gives me warm and cozy nostalgic feelings.
My not-so-secret love for the blackberry syrup comes partially from the color. It kind of tints your coffee (if you’re using cream) to a purpleish-fuschia color and I think it’s gorgeous.
Leave it to me to like a drink for the color. I mean, it tastes great too but just look. It’s PINK. Or red. Whatever.
So I’m just in love with this idea of homemade syrups and multiple syrups, and having them on hand so you can have little coffee parties with pals. The syrup mixes into iced coffee beautifully – but after a while some will settle on the bottom just as it would with iced coffee you order out. My simple solution is adorable mixers. It works in hot coffee perfectly and I can’t get enough. And it can work in other things too – like even making some almond hot chocolate and all that jazz. But let’s not talk about that in summer.
Now please go make this for a million friends. (invite me.)
Four Homemade Coffee Syrups and My Favorite Cold Brew
Ingredients
my favorite cold brew coffee
- 1 cup whole coffee beans
- 5 cups filtered water, this made a HUGE difference in how I liked iced coffee at home!
- regular ice or coffee ice cubes
vanilla bean syrup
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
blackberry syrup
- 2 cups fresh blackberries
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup sugar
cinnamon brown sugar syrup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup water
almond syrup
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
Instructions
my favorite cold brew coffee
- First things first: coarsely grind the coffee beans! Yeah, this is annoying. For a year I’d try to make coldbrew coffee with already ground beans, and grinding them definitely is better. I used my grinder thing for my vitamix. Just make sure they are COARSELY ground, this way you won’t have granules floating in your drink (which is one of the worse things ever in life, in my opinion). Once the beans a freshly ground, add them to a large bowl or pitcher/container/jar. Add the water and stir to mix. Let this mixture sit overnight in the fridge. I have heard both ways: at room temperature and overnight. I prefer it from the fridge. (Also as a note, sometimes I made this in my french press too. I just don’t have a huge one.)
- The next morning, strain the coffee through a few layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter. It’s key to reduce the granules. Now you have your coffee! Fill a glass with ice, add your desired amount of coffee and cream/milk – then go to town with the syrups. Note: the syrups should be stored in a sealed container in the fridge. They should last a week or two!
vanilla bean syrup
- Combine the sugar, water, scraped vanilla beans, whole bean and extract in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool completely before storing in a jar. I usually don’t remove the vanilla pod and just leave it in for flavor. You can remove it if you wish!
blackberry syrup
- Add the blackberries to a blender with the water. Puree until completely smooth and blended, then strain over a fine mesh sieve into a bowl – so all you have is blackberry juice. Combine the juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool completely before storing in a jar. This syrup can get extra sweet due to the flavor of your berries, so feel free to play along with water and sugar ratios.
cinnamon brown sugar syrup
- Combine the sugar, cinnamon and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool completely before storing in a jar.
almond syrup
- Combine the sugar, water and extract in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool completely before storing in a jar.
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
Okay. I’m done being boring with coffee now. Swear.
243 Comments on “Four Homemade Coffee Syrups and My Favorite Cold Brew.”
What is the amount made by these recipes? I see 2-4 servings, but what size total, what size container needed? Thanks!
How long can this be stored for and on counter or in fridge?
I found her answer back on the first page of comments – she said it keeps about 2 weeks when stored in the refrigerator in a tightly-sealed container!
Great. Can’t wait to make my own flavored syrups for my coffee and matcha. The store bought ones isn’t to my taste.
I made the syrup and it started crystallizing the next day. Does that mean I left it too long on the stove? The sugar appeared dissolved when I took it off the stove.
Hi,
Great article! Where did you get the mason jar glasses – are they regular mason jars for preserves/pickling?
Thanks!
I just made your cinnamon sugar, coffee syrup, but I was curious is it best to store it in the refrigerator or unrefrigerated last thing I wanted to do is get hard to pour.
I found her answer back on the first page of comments – she said it keeps about 2 weeks when stored in the refrigerator in a tightly-sealed container.
These look amazing how long do they last for?
Love the brown sugar cinnamon syrup! Added it to cold brew and half & half this morning. Shaken not stirred! 😀
This is so simple! Why didn’t I think of it? Now I’m in a roll. Raspberries today for my sparkling water, cinnamon tomorrow for my coffee… you have created a monster. Different flavors for every day, I see in my future!
Can you can coffee surup (Christmas gift)?
Can I use turbinado instead of white sugar? I never have white sugar in the house.
Thank you for sharing your syrup recipes!
Anyone tried using monk fruit sweetener instead of sugar?
How long can you store these syrups?
I used the recipe for the simple vanilla bean syrup. It s the best recipe! The consistency is perfect, it’s not too thick but not too thin. I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for a while and found the perfect one.
i tried the brown sugar recipe and it was awesome! i have a feeling it would mix better into hot coffee than my store bought, just-out-of-the-fridge cold brew, but overall 5/5! perfect for sweetening up my morning coffee
Hello. If I make these syrups in bigger batches and will they store well for how long?