Coffee
Syrups
Although
coffee syrups have been around for many years, they have
only recently become popular. Many coffee purists will scoff
at the idea of adding anything besides milk to their drinks.
Some won’t even add milk.
I
love the taste of coffee on its own, but I also love the
variety that coffee syrups offer.
Sometimes
I’m in the mood for a full bodied, sippin’ espresso. Sometimes
I really enjoy a nice dessert-like, sweetened coffee for
a change. Some people do not like the taste of coffee in
its full bodied, unsweetened form. To me, that’s perfectly
acceptable. Besides, enjoying a beverage is all about personal
preference.
I
believe in being yourself and not caring what others think.
Well, enough about that. Let’s talk about the syrups.
Coffee
Syrup Quality:
There
are many brands of coffee syrups available today. Some of
the major brand names are Monin, Da Vinci, Torani, Dolce,
Stirling, and Senza.
The
two major factors that determine the quality of the syrups
are sweetness or sugar content and flavor concentration.
I find it interesting that there is actually a measurement
for determining the sugar content and it is called, brix.
Well
anyway, the sweetening of these syrups usually come from
one of four sources. They are fruit juice, pure cane sugar,
beet and corn sugars.
The
syrups made with fruit juices and cane sugars will be sweeter
and therefore more concentrated. The beet and corn sugar
syrups taste good in my opinion also, but more syrup is
required to achieve the same level of sweetness.
There
are also sugar free syrups on the market. One of the first
to offer these was Senza. Personally, I have never tried
a sugar free syrup so I do not have anything good or bad
to say about them. It’s good that they are available though
for those who cannot take sugar or just prefer not to have
it.
The
flavor concentration is simply a matter of opinion, but
again, the better quality syrups will add more flavoring
with less syrup. This is important to know when determining
value. The more expensive syrups will cost more initially,
but you will get more drinks per bottle than the cheaper
syrups.
Another
factor to consider is that some coffee syrup companies such
as Monin, do not use preservatives. This is important to
know if you like to stock many flavors and will not go through
an entire bottle in a few months.
With
these things considered, I believe in buying what you think
tastes good. Besides, if you like it, who’s to tell you
otherwise.
Other
Uses:
Besides
used as coffee flavorings, syrups have many other uses.
One of my favorites is to use them to flavor sparkling water.
These are called Italian sodas and are served in many coffee
houses.
I
have a soda bottle that creates my own carbonated water
using a CO2 charger, but any bottled, sparkling water will
do fine.
Italian
sodas are great if you have kids because they can have a
sweetened soda that is not near as sugar ladened as the
soft drinks out there and have no caffeine. Plus there is
a huge selection of flavors to choose from.
A
variation of the Italian soda is the cremosa. A cremosa
is simply an Italian soda with a little cream or milk added.
Yummy! If you haven’t tried a cremosa yet, try one at a
local coffee house or better yet, make them yourself!
You
can also use the syrups in baking. They are great drizzled
on cheesecakes and ice cream, especially the chocolate syrups.
The possibilities are endless.
If
you’re going to use them on desserts, I would stick with
the higher quality syrups which are thicker and more concentrated.
Don't be affraid to mix differing flavors to come up with
your own special creations.Experiment, and have fun!
If
you are interested in a high quality syrup, the Monin brand
is one of the best. They have my favorite vanilla
(Monin Vanilla Syrup) of all the brands that I have
tried
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