Coffee Syrups And Their Many Wonders
Mankind has been flavoring coffee almost since the time it was discovered A great influence on this practice was the spice trade occurring in the coffee growing areas of Africa. Some of the original spices used in flavoring coffee were cinnamon, cardamom and pepper.
The worldwide spread of coffee was accompanied by the desire to flavor it. A common method of seasoning coffee in 13th century Middle East was roasting green beans together with nuts and spices. To this day, many people use cardamom to enhance coffee in the Middle East. Crushed cardamom pods are placed in the spout of a pot so that the coffee will pick up flavor as it flows over the spice.
Sugar and milk are the two most popular methods of flavoring coffee in North America, and have been for some time. Europeans have always enjoyed drinking coffee accompanied by liqueurs; Bailey's is one that comes to mind.
Flavored syrups came into their own, as a method of flavoring coffee, in the late 1980's. L.C. Brandenburg was the man who created the flavored coffee craze in North America. A story in the San Francisco Chronicle relates how Brandenburg, a 30 year coffee business veteran, walked into Cafe Trieste in North Beach, where he saw Torani syrup bottles lined-up on the back shelf. Brandenburg, also friends with the Torani owners, took some of the flavorings back to Seattle. Here he experimented with different mixtures of coffee and syrups; thus the birth of flavored latte.
Da Vinci, Monin and Dolce are some of the more common brands of syrups used to add flavor to coffee. The price of coffee syrup is directly affected by the quality of ingredients that make up the product. The best ones are made from the finest nuts and fruits, which are distilled down into syrup. High-quality syrups will have a higher concentration of the flavoring ingredients compared to the syrup base. In reality these syrups cost less, per cup of coffee, than the cheaper varieties. Less syrup is required to achieve the same taste. Cheaper brands can actually separate or curdle the milk, if they are heated up too much.
Syrup flavors can be divided into four basic groups. The most common is vanilla based, which includes nut and cream flavors. The second most popular is chocolate, followed by fruit and then spice.
Calories can be a concern due to sugar being a primary component in flavoring syrups. For this reason many manufacturers have created low or no calorie lines of syrups. Natural sweeteners, such as blue agave and stevia, are increasingly being used as an alternative to sugar.
The worldwide spread of coffee was accompanied by the desire to flavor it. A common method of seasoning coffee in 13th century Middle East was roasting green beans together with nuts and spices. To this day, many people use cardamom to enhance coffee in the Middle East. Crushed cardamom pods are placed in the spout of a pot so that the coffee will pick up flavor as it flows over the spice.
Sugar and milk are the two most popular methods of flavoring coffee in North America, and have been for some time. Europeans have always enjoyed drinking coffee accompanied by liqueurs; Bailey's is one that comes to mind.
Flavored syrups came into their own, as a method of flavoring coffee, in the late 1980's. L.C. Brandenburg was the man who created the flavored coffee craze in North America. A story in the San Francisco Chronicle relates how Brandenburg, a 30 year coffee business veteran, walked into Cafe Trieste in North Beach, where he saw Torani syrup bottles lined-up on the back shelf. Brandenburg, also friends with the Torani owners, took some of the flavorings back to Seattle. Here he experimented with different mixtures of coffee and syrups; thus the birth of flavored latte.
Da Vinci, Monin and Dolce are some of the more common brands of syrups used to add flavor to coffee. The price of coffee syrup is directly affected by the quality of ingredients that make up the product. The best ones are made from the finest nuts and fruits, which are distilled down into syrup. High-quality syrups will have a higher concentration of the flavoring ingredients compared to the syrup base. In reality these syrups cost less, per cup of coffee, than the cheaper varieties. Less syrup is required to achieve the same taste. Cheaper brands can actually separate or curdle the milk, if they are heated up too much.
Syrup flavors can be divided into four basic groups. The most common is vanilla based, which includes nut and cream flavors. The second most popular is chocolate, followed by fruit and then spice.
Calories can be a concern due to sugar being a primary component in flavoring syrups. For this reason many manufacturers have created low or no calorie lines of syrups. Natural sweeteners, such as blue agave and stevia, are increasingly being used as an alternative to sugar.
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