The weather is warm and the local fair is packed, you look around and you see the shaved ice stand. It’s delicious and hits the spot. Maybe even one of the highlights of the day if you don’t count winning the giant stuffed teddy bear.
Bring some of that memory to your home every day with the creative use of coffee syrups. It’s pretty simple. All you need is ice, coffee syrup and a garnish.
Take 5 ounces of shaved ice and shape it in a cup in a peaking cone shape. Then drizzle 1 ounce of your choice of coffee syrup over the ice. Come up with your own flavor combinations. Add a garnish if you like. Enjoy.
Looking for that special coffee treat for Valentine’s Day? This recipe just might be the ticket.
St. Valentine’s Day Coffee Drink
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of kona coffee.
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tbsp strawberry syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla creamer
- fresh strawberries
- powdered sugar
Instructions:
- Brew the 2 cups of water with the 1/4-cup of Kona Coffee
- Pour into a glass
- Add strawberry syrup and vanilla creamer. Stir
- Garnish with fresh strawberries coated with powdered sugar
- Serve
Source: www.holidaycoffeerecipes.com
Additional Tip: Put some melted chocolate on the side for dipping the strawberries and feeding them to each other.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
So far I’ve been talking about how flavoring is applied to flavored coffee, either by flavoring oil or by syrup. The final issue is dietetic in nature – sugar (and calories) or no sugar.
Flavoring oils have the clear advantage here, imparting scent and flavoring without any sweetening agent. Flavored coffees prepared with flavoring oils are suitable for both diabetics and dieters. Flavoring oils usually add less than five calories to the coffee.
Flavored syrups are another story. There are definitely sugars and calories added here, as much as 100 calories and 24 grams of sugar per fluid ounce. Your usage will determine the final calorie count.
The good news for diabetics and dieters is that sugar free syrups are available. For example, Monin, a major manufacturer of coffee syrups, offers a small line of sugar free syrups, boasting zero sugars and zero calories. They use Splenda as a sweetening agent. Other examples abound.
For some however sugar free solutions just don’t work. Personally, I can taste aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. I don’t enjoy the taste. If you’re like that then moderation is the rule.
Drink up and enjoy the flavors.