Jazz up homemade coffee with pumpkin spice, pecan or honey and lavender
By ALDONA BIRD
Newsroom@DominionPost.com
’Tis the season … for flavored coffees. Although October is over, and winter is nearing, pumpkin spice lattes are still totally acceptable. Soon we will be entering peppermint mocha season.
If you prefer less trendy flavors there are a slew of fancy coffees and tea lattes on the menus at most hip cafes. But wait, going to a cafe, hip or not, isn’t as easy and carefree for many of us as it once was. Going to a coffee shop for a caffeinated beverage now involves either takeout or taking a health risk.
Working from home can also hinder coffee on the go routines, but that’s no reason not to enjoy high quality and fancy lattes.
Whether it’s a morning jolt, a cup to beat the afternoon slump or an evening tea, adding DIY flavor syrups to your favorite hot beverages gives a special kick. If you’re not a fan of warm drink you can modify these recipes to make tasty sodas when added to carbonated water.
DIY honey and lavender syrup
- Water
- Honey
- Dried lavender blossoms or fresh leaves
Warm water (half a cup or a cup depending what size batch you want to make) in a small sauce pan. Add an equal amount of honey, and about two tablespoons of lavender. Continue warming over a low heat for 10-15 minutes. Do not boil, because the syrup can boil over very easily.
Cool and let steep for at least one hour. Strain and store in the fridge until used.
This syrup is delicious in a latte, but also works well with black teas such as Earl Grey.
DIY Pumpkin Spice Syrup
- Water
- Sugar or maple syrup
- Vanilla
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Pumpkin puree
Warm one cup of water and add one cup of sugar (white or brown) or maple syrup and either two table spoons or three quarters cup of pumpkin puree (to make at home, cut a pie pumpkin in half, roast and use a food processor, blender or immersion blender to smooth the consistency).
Adding a smaller amount of pumpkin puree will yield a thin syrup, while more will yield a thicker syrup which works well in coffee but also over pancakes or ice cream.
Whisk together and add a teaspoon of vanilla and three to four teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice (or sub a quarter teaspoon allspice and clove, three teaspoons cinnamon and three quarters teaspoon nutmeg.
Heat mixture and simmer for 10 minutes, and if making a thinner syrup strain through a fine metal sieve or cheese cloth. Add a shot of thin syrup or a spoonful of thicker syrup to a homemade latte to cling to autumn a little longer.
DIY brown sugar pecan syrup
- Water
- Brown sugar
- Pecan halves
- Salt
Add equal parts of first three ingredients to a sauce pan and a pinch of salt. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring to help sugar dissolve. After the mix boils turn heat down and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for half an hour.
Stir the cooled syrup and strain. Add to lattes or use in cocktails.
Consider also making peppermint syrup, vanilla syrup, almond or other flavors. Keep a 1:1 ratio of water to sugar to ensure that your syrups keep well in the fridge, and simmer and steep to achieve a full flavor so you only need add a little to each drink.
Store all syrup in airtight containers in the fridge until ready to use. Make small batches to test recipes and find your favorite, or to just have multiple syrups on hand to mix up a variety of cafe worthy lattes to break the monotony of eating and drinking at home.
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