Whip up something special with coffee syrup, essence, and powder

Coffee milk, espresso pudding, tiramisu, a yummy frappe whipped up mid-hike in your favorite smoothie bottle… the secret to these caffeinated treasures is revealed in five little words: coffee syrup, essence, and powder. Keep reading to learn what these three coffee concentrates are and how to use them.

Coffee syrup

Coffee syrup is a sweet coffee concentrate that can be used to create a number of delicious iced coffee drinks (including frappes and milkshakes), as an alternative to syrup toppings, as a drizzle over desserts, in cocktails, or, my personal favorite, for coffee milk. Coffee syrup is essentially brewed coffee preserved with sugar and spice. It is very simple to make and will stay fresh in your fridge for up to one month if kept in an airtight container. Once prepped, coffee syrup can either be used as is, or mixed with milk or ice cream and whipped into a coffee milk, frappe, or milkshake. If you use a cold brew coffee syrup (i.e., a syrup that has been created with cold brewed coffee), you can reshape the syrup into a sweet cold brew coffee by adding milk. Finally, coffee syrup adds a wonderful coffee flavor and caffeine boost to coffee themed cocktails. For our coffee syrup recipe, click here.

---

Coffee essence and powder

Coffee essence is a more concentrated, less sweet form of coffee syrup most often used as a flavoring tool for backed goods, such as coffee-chocolate cakes and icing. Coffee powder is the sugar-free, dry form of coffee concentrate. Like coffee essence, coffee powder is extremely versatile and can be used in nearly any chocolate-based recipe. While coffee essence and powder can be found in supermarkets, we suggest making your own — the recipes are easy and fast, and both will store well in airtight containers. For our coffee essence recipe, click here; for our coffee powder recipe, click here.

To explore some of our favorite coffee smoothies, drinks, cocktails, and baked goods recipes, please visit the Recipes section of our blog.