Two Ingredient Coffee Syrup (Kahlua Substitute)

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A must-try for coffee lovers, this homemade coffee syrup only takes two ingredients to make and is perfect for having on hand to sweeten cold brew coffee or to add to hot cocoa or ice cream.

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Ingredients
How to Make Coffee Syrup
Ways to Brew Strong Coffee for this Syrup
Recipe Tips
Try These Simple Syrup Recipes for Your Coffee
How to Use Coffee Flavored Simple Syrup
FAQs and Substitutions
More Delicious Recipes You’ll Love
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Two Ingredient Coffee Syrup (Kahlua Substitute)

Coffee-flavored syrup can be difficult to find, especially in coffee shops. The assumption seems to be that coffee lovers want to add different flavors like caramel flavor or french vanilla to their drinks. But what if you just want to sweeten your coffee while letting the delicious flavors of the coffee itself shine?

Made with natural ingredients - and flavors completely controlled by you - this homemade coffee syrup is the best way to keep coffee drinks full of coffee flavoring, without being diluted by traditional simple syrup or other flavors.

Ingredients

Strong, brewed coffee
White sugar
Vanilla (optional)

How to Make Coffee Syrup

Brew a strong pot of dark roast coffee.

Whisk together hot coffee and sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Add vanilla, if desired, and stir to incorporate.

A hand whisking together hot coffee and sugar.

Allow coffee syrup to cool to room temperature.

Store in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.

Ways to Brew Strong Coffee for this Syrup

Using a French press: Use dark roast - french roast or espresso roast - coffee. Add boiling water, stir the coffee grounds, and steep your coffee in the French press for 4-5 minutes before using in your syrup.
Using a drop coffee machine: Buy whole bean, dark roast coffee and grind it on the fine or espresso grind setting. Place ¼ cup of coffee in the brew basket and add 2 cups of water for brewing. (Measure the water with a measuring cup, not the coffee pot or side measurement on the coffee maker.)

Recipe Tips

Don’t swap the brewed coffee for instant coffee. This recipe relies heavily on brewed coffee for its flavor.
Use a glass airtight container for storing your syrup. This will keep any flavors lingering in plastic containers out of your syrup. A mason jar or glass bottle with a lid works great.

Try These Simple Syrup Recipes for Your Coffee

A glass jar of cinnamon simple syrup with a cup of coffee. — Cinnamon Syrup for Coffee

How to Use Coffee Flavored Simple Syrup

My favorite way to use this syrup is in mocktails and cocktails, in place of Kahlua and other coffee flavored liqueurs. Sometimes I just don’t want/need the added alcohol, and this coffee syrup is an easy swap. Try this with my Peppermint Mocha Martini recipe.
Use coffee syrup to sweeten cold brew coffee without diluting it. Mixing sugar into cold coffee often leads to a gritty drink, and using traditional simple syrup will reduce the coffee flavor in your cold coffee. Sweeten iced coffee or cold brewed coffee with this coffee syrup for a sweet treat with maximum coffee flavor.
Add a splash of coffee syrup to your hot chocolate for a mocha flavor or use it to sweeten a mug of hot milk for a warm coffee milk treat.
Add coffee-flavored syrup to chocolate ice cream and a splash of milk for a decadent mocha milkshake.
Make coffee whipped cream for brownies or ice cream. Add 1-2 tablespoons of coffee syrup to ½ cup of heavy cream and whip with a mixer on high speed until desired consistency is reached. Coffee whipped cream is also delicious on Irish coffee (<--Try this recipe from my friend Susannah at Feast and West).

Coffee syrup being poured into a glass of iced coffee.

FAQs and Substitutions

What other sugar can I use?

Pure cane sugar or beet sugar (white sugar is usually made with one or both of these) will give you the most true coffee taste. You can swap the white sugar for brown sugar to give it more of a coffee caramel syrup flavor.

Can I use artificial sweeteners in this recipe?

I don’t use artificial sweeteners, so I haven’t tested this recipe with those. If you do, let me know how it went in the comments. I’d love to know!

How long does coffee syrup last?

When kept refrigerated in a sealed container, coffee syrup will keep for 2-3 weeks. Discard it if it begins to look cloudy or changes in appearance in any way.

How do I make coffee syrup thicker?

To make this coffee syrup thick enough to use on french toast, pancakes, or as ice cream topping, double the amount of sugar in the recipe to create rich coffee syrup. (Note: It will take quite a bit longer for all of that sugar to dissolve into the hot coffee, but you’ll still want to keep the temp low. Don’t turn up the heat, just keep stirring.) Once chilled, rich coffee flavored syrup will have the consistency of maple syrup.

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