Flavoring Syrups Tasting Guide

The World of Flavoring Syrups

If you’ve ever started looking for a flavored syrup, then you know you have some options.  But how do you pick the right one for you? Since flavoring syrup is a multi-billion dollar industry, you have plenty of different brands and different flavor sets within those brands to choose from.

Types of Flavored Syrups

Generally, you can segment flavored syrups into three basic types based on their applications. As for which kind of flavored syrup will suit a particular application, a usage rundown is there at the bottom of this article to assist you. But let us first understand their applications and the various types of flavored syrups available out there.

• Tea, Hot Coco, & Coffee Syrups

Flavored syrups are also a perfect accompaniment for any hot drinks which includes your coffee, espresso, latte, and cappuccino. You can also use these syrups in your hot chocolate beverage or tea to spice it up with some sweetness. If you’re someone who owns a coffee shop and wants to try something new for your customers’ taste buds, you could certainly use flavored syrups to reinvigorate their heart and mind.

• Dessert & Cold beverage syrups for Smoothies, Italian Soda’s, and Milkshakes

Flavored syrups can also be used in your drinks to add that savory character. Whether it is alcoholic or non-alcoholic, flavored syrups work well with both. Be it your favorite iced tea, Italian sodas and lemonades, cosmo, martini or smoothies. There is no limit to your creativity when it comes to flavored syrups.

• Cooking syrups

The market offers you an array of multi-purpose syrups that you can use while cooking to give your home-made sauces and marinades a whiff of sweetness. This kind of syrup is also used to elevate that sweet sugary taste in your confections, sweet treats and your baking products such as cookies, brownies, cakes, scones, and the likes.

Basic Types of Flavored Syrups

Flavored syrups can also be viewed in the following way:

Sweetener Syrup

Sweetener syrups can be distinguished from the standard flavoring syrups as it is lighter in consistency. Because of its liquid texture, they provide a more consistent flavor to your drinks without overpowering your drinks. They’re one of the best ways to add sweetness to your drinks and desserts. Monin, DaVinci Gourmet, and Torani offer great products for sweetener syrups.

Sweetener syrups can also be classified into –

• Maple flavored syrup: Obviously for those who love maple flavor.
• Simple syrup: They are suitable for iced teas, iced coffees, and lemonades.
• Honey flavored syrup: Contains a warm, rich honey flavor and no artificial ingredients.
• Sugar-free sweetener syrup: It has a sweet flavored syrup and aroma with no sugar and zero calories.

Diet Factor

Since flavored syrups can be a tad sweet, this can raise some concerns on adding unnecessary calories. If you’re that type of person who is conscious of the sweet stuff you’re putting in your body but still wants to have it, you need not worry as there’s something for you too.

Sugar-free flavoring syrup

The market already comes with flavored syrups that are sugar-free. To identify which syrup is sugar-free, you just need to look for the phrase ‘Sugar-Free’ on the label of the product or look for a blue-colored design on the cap or label of the product. Use these sugar-free syrups to easily sweeten up or add extra flavor to your drinks or food.

As a starter, you may like to try out Monin’s Sugar Free Vanilla Flavoring Syrup which contains zero-calorie. Instantly upgrade your shakes, smoothies, sodas, and cocktails with this syrup.

Organic flavoring syrup

Organic syrups from Monin are sweetened with organic ingredients such as sugar cane and do not include any additives or preservatives.

Gluten-free flavoring syrup

If you are gluten sensitive, you should check for the gluten-free certification symbol on the product.  Lots of syrups are gluten free, so you have endless options.

All-natural flavoring syrup

These syrups come without any artificial flavors or preservatives. DaVinci Gourmet provides naturally delicious and quality packed all-natural syrups.  Monin has their own line of naturally flavored syrups that use Sugar Cane Sugar.

Flavored Syrups for Desserts / Dessert Sauce

With dessert sauces, you can use it as a perfect topping for your ice cream, cheesecakes, frozen yogurt, and many other decadent desserts. You can even use it for lattes, frappes, milkshakes, and even frozen cocktails. Dessert sauces work for both desserts and drinks, and they are thicker in consistency than liquid syrups. You can also have sugar free dessert sauces. Dessert sauces will undoubtedly enhance the taste and also improve the look and presentation of your dessert.  Dessert Syrups can often be used as something to drizzle on dessert or to make a sweet sauce.

Ghirardelli offers many delicious flavored dessert sauces which include Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa, Black Label Chocolate, Milk Chocolate Hot Fudge, Caramel, and White Chocolate.  Hollander is another popular brand for chocolate sauces, but let’s not forget about Torani & Monin whose chocolate sauces are specially crafted for coffee drinks.

Tea Zone has great syrups and concentrates, this versatile syrup line is carried widely by bubble tea shops for smoothies and bubble teas.  Tea Zone syrup is also used in the frozen yogurt industry to add flavoring to yogurt mix. These can be used as a mix for milkshakes and other dessert items too!

Concentrated Flavored Syrups / Concentrate

If you’d like a quick and easy way to serve high quality drinks to your guests or customers, concentrated flavored syrups may be a solid option. Tea Zone offers some of the best concentrated flavored syrups.  These are syrups that can be used for drinks, but also for milkshakes, as a flavoring for frozen yogurt, and other non beverage flavoring. Monin offers various types of flavored syrup concentrate such as iced tea, iced coffee, mango tea, peach tea, lemon tea, chai tea, raspberry tea, and cold brew. These concentrates from Monin do not contain any artificial ingredients. Just follow the instructions on the product to prepare that perfect drink and modify it to your preferred taste!

Agave Syrup

Agave syrup or agave nectar is slightly sweeter than honey and is generally a natural substitute for honey or sugar in many recipes. It has a very mild flavor so it’s used in delicate-tasting beverages and dishes. Because of its varied caramel flavor, agave syrup can also be used in dishes and drinks possessing stronger flavors. For instance, dark agave syrup has a stronger caramel flavor which can give a distinct flavor to desserts. The agave syrup also dissolves quickly with drinks which makes it blend well in coffees, lemonades, lattes, smoothies, and teas.

You can get great agave syrups from Monin, DaVinci Gourmet, and Torani Syrup.

Best Selling Flavored Syrups

With so many flavors available out there in the market, it may not be out of place to try and narrow down on which flavors are the best sellers. In no particular order of preference, vanilla syrup, caramel syrup, and hazelnut syrup find themselves to be amongst the most sold flavoring syrups across the United States. All the three syrups further have their different sub-flavors which may be worth knowing.

Vanilla Flavoring Syrup

Vanilla is a perfect choice for bringing new flavors to your drinks. It is also a great way to use vanilla syrup for making homemade whip cream.

Monin has 5 great vanilla flavoring syrups along with their distinctive blends of: Vanilla, French Vanilla, Organic Vanilla, Sugar Free Vanilla, and Vanilla Creme

• Classic vanilla flavoring syrup: It blends very well in both hot or cold drinks like coffees and lattes. You can also blend it with caramel or chocolate for delicious dessert drinks, or with strawberry to create strawberry-vanilla milkshakes. It can also be used to enrich your cooking recipes. DaVinci Gourmet offers rich taste and quality consistency classic vanilla flavoring syrups.
• French vanilla flavoring syrup: It has an extra creamy flavor which blends in well with dishes, coffees, and desserts. The rich and familiar flavor of French vanilla is a versatile need for your coffee shop or café.
• Vanilla Creme flavoring syrup: This flavoring syrup is great for cooking, coffee, and desserts. It has a robust and slightly sweet flavor of vanilla with an added rich and creamy taste.
• Organic Vanilla - Made with Natural Cane Sugar, this creates an organic option for the health conscious.
• Sugar Free Vanilla - If looking for a zero calorie option that still has that smooth vanilla taste, then Monin Sugar Free Vanilla is sure to please.

Caramel Flavoring Syrup

Caramel flavored syrups complement your beverages without overpowering them or making it too sweet. The buttery and creamy taste of caramel blends pretty well in your desserts, coffees, teas or espresso-based drinks.

Monin has some great caramel flavoring syrups along with the unique sub-flavors of: Caramel, Organic Caramel, Salted Caramel, Sugar Free Caramel,

• Classic caramel flavoring syrup: Use this flavor for frappes, iced coffees, smoothies and even baking. It has hints of brown sugar.
• Sugar Free caramel flavoring syrup: A no calorie option perfect for those looking to keep the great taste, but without any calories.
• Salted caramel flavoring syrup: It combines the sweet smoothness of caramel and the bite of salt.
• Organic Caramel:  For the health conscious, looking for a drink made with Pure Cane Sugar.
• Caramel Sauce:  Perfect for drizzling on top of coffee drinks or even great as a dessert topping.

Hazelnut Flavoring Syrup

Hazelnut syrup enhances coffees, lattes, and cocktails without being too sweet. It has a rich taste and golden brown color which enhances the nutty profile of your drinks. Use hazelnut to instantly upgrade your coffees, mochas, shakes, and smoothies. Torani has an excellent premium hazelnut flavoring syrup.

• Signature Hazelnut flavoring syrup: If you are craving for a toasted and nutty flavor for your menu, this is the ideal syrup. Adding this to your drinks will enhance the delicate components of your coffee and espresso-based beverages. It can also be drizzled on cheesecakes and baked into pastries for irresistible results. Aside from Torani, there’s an indulgent 1883 Maison Routin Hazelnut Syrup.
• Torani Hazelnut Syrup has a sweet and smooth hazelnut taste.  It’s a delightful staple in coffeehouses across the world.   
• Classic Hazelnut has a tasty Frangelico liqueur flavor, but with no alcohol.   There’s also a Torani Sugar Free Classic Hazelnut.

Niche Flavoring Syrups

Caramel, vanilla, and hazelnut are the most demanded syrups, but this does not mean others are not worth trying. Below is a list of flavoring syrups whose taste cannot be missed out by you.

• Toffee syrup: If you’re craving a classic buttery flavor of toffee, give this flavor a try.  Available as Monin Toffee Syrup, Torani Toffee Syrup, and Davinci Gourmet Toffee Syrup.
• Raspberry syrups:  Popular in drinks, as something sweet to drizzle on desserts, and as a flavoring syrup for shaved snow ice.  These are one of our most popular sweet syrups. We prefer the Torani Raspberry, but also suggest the Monin Raspberry Syrup.
• Flavored Drink Mix Syrups: Enhance your favorite drinks with a variety of drink flavored syrups like mojito mix, raspberry, eggnog, and many more.
• Chocolate syrup: For that perfect chocolate flavor to your drink, try out flavors of white chocolate, mint chocolate, Swiss chocolate, and chocolate fudge.
• Butterscotch syrup: It enhances your drinks by adding a creamy and buttery flavor.
• Fruit syrup: With many fruity flavors available like raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, lime, and peach refresh yourself with great fruit syrups.
• Pumpkin Spice syrup: This high-demand syrup is perfect for a fall seasonal beverage.  The touch of pumpkin spice is a delight to customers and a seasonal favorite.