Coffee Syrup (Rhode Island Style)

Before you start

Coffee syrup is a New England pantry staple, especially in Rhode Island, where coffee milk, cold milk stirred with sweet coffee syrup, is the official state drink. It works the way chocolate syrup does for chocolate milk, and it is equally at home poured over ice cream or into milkshakes.

The base is a deliberately strong brew. Coffee is steeped at about twice normal strength, strained, then simmered with sugar until it thickens slightly. Brewing strong rather than boiling the grounds avoids the burnt, ashy taste that long cooking can give. A medium roast keeps the syrup chocolatey and smooth; very dark roasts can turn bitter once reduced. Expect a pourable syrup, a little thinner than maple, that thickens further as it chills.

Ingredients

• 50 g (about ½ cup) medium-roast coffee — medium-coarse grind
• 500 ml (2 cups) water — just off the boil, about 94°C (200°F)
• 300 g (1½ cups) granulated sugar
• 1 pinch fine salt
• ½ tsp vanilla extract — optional

Method

1. Put the ground coffee in a French press and pour the hot water over it. Stir to wet all the grounds, cover, and steep for 4 minutes.
2. Press the plunger, then pour the coffee through a paper filter set in a strainer to catch the fine particles. You should have about 420 ml of strong coffee.
3. Combine the coffee, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
4. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the syrup reduces slightly and coats the back of a spoon in a thin glossy layer. Avoid a rolling boil, which scorches the edges.
5. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and cool for about 30 minutes. It will thicken as it cools.
6. Bottle, label and refrigerate. For coffee milk, stir 30 ml (2 tbsp) syrup into 240 ml (1 cup) very cold milk, adding more to taste.

Tips for success

• Use freshly ground beans. Stale coffee makes a flat, papery syrup that sugar cannot rescue.
• For a richer flavor, use half white sugar and half dark brown sugar.
• Make a coffee milkshake by blending 45 ml syrup with 2 scoops vanilla ice cream and 120 ml milk.

Substitutions

Hot-brewed coffee

Cold brew concentrate makes a smoother, less acidic syrup. Use 400 ml of concentrate in place of the brewed coffee.

Regular coffee

Decaf beans work well for a syrup that kids and evening drinkers can enjoy without much caffeine.

Granulated sugar

Demerara gives a caramel note. Sugar substitutes do not reduce or thicken the same way and the syrup will stay thin.

Troubleshooting

The syrup tastes burnt or bitter

It boiled hard or a very dark roast was used. Simmer gently and switch to a medium roast.

It is too thin after cooling

Return it to the pan and simmer 3 to 4 minutes more. Check thickness by chilling a spoonful in the freezer for a minute.

Sugar crystals form in the bottle

It was over-reduced. Warm it gently with 1 to 2 tbsp water until the crystals melt.

Storage

Refrigerate in a sealed bottle and use within about 3 weeks. Discard it if mold appears or it smells sour. Mixed coffee milk should be drunk right away or kept cold.

Safety notes

Coffee syrup contains caffeine; the amount in a glass of coffee milk depends on how much syrup you use. FDA cites 400 mg a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most healthy adults. Children and caffeine-sensitive people may prefer a decaf batch.