The best coffee syrups for most people are Monin and Torani, the two brands most cafés use. Monin is the pick for natural-tasting, less sugary flavors; Torani has the widest range and the classic sweet café taste. For sugar-free syrups, Jordan’s Skinny Syrups and the sugar-free lines from Torani and Monin are the most popular. For mochas and caramel drinks, use a thick sauce like Ghirardelli rather than a thin syrup. The most popular flavors are vanilla, caramel and hazelnut, and a 12 oz latte needs only about ½ to ¾ oz of syrup.
| Brand | Best for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Monin | Best overall | Natural-tasting flavors, balanced sweetness, huge range |
| Torani | Best for classic café flavors | The flavored-latte original; wide range, easy to find |
| DaVinci Gourmet | Best café-style value | A barista standard, often sold in big bottles |
| Jordan’s Skinny Syrups | Best sugar-free | Zero sugar and zero calories, lots of fun flavors |
| Ghirardelli sauces | Best for mochas and caramel drinks | Thick, rich chocolate and caramel sauces |
| Homemade syrup | Best simple and cheap | Sugar, water and a flavoring; ready in 10 minutes |
The Best Coffee Syrup Brands
1. Monin: Best Overall
Founded by Georges Monin in Bourges, France, in 1912, Monin is the syrup many specialty cafés and bartenders reach for. Its flavors taste closer to the real ingredient and a little less sugary than most rivals, so the coffee still comes through. The range runs to well over a hundred flavors, from vanilla, caramel and hazelnut to lavender, gingerbread and seasonal specials, plus sugar-free versions of the basics. It costs a bit more than supermarket brands.
2. Torani: Best for ClassicCafé Flavors
Torani was started in San Francisco in 1925 by Rinaldo and Ezilda Torre, Italian immigrants who made syrups for Italian sodas. The company is widely credited with creating the first flavored latte, in 1982. Torani’s syrups are sweeter and bolder than Monin’s, with a very wide range that includes dessert flavors and a large sugar-free line. It is easy to find in supermarkets and is a good, affordable starting point.
3. DaVinci Gourmet: Best Café-Style Value
DaVinci Gourmet was launched in Seattle in 1989, during the city’s espresso boom, and became a staple behind coffee-shop counters. It offers a broad range of classic syrups and sugar-free options, often in larger bottles that work out cheaper per drink. The flavors are straightforward and sweet, which suits lattes and iced drinks.
4. Jordan’s Skinny Syrups: Best Sugar-Free
Jordan’s Skinny Syrups are sugar-free and calorie-free, sweetened with sucralose, and come in a long list of flavors, from vanilla and salted caramel to cookies and seasonal blends. They are popular with people cutting sugar or following keto. Like all sugar-free syrups, they add sweetness and flavor but not the body of a sugar syrup, and some people notice an aftertaste.
5. Ghirardelli Sauces: Best for Mochas and Caramel Drinks
Ghirardelli, the San Francisco chocolate maker founded by Domingo Ghirardelli in 1852, makes thick chocolate, white chocolate and caramel sauces for cafés and home use. A sauce is the right choice for a mocha or caramel latte: it gives a richer, deeper flavor than a thin chocolate syrup. Stir it into the hot espresso before adding milk so it dissolves.
6. Homemade Syrup: Best Simple and Cheap
Coffee syrup is just sugar dissolved in water with flavoring, so it is easy to make at home for a fraction of the price, with no preservatives. Vanilla, brown sugar cinnamon and honey syrups are the easiest to start with. See the recipe below.
The Most Popular Coffee Syrup Flavors
- Vanilla: the best-selling flavor and the easiest to pair with anything. The base of a vanilla latte.
- Caramel: rich and buttery; use syrup in the drink and sauce on top for a caramel macchiato-style drink.
- Hazelnut: nutty and toasty, especially good with medium roasts.
- Mocha (chocolate): best as a sauce rather than a syrup.
- Brown sugar and cinnamon: warm and cozy, great in iced shaken espresso. A pinch of real cinnamon works too.
- Seasonal: pumpkin spice in the fall, peppermint and gingerbread in winter. Try our pumpkin spice latte recipe.
How Much Syrup to Put in Coffee
| Drink size | Syrup | Café pumps |
|---|---|---|
| 8 oz | About ½ oz (1 tbsp, 15 ml) | About 2 |
| 12 oz | About ½ to ¾ oz (1 to 1½ tbsp) | About 2 to 3 |
| 16 oz | About ¾ to 1 oz (1½ to 2 tbsp) | About 3 to 4 |
| 20 oz | About 1 to 1¼ oz (2 to 2½ tbsp) | About 4 to 5 |
A standard syrup bottle pump gives roughly ¼ oz (7 to 8 ml). Start low and add more to taste; sugar-free syrups are usually used in the same amounts.
Add syrup to the cup first, then the hot espresso or coffee, and stir before adding milk so it mixes evenly. In iced drinks, syrup blends far better than granulated sugar, which does not dissolve in cold coffee.
Syrup vs Sauce vs Creamer
- Syrup is thin, sugar and water with flavoring. It mixes easily into hot and iced drinks.
- Sauce is thick, usually chocolate, white chocolate or caramel, made with ingredients like cocoa, cream or butter. It gives a richer drink but needs hot liquid to dissolve.
- Flavored creamer combines dairy or a dairy substitute with sweetener and flavor in one product. See our guide to coffee creamer.
Homemade Vanilla Syrup and a Vanilla Latte
Vanilla coffee syrup (about 1½ cups)
10 minutes, plus cooling. Keeps about 2 to 3 weeks in the fridge.
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract, or 1 split vanilla bean
- A tiny pinch of salt, optional
- Dissolve the sugar. Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup just simmers. Add the split vanilla bean now if using one.
- Simmer briefly. Let it bubble gently for 2 to 3 minutes, then take it off the heat.
- Flavor and cool. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt, cool, and pour into a clean bottle. Refrigerate.
- Make a vanilla latte. Add 1 to 1½ tbsp syrup to a cup, pull a double espresso over it, stir, then top with 6 to 8 oz of steamed milk.
Variations: use brown sugar and a cinnamon stick for brown sugar cinnamon syrup, or swap half the sugar for honey for a honey syrup. For the milk, see our guide on how to froth milk, and our guide to the best milks for coffee. No espresso machine? Strong coffee from a moka pot works well, and our guide to espresso explains the basics.
Former roastery owner and coffee tour operator. Steve spent five years roasting coffee for his own shop and wholesale customers. More about Steve