Insert overused simple syrup joke here.
It really is easy, though, to make your own flavored syrups for teas, coffee, cocktails, and mocktails. You’ll save a ton of money over store-bought ones, and you can’t help but feel a little fancy.
For a not-too-thin, not-too-thick syrup, use equal measures of water and sugar. I used turbinado in the one pictured, for the perty color and the rich flavor, but you can use a white sugar if you want a lighter flavor and color.
Bring the water to a boil, then stir in your sugar until completely dissolved—turn your heat down so you don’t boil off the water…unless you want a thicker syrup. Turn off the heat and add your flavors, leaving them in until the flavor has reached the desired strength.
For my latest, I added small chunks of ginger and lemon peel (perfect for autumn scratchy-throat tea). You can use herbs, berries, cinnamon…it’s your syrup. Don’t worry about what size chunks you’re throwing in; you’ll just run it through a strainer.
Once it’s cooled off enough that you’re not afraid of it, use a funnel and pour your new, classy syrup into a bottle. Store it in the fridge for a month or so.
Now go experiment!
