Earl Grey Caramel Vegan Coffee Syrup
If you’re looking to add a splash of joy to your morning routine, try turning your regular cup of joe gourmet with some homemade vegan coffee syrup! This sweetener works well in hot or cold coffees and can be made super inexpensively with just two ingredients. Caramel and earl grey tea work really well together, and while coffee and tea might not be the most intuitive flavor, I can assure you this syrup really is delicious in coffee. But if coffee isn’t your thing, we have some other great ideas for this vegan caramel earl grey syrup- read on!
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Let’s Drink Fancy Coffee!
Most of the time, I drink my coffee black. I fill up a thermos, and slowly drink my way through it all day- I know a lot of people find it weird, but I don’t have a problem with room temperature coffee. But if I have to get up really early or need a little motivation to get writing in the afternoon, a fancier coffee can really help. For a few months we were walking our dog at 5:30 in the morning, and I have never drank more lattes in my life. It was basically the only thing that got me out the door. Thank goodness we’re done with that, so now my fancy coffee drinking is more of an afternoon affair and I can make it at home. Which, given the cost of everything these days, is a relief. I don’t have any fancy equipment, so my drinks probably don’t hold up to any sort of coffee snob. But this is what I do- fill a cup half way up with coffee- warm or cool, depending on if I’m going for hot or iced. Add a little sweetener to that and stir- in this case, our earl grey caramel syrup, but maple syrup is also excellent. Put in a little ice too, if you’re going in a cold direction. Add about half a cup of oat or soy milk to a fairly large jar, and microwave it for about 30 seconds until its warm. Add a secure lid to the jar, and shake really well, until frothy bubbles start forming. Pour the “frothed” milk on your coffee, and enjoy!
How to use Coffee Syrup, not in Coffee
I know not everyone’s a coffee drinker, so here are some other creative uses for this syrup.
- Put it in tea: I imagine an earl grey caramel syrup would be good in earl grey tea, no?
- Top Pancakes: this syrup is a little thinner than maple syrup, but would still be excellent on pancakes! If your primary use is going to be as a pancake syrup, try adding a little less tea for a thicker syrup. Try it on our homemade oat pancakes!
- Throw it on Ice Cream. Got vanilla? Add a little bit of this, and you have a delightful vanilla earl grey caramel.
- Make an Instant Glaze. If you’re making donuts, cake, scones, or anything else that could use a good glaze, mix some syrup with powdered sugar for an instant, tasty, topping. Give it a shot on these lemon scones!
- Gourmet Soda. Add some syrup to soda water, or use a soda machine if you’ve got one for a new flavor of pop!
- Try a New Frozen Treat. Throw some in a snow cone, or add to a fruit and fruit juice for a popsicle. Doesn’t a peach earl grey caramel popsicle sound amazing?
- Mix in your Morning Smoothie: It would shine with banana and a little almond butter!
- Try in a Cocktail (or mocktail): I admit, I’m not much of a cocktail person so I don’t have any great ideas here. If you make a good one, please leave it in the comments so I can try it out!
- Bake! Switch it out for maple syrup, agave, or honey in baked goods. Give it a shot in these rye muffins!
How to Make Vegan Coffee Syrup
Making your own coffee syrups is really easy- all you need is sugar, water, and anything you’re using for flavor. In this case, earl grey tea. We’re going to infuse our tea flavor in water, and let it steep. Since we want a caramel flavor in our syrup, we’re first going to caramelize our sugar. Melt all the sugar, and then bring it to a bubble. As the sugar cooks, it will turn golden and then brown. Remember that hot sugar is super, super hot- you don’t want to get a burn from it so be cautious. Having burnt myself on sugar before, I can say I really don’t recommend it. As the sugar heats, swish or stir the sugar around. You want to let the sugar cook until it turns an amber color, to get that wonderful caramel flavor. If you do burn your sugar, you’re going to want to start over. Now here comes the tricky bit- you have to add some of the warm tea to the screaming hot sugar. Start by just adding a little- it will steam, spit, and make a big ol’ fuss. Let it cool down, and add a little more. Once adding tea to the sugar becomes a little less dramatic, you can add the rest of the tea. Stir well, and after a minute or two the sugar should dissolve into the tea. It’s still going to be quiet hot, so let it cool down a little before transferring it to a container in the fridge. It should stay good in the fridge for months, so you can enjoy many sweet, afternoon coffees to come.
Earl Grey Caramel Vegan Coffee Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 earl grey tea bags
Instructions
- Boil water, and add ¾ of a cup of water to the two tea bags. Let steep while you complete the next step.
- Add the sugar to a saucepan, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Once the sugar is melted and bubbling, let it cook, stirring occasionally. When the sugar has reached an amber color, remove it from the heat. Remove the tea bags from the tea, and carefully pour a little bit of the tea into the hot sugar. It will steam and might splatter, so start slowly. Add the remaining tea, and stir. Once all the sugar is dissolved into the tea, you’re done. Let the syrup cool, and place it in a container in the fridge. Serve in hot or iced coffee, as desired.
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