15 Uncommon Syrup Flavors To Try In Your Next Coffee

Dear coffee fanatics: Are you looking to switch things up from your typical cup of joe? Sure, you know how you like your coffee, but you take it the same way every day. Maybe it's time to get a little creative. When you're struck with a hankering for the new and inventive, there's one surefire way to dress up your morning brew: with a homemade flavored coffee syrup. 

Coffee syrups are no new invention, and flavors like vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, and even lavender are flavor staples in the industry. But before you settle for a mainstream syrup, coffee can be way more exciting than we give it credit for. The caffeinated beverage also pairs remarkably well with berry and floral flavors, different spices, and even the odd candy-inspired syrup. Making syrups at home is also generally an easy process. Though I'd encourage you to look up recipes when making a new one, most will involve some type of simple syrup infusion process. I've been in the coffee industry for over a decade now and have tasted my fair share of unique lattes in my Portland, Oregon hometown. The following uncommon syrup flavors are all either personal recommendations or inspiration from flavors I've seen around town. 

Though black licorice is typically reserved for the candy aisle, it actually makes a great coffee syrup (when used correctly). The flavors of black licorice are sharp and aromatic, similar to fennel or anise. I'll admit to being skeptical about this when I first heard it included in a local coffee syrup. However, if there's anyone I'll trust with a weird coffee flavor, it's Portland's Never Coffee Lab.

Never (as it's affectionately called by locals) is populated by syrup wizards who have perfected making delicious, kooky concoctions for the shop's lattes. In particular, its Midnight Oil syrup includes three very similar flavors: star anise, fennel seed, and black licorice. I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it when I tried it. It clearly tastes like licorice, but because it's a syrup, it refrains from being bitter. It's aromatic, deep, and warm. You can buy the syrup online (in a four-pack with the shop's other signature oils), or you could try to make a dupe at home using either licorice powder or licorice tea. 

In case you missed it, rose water is a great way to brighten your iced drinks, and that applies to the coffee sphere as well. This isn't the least common coffee syrup flavor out there, and I wouldn't be surprised if you've had a rose water latte before. If you haven't, this is your sign — and no, you don't need dozens of rose bushes at your disposal to make the syrup. All you need is rose water and sugar. 

I'll once again mention Never Coffee, whose "Rich Kid" latte combines rose water with a couple of other ingredients (saffron and cardamom) to make an indulgent drink that's equally enjoyable hot or iced. If you're making a straight rose water syrup and not balancing it with any warm spices, I'd recommend using it in iced coffee drinks. Rose water has delicate, light flavors that likely won't reach their full potential in a hot latte, whereas a cold drink will help them shine. 

This, on the other hand, is a latte syrup flavor that may best be enjoyed hot. When you think of turmeric and ginger together, you probably think of cold winter months and keeping your immune system in working order. Sure, each spice can work wonders medicinally, but there's also the simple fact that they taste great, especially when paired together. The warmth of turmeric works to counterbalance the sharp potency of ginger, making for a healing latte no matter when you drink it. 

Here's my final Never Coffee shoutout: The shop has a "Holy Grail" syrup that combines turmeric and ginger with orange blossom water for some extra bright appeal. Feel free to add citrus to your own syrup if you'd like, or you can just keep it simple. Turmeric syrup isn't hard to come by (you may see it called "golden syrup," "golden milk syrup," or something similar), and you can easily mix it with a splash of ginger juice when crafting your latte. Of course, you can always make your own pretty easily with turmeric powder and ginger juice (or ginger root if you feel like putting some elbow grease into it).

Sure, you're familiar with the classic amaretto sour, but have you ever considered putting amaretto syrup in your coffee? Though you may not have had it before, amaretto syrup actually isn't hard to come by — in fact, if you don't want to make your own, you can grab a bottle from popular brands like Monin or Torani. Of course, if you want to bring a decaf coffee to cocktail hour, you might want a boozy amaretto syrup. 

Honestly, amaretto syrup is great to have on hand for coffees, cocktails, and even to soak the top of a hefty cake. To that end, go ahead and grab a bottle of the liqueur to make a syrup that you'll run through far faster than you thought possible. Making it is easy — just make a simple syrup (1:1 ratio of water and sugar, simmered on the stove until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens slightly) and add amaretto to it until it tastes how you want. For extra depth, you can add in some vanilla extract as well. 

Ah, pistachio. The creamy, buttery nut is a delicacy, especially if you can get your hands on the Sicilian pistachios that grow in Mount Etna's volcanic soil. I worked for a gelato company that would make pistachio gelato from these pistachios whenever they were affordable enough (as they can get quite pricey), and its bold flavor was absolutely heavenly. Even better? The pistachio affogatos I would indulge in too regularly. Exquisite.

However, don't worry about breaking the bank on expensive pistachios — you can still get a similar result using regular pistachios with your coffee-crafting endeavors. You could buy it, too, but honestly, I'd recommend making your own; the flavor difference will be striking. You can simmer whole pistachios with your 1:1 simple syrup mixture for an infusion. Alternatively, if you just want the nuttiness of pistachios without the sweetness of syrup, pistachio paste is a great pantry staple to have on hand for use in a variety of recipes (coffee included). 

Sure, you could just add cardamom to your morning coffee, or you could go the extra mile and make a cardamom syrup to flavor your drink. You might not be super familiar with the spice, but I think everyone should keep cardamom in their pantry — it makes for a delicious addition to aromatic sweets and a plethora of savory dishes. You'll find this ancient spice gets a lot of use in Middle Eastern cuisine, often to flavor rice and curry dishes. Unsurprisingly, this sweet-savory spice is excellent as a coffee syrup. 

If you can find cardamom pods, use those to make your syrup as opposed to ground cardamom — you'll get the greatest depth of flavor out of the pods. I recommend adding in some warm flavors to balance out the cardamom and keep your syrup from being too pungent. Include scant bits of cinnamon, vanilla, and even some citrus to create a balanced syrup that will still keep the cardamom flavors front and center. 

On a lighter note, like rose water, hibiscus makes for a great and somewhat unexpected addition to your coffee drinks. Hibiscus simple syrup is also ideal to have on hand when happy hour rolls around — you might find yourself using it twice a day. You can find hibiscus syrup on the marketplace easily enough; if you want to make your own, look for some loose-leaf hibiscus tea or whole-leaf hibiscus petals. 

Funnily enough, hibiscus and cardamom pair well together — try combining the two for a light, deep latte experience that's good hot or iced. If you're just going for a straight hibiscus syrup, I'd recommend using it primarily in iced drinks. Without another flavor helping to lift it up, it could get lost in coffee, unless you're using a particularly light and fruity roast. Load up on hibiscus flowers if you come across an edible flower selection, and add the petals as garnish to your finished product. 

There are a lot of incredible uses for brown butter, from making your chocolate chip cookies even more decadent to upgrading your cocktail hour. Have you ever considered using brown butter in your latte? Don't be intimidated by the thought — brown butter is incredibly easy to make on the stove and can add a rich, nutty depth to pretty much anything. Your brown butter syrup could just combine brown butter with simple syrup or, if you want to go the extra mile, combine the brown butter with maple syrup for a coffee syrup you'll reach for every cold morning. 

Perhaps best of all, you can use your brown butter syrup in iced or hot drinks. It will lend a certain creamy mouthfeel to hot coffees, and it can help accentuate the nutty caramel notes of a medium-dark roast iced coffee. Brown butter is one of those ingredients that you'll find yourself adding to everything once you've tried it. To that end, keep plenty of brown butter syrup on hand — you'll soon be drizzling it over pancakes, adding it to a whiskey sour, and even flavoring some tea with it. 

I know what you're thinking — jalapeños in coffee? Take it from a girl who's tried it. Jalapeño syrup works in coffee without making it spicy. However, I do recommend having another flavor in the mix to balance out the jalapeño. A berry syrup would be a good choice to help temper the pepper's potency, and you could add a touch of orange peel for some lift. Feel free to have fun and experiment when making this unusual coffee syrup. 

I think jalapeño flavors work best in iced coffee, but that could also just be a preference based on how I've had it before. A strawberry-jalapeño syrup would become a surprisingly bright summertime staple, while swapping the strawberries for a darker berry (such as blackberries) will give the syrup some more juicy depth. If you love mixing and matching flavors, though, keep a plain jalapeño syrup in your collection to use with other syrup flavors as you see fit. 

On that note, another great summertime flavor combo may even be growing in your own backyard: strawberry and basil. Maybe you typically turn yours into a summer berry Caprese creation (strawberry, basil, and Brie on crostini — try it, thank me later), but this is also an unexpected coffee syrup duo. Don't feel ashamed if you've never considered it before — it's not a common coffee flavor, but it's delightful. 

Make the syrup however you see fit — there's a plethora of recipes out there that will give you different consistencies, some as thin as a typical syrup, and some with more of a sauce-like viscosity. If you do make a thin syrup, plan on making a lot of it, because you're not going to stop at using it in your iced lattes. Strawberry basil syrup is also a great breakfast pastry topping and tastes marvelous in cocktails. When using it in coffee, I recommend picking a lighter roast with fruity, berry notes, so the flavor of the syrup doesn't get lost in a darker blend. 

That's right, your favorite sweet bread is now a stunning coffee syrup. You'll find yourself reaching for this one as soon as autumn weather hits, and you'll be drinking it well into the winter months, so you'll probably become familiar with the recipe pretty quickly. Making banana bread simple syrup is even easier than whipping up a loaf of its namesake. All you'll need is a ripe banana, nutmeg, and cinnamon, which you'll simmer on the stove with a 1:1 simple syrup mixture before cooling and straining through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve. 

Banana bread syrup is indulgent in hot lattes, and you won't have to worry about losing its flavors in your coffee. If you're trying to get through a bag of dark roast beans but they're too bitter for your liking, turn them into a banana bread latte for a warm, indulgent, and effortlessly palatable morning drink. You could use this to a similar effect in iced drinks, but as this is a flavor you'll probably crave in colder months, it might become a hot drink staple. 

Lavender lattes are common enough nowadays, though the floral flavor was once a unique contribution to the coffee scene. But you can get a lavender latte in seemingly any coffee shop today, so it's time to mix things up a bit with a lavender peppercorn syrup. Don't balk at the idea — sometimes opposites attract, and that's certainly the case with light, floral lavender and dark, spicy black peppercorn. 

In fact, this concoction is lauded by renowned 2022 U.S. Barista Champion Morgan Eckroth — if we can't trust their word in the coffee sphere, I don't know who we can trust. Eckroth's take on a lavender peppercorn latte, as with all their creations, goes over the top and spritzes lavender essence over the top with an atomizer. Don't feel like you need to get that fancy. Simply use fresh lavender and peppercorns to make a simple syrup — lightly toast whole peppercorns before grinding them and simmering on the stove with lavender and a 1:2 water and sugar mixture. Let the concoction cool and then strain it, and voila! 

There's one more bake-inspired coffee syrup flavor on this list, and it's carrot cake. After all, what's better than cake for breakfast? There's no shortage of ways to make carrot cake syrup, and you can include as many or as few flavors from the cake as you'd like. You don't even need to shred carrots for it — you could simply use carrot juice as a replacement for water when making the simple syrup. Add to that some brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, vanilla, and even a dash of nutmeg, and you're off to the races. The result is a fragrant, luxurious syrup that you won't tire of anytime soon.

If you want to go all-out with your carrot cake latte, you're probably tempted to include a "frosting" element, which can be easily accomplished with a cold foam. Morgan Eckroth advocates for a cream cheese cold foam, but don't feel like you need to get that fancy with it — you can always whip up a plain old cold foam to a similar effect. Regardless, you can enjoy the syrup in iced or hot drinks whenever you want a little dessert first thing in the morning. 

If you're not familiar with the flavor of elderflower, I strongly recommend you try it at least once. Pick up an elderflower kombucha or other elderflower-flavored drink before going to the effort of making your own syrup — the flavor can be somewhat polarizing, and it took me a couple tries to grow accustomed to it. It's bright, floral, and uniquely perfumed. I love it, but I recognize that it's not for everyone.

If you, like me, are obsessed with elderflower, it probably won't come as a surprise to see it make this list of unexpected coffee syrup flavors. However, it's hard to use elderflower on its own with coffee. Its delicate flavors can easily get lost unless you're using it in a light roast, smaller latte. Making a blackberry elderflower syrup, on the other hand, will allow the elderflower to come through without being too potent. The dark juiciness of blackberries gives elderflower a bit of a boost — it won't be the only thing you taste, but it will act as a fragrant punctuation to every sip. 

Perhaps you already keep black sesame seed paste in your pantry, and you're no stranger to the deep, nutty flavors the seed can bring to any cuisine. The same gelato company I mentioned earlier makes a black sesame gelato flavor, and it's to die for. The flavor is very similar to peanut butter, but it's darker and richer, while still retaining that creamy, indulgent mouthfeel characteristic of peanut butter. 

You'll find a plethora of black sesame syrup recipes peppering the web, and each is a little different, making this syrup more accessible to prepare than you may have thought. You can use pretty much any different form of black sesame to make the syrup, including powder, paste, or just whole sesame seeds. Powder is the easiest to incorporate into simple syrup, while whole seeds will be the most work, as you'll have to grind them up into a powder or paste. It's well worth the effort, though, for the nutty appeal this will bring to any coffee drink.