Elevate your beverage with your own cafe-level flavors. Think cinnamon infused cold brew, vanilla Earl Grey, or a homemade bottle of your favorite coffee shop syrup. Check out these basic recipes, then remix to your heart’s desire. 

If you love the benefits of making coffee or tea at home, but miss some of your favorite flavored coffee shop concoctions, never fear. We’ve got your guide to homemade deliciousness. 

Depending on whether you make your beverage hot or cold, you’ve got three basic options for flavoring: 

• Infusions can work in hot or cold brews—you’ll add flavor while you’re brewing

• Powdered add-ins work best in hot brews and store well without refrigeration

• Simple syrup (liquid sugar) means you don’t need to dissolve sugar in your cold brew or iced tea.

Method one: Infuse your flavor as you brew

This method couldn’t be easier. Choose a fresh herb, spice, or fruit rind, and add it as you brew. 

Choose a flavor and rough it up a little

To release the oils and deliciousness of your favorite fresh herb or spice, you’ll need to “bruise” it a bit. Depending on the ingredient, that may mean rolling it your hands, smashing it gently with a fork or even using a rolling pin to add a few breaks. 

Some suggestions

• Cinnamon sticks—lightly roll with a rolling pin

• Lemon rind—rub the rind between your fingers and thumb

• Ginger root—cut and bruise with a fork

• Vanilla bean—cut open and lightly smash

• Mint leaves—Leave on the stem and run between your hands  

Add before you start brewing

• For cold brew, add your bruised spice to your container, outside of your coffee sock. Add the coffee, pour the water, and steep as usual. Remove the spice at the end of the steep time for a gentle flavor. 

• For hot brew coffee or tea, likewise add the flavor to the bottom of the pot or cup. Then brew your tea or coffee as usual. Your hot beverage will pour right over your flavoring and brew together. When it’s all cool enough to drink, pull out the spice and compost.

Method two: Mix up a powdered add in—with or without sugar

Yes, you can buy powered add-ins—like these spice packs—but you can also DYI for greater control of what goes in. 

Choose one of our favorite blends below, and add one teaspoon per cup of coffee.

• Chai spice: Three parts ground cinnamon and cardamom to two parts ground ginger and one part ground clove and nutmeg. Add sugar or not—your call! It’s yum either way.

• Cocoa: Two parts cocoa to one part sugar. Try adding a pinch of cinnamon or cayenne for an extra kick.

Method three: Simple syrups

A simple syrup is just liquid sugar. They work great in mixed drinks because you don’t need to dissolve the sugar—you dissolve it ahead of time. Simple syrup is probably called “simple” for some scientific reason, but it’s also really simple to make. 

Just combine equal parts sugar and water and heat to dissolve. From there, you can add flavorings for vanilla syrup, mint syrup, lemony syrup, hazelnut… you get the picture. 

Basic simple syrup

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 cup of water

• Flavoring of your choice (optional)

Combine in a pot on a medium-high burner and bring to a low boil. Then reduce the heat and keep the mixture at a simmer until the sugar is dissolved and begins to reduce and get syrupy. This usually takes 8-10 minutes, but will vary depending on your stove. 

Remove from the heat and let sit until cool. If your flavoring has whole herbs or spices, remove them or strain them out and store your syrup in the fridge. 

Here are some favorites for inspiration:

• Mint syrup: To your basic simple syrup recipe, add ½ part of mint leaves. For example: 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar, plus ½ cup of mint leaves. Strain out the leaves when it’s cooled. 

• Cinnamon vanilla syrup: Add 3-4 cinnamon sticks to your syrup right after the sugar has dissolved. Simmer as usual. Remove from the heat and let sit for several hours to infuse the cinnamon. Remove the sticks and stir in a teaspoon of vanilla extract. 

• Citrus syrup: Zest, slice and juice enough lemons, limes or oranges to replace ½ (or more if you really want a zing) of the recipe water with the citrus juice. Make the syrup as usual, adding the zest after the sugar is dissolved.