OMG. I'm scared about this post. Scared and excited. Okay… I'm jumping up and down from excitement… or from the sugar? who knows.
I did something… dare I say… daring?
Maybe you don't understand. Where I come from, in the smallest state with the longest name, this is a HUGE deal. tbh, I didn't even know it was a “Rhode Island thing” until college. It's such a big deal in my state that we even dedicated our “state drink” to the stuff.
Yeah, that's right. I'm talking about coffee syrup.
For a few years now, I've been thinking about doing it. going for it. because living so far from home has made me miss the stuff. miss lil' rhody. And so on a dreary day I marched my butt down to starbucks, bought a Venti Pike Place Roast, and let magic happen in my kitchen.
We've talked about my hatred for dairy. We've discussed how I loathe copious amounts of cheese. We've had lighthearted debates about how I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than eat a soup with cream in it. Oh, we haven't had that conversation? oh…. nevermind.
What we haven't talked about is how when I was a kid I would only drink milk if it was flavored. I said NAH to the chocolate and I'd maybe occasionally let the pink swirls of strawberry grace my plastic cup. I was holding out. Cause this gurrrl knew where it was at: coffee milk. aw yeah. or as my homies would say: cawfee milk. I'm a rhode islandah, stawp judging and I'll stawp talking in my accent.
The stuff is magical. As in, it will magically change your life. When I was little, like five years old, I used to want to be JUST like my grandpa. Which meant I wanted overalls, homemade peanut butter crackers, and coffee. but I was five. so instead of giving me liquid crack my grandma would mix a couple tablespoons of coffee syrup into my milk and call it coffee. I was none the wiser.
Now that I'm older, I fully understand the miracle benefits of drinking my caffeine. I don't really ever drink coffee milk anymore, I've got lattes. But since moving away, every once in a while I feel nostalgic and just want a glass of coffee milk.
SO. I made some syrup. It may not be autocrat or eclipse. But if you've left Rhode island maybe it'll satisfy your craving and bring you back to your childhood for a minute…. at least until you can make your way back to the glorious 401.
Coffee Syrup
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 25
Ingredients
- 2 cups strong brewed coffee
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the syrup
- Bring the coffee to a boil in a medium sauce pan over medium/high heat.
- Reduce heat to low/medium and stir in sugar and vanilla extract. Allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until syrup reaches desired consistency. I let mine boil down about a half a cup – leaving me with a cup and a half of syrup.
- Allow syrup to cool before using.
- Store in refrigerator for up to a week!
To make coffee milk
- Really, it's all about preference. My go-to ratio is about 3 & 1/2 tablespoons of syrup to 8 ounces of milk. Taste as you go and add more syrup as necessary! Clearly you can garnish with whipped cream (it's what the cool kids are doing).
Nutrition
- Calories: 785
- Sugar: 200
- Sodium: 12
- Fat: 0
- Saturated Fat: 0
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 200
- Protein: 1
- Cholesterol: 0
If you were smart you'd make yourself a cabinet [cawfee ice cream+ cawfee syrup + milk]. mmhmm. or you could just go get an awful awful. your choice.
Make it? Lemme see it! Hashtag it: #thepikeplacekitchen
