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Most of the coffee syrups sold by big chain cafes are either traditionally sweetened or artificially sweetened. However, the flavoured coffee they have "on tap" are completely unsweetened, which is what I seek. I've done some initial web scouting for syrups, but it's not always easy to ferrut out a complete ingredients list. Though I have come across lists such as "other ingredients" below the nutrition table. Not too sure how to interpret that, as I do not view the nutritional table as an ingredients list at all. Many syrups are general-purpose rather than being meant for coffee.

Rather than continue running down what seems like a high ratio of information dead ends, I'm hoping to leverage the awareness of those who already enjoy healthy coffee flavouring syrups that are completely unsweetened. Even slightly sweetened would be fine, as long as it doesn't consist of recently developed alternative sweeteners, even of the all-natural variety (I want to avoid accusations of slagging products by mentioning names). If you are able to divulge what your syrup is, I'd appreciate it. If you can provide the ingredients and/or nutritional info, either as text, photos, or URLs, so much the better.

From my attempts to inquire about suitable syrups in decades past, I suspect and hope that there are few candidate options that (i) are targeted to coffee; (ii) are completely (or almost completely) unsweetened; and (iii) have their ingredients (and maybe the nutrition) list available online. If so, then this question is not nearly as open-ended as it may seem at first glance.

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  • Is your intent to just flavor the coffee or sweeten it in addition? Happymug (no relation) sells natural coffee flavorings to either put in your grinder or mix with grounds, which seems like a good flavoring alternative to syrup.
    – Dando18
    Commented May 22, 2018 at 16:58
  • My intent is to be able to choke down instant coffee made at home. I keep such "coffee" at home because I don't spend enough time at home to keep beans there. So I'm hoping to find syrup to mix in with instant coffee. Something with ingredients and nutrition lists accessible online.
    – user2153235
    Commented May 23, 2018 at 1:15
  • I would also keep a bottle at work, which is remotely situated, and where the cafeteria provides unflavoured coffee. Finally, if I'm visiting a cafe late in the day, I may bring a bottle with me because I'd be asking for decaf, which is never flavoured.
    – user2153235
    Commented May 23, 2018 at 12:13
  • have you checked out minisyrup? I've never had it, but at first glance, it seems to meet (i) and (ii) in your requirements.
    – Dando18
    Commented May 29, 2018 at 16:51
  • My mouth is watering just looking at the flavour selection. The ingredients & nutrition list is in their FAQ. Would you please post your response as an answer? For kicks, I ended up researching what is meant by natural and artificial flavours.
    – user2153235
    Commented Jun 3, 2018 at 0:07

3 Answers 3

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The brand MiniSyrup seems to meet your requirements. From their website,

SUGAR/SWEETENER/CALORIE FREE. Unlike the big bottles of syrup that are crammed with sugar or artificial sweeteners like sucralose and aspartame, MiniSyrup Flavor Shots are the first completely unsweetened flavoring made to flavor your favorite beverages like brewed coffee, hot chocolate, lattes, fountain sodas, tea and more. This gives you complete control over not only the flavor in your beverage, but also your sweetness. [1]

They don't seem to have nutrition information on their website, but myfitnesspal lists the nutrition information for some of their flavors. I'm not sure of the validity, but as you mentioned in a comment you can reach out to MiniSyrup for more information.

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  • It seems that you posted your answer at the same time that I added a comment to the question about where the nutrition and ingredients can be found. For your consideration & possible addition to the answer. I didn't include the URL because I ended up going to their Canadian domain. But all readers need to do is search the FAQ. Thanks! Hopefully, won't be impacted too much by the current trade spat. Darn, I need more reputation points to upvote...
    – user2153235
    Commented Jun 3, 2018 at 0:09
  • I contacted Zavida, and found their response in my spam folder -- 1 month after they sent it. For individual use, Flavour Shots are the right product. It has zero calories, carbs, fat, sodium, and protein. Ingredients: Water, glycerine, natural and artificial flavours. I looked up glycerine, and was baffled by the fact that it has 35% more calories by volume than sugar, and is only 60% as sweet. For the same sweetness, therefore, it will have in the order of twice as many calories. Awaiting response on whether I properly understood the facts.
    – user2153235
    Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 1:41
  • It looks like they have decided not to respond to the contradiction between presence of glycerine as the leading ingredient versus the specification of "unsweetened" and zero calories.
    – user2153235
    Commented Jul 13, 2018 at 2:03
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Just recently, I discovered Weldon Flavorings, which is completely free of sweeteners of any kind (artificial or natural). Honestly, after so many years, I haven't found any alternatives. So far, I'm happy with the 4 flavours I'm trialling: Chocolate, Caramel Nut, Cinnamon, and Vanilla. I just Googled around and picked the 4 most popular ones for a 4-pack sampler suite.

When they say 8 drops per cup, though, they mean a formal measuring cup, which is much smaller than a typical cup of coffee. For my big mug, I double the dosage.

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This is a bit of info to answer the question about whether there are any unsweetened flavors available for coffee people. Have you ever seen all the unsweetened natural flavors from a little company in New England called "Flavor Essence" ??? We seem to be a secret source of flavorings for coffee lovers that are worth trying out.

I apologize for not explaining further to someone that might have questioned whether the question and answer could be some form of spam. (I am Mick at Flavor Essence, this is a little 8yr old biz up here in NH, and I work primarily alone, doing small-batches of natural and completely unsweetened flavors). There are 30 gourmet-quality concentrates in all and some are very geared for customizing your coffee. BUT you need to add your own preferred sweeteners to customize things to your own sense of good taste): Milk Chocolate, Rich Dark Chocolate, Caramel Creme Brulee, Butterscotch, French Vanilla Creme, Custard Creme, Maple, Cinnamon, Pistachio, Toasted Almonds & Cafe Latte. (We only offer some of these on Amazon, and find it more economical and versatile for everyone to pick 1zies and create their own custom 5-packs from our kitchen store. Yet a very large group of Amazon customers seem to have convinced themselves that we primarily bottle the similar or superior Blueberry of Dunkin Donuts --an unintentional but decent confusion).

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    Welcome to Coffee! Could you say a bit more about Flavor Essence? Your answer doesn't really go into why you think this fits the description in the question. What makes those flavorings so special compared to any other flavouring brand? I'm hoping that these questions help you find some ways to expand on your answer to make it more helpful to the asker of the question as well as other visitors. :)
    – JJJ ♦
    Commented Oct 12, 2022 at 9:10
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    To add some feedback to JJJ's comment, my reaction to the answer was that it looked like you work for Flavor Essence & this was a spam post. It promotes the brand with no information about what makes it a good solution to the question. Even if it's relevant and not spam, it could have been the first link that popped up in a Google search, so it doesn't contribute value. If you think it's worth trying out, please expand your answer to explain why. Even if you work for Flavor Essence, you can disclose your affiliation in the answer and explain what makes the products especially good vs. others.
    – fixer1234
    Commented Oct 12, 2022 at 17:57
  • Thanks for disclosing your affiliation. We do permit mentioning your own product (if clearly disclosed), as long as the post is an answer to the question and not primarily advertising. You may want to read How to not be a spammer, just for clarification.
    – Stephie ♦
    Commented Dec 3, 2022 at 7:00

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