Updated on December 10, 2022
One of the many ways to make a coffee-based beverage sweeter is to add syrup, which is also known as a method to “remove bitterness” in the beverage. This used to be a more typical practice in coffee shops, but in recent years, an increasing number of people have started brewing coffee at home. Because more people are buying and keeping syrup on hand at home thanks to this new habit of in-house brewing, a greater variety of coffee drinks are now possible. This raises the question of whether we should be worried about our syrup’s expiration date.
Coffee syrups have an expiration date that is printed on the package. You should avoid drinking the contents of a container of coffee syrup if you open it and keep it in your cabinet for more than six months. The shelf life will only last 4 or 5 months when using a pump or pour spot.
Coffee syrups, which have become common thanks to coffee companies like Starbucks, Tim Hortons, etc., help give your cup a little extra flair and sweetness. 80% of US coffee consumers, according to the National Coffee Association, alter their drinks in some way.
Do coffee syrups go bad?
Although theoretically still edible, coffee syrups eventually lose their flavor. If you’ve had a bottle of coffee syrup for more than a year, it’s probably time to start thinking about replacing it. Coffee syrups should be kept in a cool, dark area to extend their shelf life even if unopened coffee syrups have a longer shelf life than opened coffee syrups.
It’s preferable to use coffee syrup within six months of opening the bottle. The flavor will then start to diminish after that. Unopened syrup bottles have a shelf life of roughly two years.
How Long Does Coffee Syrup Last?
Coffee syrups typically have a two-year shelf life when kept in a cool, dark, and dry environment. A certain type of syrup won’t technically go bad over time, but as it gets older, the flavor tends to fade. If you first remove the mold, you can safely ingest moldy syrup. No matter if the bottle has been opened or not, this is true. Coffee syrup should only be used for 6 to 9 months after it has been opened, just to be safe.
Coffee syrup should keep for 30 to 60 days if kept dry and kept at a temperature of 65 to 80 F. (provided the product is not exposed to any moisture). After then, it steadily loses flavor and degrades over time. If coffee syrup is left out too long, it may even start to smell bad and grow mildew. These are some typical indications that it’s time to throw away your bottle and buy a new one.
Signs That Coffee Syrup Has Gone Bad
When monitoring coffee syrups, the two primary things you should look for are appearance and scent. Always pay attention to the color and scent of the coffee syrup you purchase.
The hue of a used container will be noticeably darker. This is a result of browning sugar, one of the primary components of coffee syrups. The syrup’s hue will be darker the darker the sugar. It’s likely that your coffee syrup will have a thicker texture if it has turned too dark.
The fragrance is another indicator of ruined coffee syrup. The aroma of each kind will differ depending on the flavor you select. However, as time goes on, the ingredients begin to react and release a foul scent, signaling that it should be thrown away.
The ingredients that go into making coffee syrup also have an impact on when it expires. For instance, coffee syrup created with dairy ingredients will spoil more quickly than syrup made only with water and sugar. Syrups are known to live longer when kept at lower ambient temperatures than when kept in a humid environment. Here is a list of more syrups and their expiration dates:
Slim-syrup: six months
Syrup Monin: 12 months
Syrup of Torani: 12 months
Syrup of DaVinci: 14 months
11 months for maple syrup