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When I go to coffee shops, they flavour the drinks using these syrups eg: Choclate, hazlenut and so on. I found the same syrups and started using them to try and flavour my drinks in home cooking, but for some reason, the syrups never seem to dissolve.

What could I be doing wrong?

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    If you’re having trouble mixing it in, try adding a little liquid plus the syrup, stir that well, then add about half the total liquid, stir again, then the rest of the liquid and stir. You can stir more vigorously as you have room in the cup to stir , but with less liquid you’re not chasing it around in the liquid. The same applies to dry sugar, powdered drink mixes, reconstituting frozen concenrates, and making lump-free gravy
    – Joe
    Apr 25 at 12:39
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    @Joe this should be an answer Apr 25 at 21:15
  • @TjadenHess : it’s something that works, but most coffee shops don’t do it, so I assume there’s some other technique that I don’t know about. (Maybe they just heat their syrups?)
    – Joe
    Apr 25 at 21:29
  • I considered adding @Joe's point in the general case (as opposed to iced espresso-based, where I did suggest it). Putting the syrup in a warm cup certainly helps.
    – Chris H
    Apr 26 at 8:49

1 Answer 1

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These sugar-heavy syrups sink because they're denser than the drink you're mixing them with (am effect that's used for visual effect in some cocktails). However they should mix fairly easily. With hot drinks, a warm cup and adding the syrup first then the hot coffee, milk, or whatever should get a normal quantity mixed in but a higher concentration might need a stir. That's how the coffee shops do it.

In iced coffee drinks, the syrup is often mixed with the hot espresso and stirred before the chilled ingredients are added. If there are no hot ingredients at all, you might find it easier to use a small whisk or a fork, rather than a spoon, to stir vigorously into some of the water before adding the rest and any ice. Or a cocktail shaker works well, even if there is ice.

Much of this is because syrups are runnier warmer, and almost stiff if they're cold enough.

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