{"id":1796,"date":"2026-11-04T00:58:37","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T00:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/?p=1796"},"modified":"2026-11-04T00:58:37","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T00:58:37","slug":"the-rise-of-the-house-made-syrup-and-the-death-of-the-coffee-purist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/?p=1796","title":{"rendered":"The Rise of the House-Made Syrup and the Death of the Coffee Purist"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a viral TikTok video that has drawn over 82,000 likes, the creator behind the camera zooms in on the shelves of a Pennsylvania coffee shop, capturing three rows stacked high with an array of Torani syrups in familiar flavors like blueberry, brown-sugar cinnamon, English toffee, and salted caramel. \u201cI just know my latte isn\u2019t going to be good,\u201d the caption reads. Across social media platforms, similar sentiments are echoed by thousands of users. \u201cIf I see these at a cafe, I\u2019m walking out immediately,\u201d declares one widely shared tweet, which has been co-signed by numerous commenters. In a multipart video series, another content creator meticulously documents her journey of replacing all of her store-bought Torani syrups with alternatives sourced exclusively from small businesses. Meanwhile, the niche food newsletter Unsnackable<\/em> published what was vividly described as a \u201cTorani tirade.\u201d<\/p>\n

This backlash is not isolated to a single brand, though Torani tends to bear the brunt of the criticism on social media simply by virtue of its massive market dominance. While some consumers express a preference for competitor Monin, that brand also faces online backlash, frequently drawing complaints over allegations of tasting \u201clike chemicals.\u201d For a growing segment of specialty beverage drinkers, the core issue is premade, mass-market syrups across the board. <\/p>\n

For these consumers, these commercial products have transformed into a definitive coffee shop red flag\u2014an unmistakable sign that a so-called \u201cspecialty\u201d establishment charging upwards of $8 plus tip for a latte is unfairly cutting corners when it comes to quality, craft, and authenticity. To this audience, mass-market syrups symbolize coffee chains and faceless corporations, representing the exact type of impersonal institutions many patrons are actively trying to escape when they choose to support a small, independent business. Conversely, for independently owned coffee shops across the country, this cultural shift has turned house-made syrups into a major business opportunity.<\/p>\n

When Carrie and Dennis Medina first envisioned their coffee shop, Room Service, located in Ventura, California, they anticipated an approach deeply rooted in the traditional third-wave coffee movement. They drew inspiration from places like Sightglass Coffee, where they both began their careers. \u201cVery purist, with no syrups, no specialty drinks,\u201d Dennis recalls. The couple initially imagined offering an array of pour-over coffees with a heavy emphasis on single-origin beans, a natural extension of their work running their own roastery. \u201cWe said we\u2019re never gonna do cream tops; we\u2019re never gonna do these crazy drinks,\u201d Carrie says. Yet, within their very first week of business, every single customer walked through the door asking for precisely those items.<\/p>\n

Today, Room Service offers between 10 and 12 different syrups at any given time, alongside six different cream tops, all of them meticulously crafted in-house. The menu features inventive items like a cinnamon roll latte topped with an actual baked cinnamon roll, and a honey cornbread latte finished with an ube cream top. \u201cI hear that question all the time,\u201d Dennis says. \u201cHey, do you guys make your syrups in-house?\u201d In his view, a contemporary shop that fails to make even the basic offerings, such as vanilla, from scratch is \u201cfalling behind what the times are pushing for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"How<\/figure>\n

The consumer demand for intricate syrups and artisanal embellishments has grown so intense that the Medinas have hired a full-time prep person dedicated exclusively to producing \u201call these things that we do in-house that make us special,\u201d as Carrie describes it. Room Service\u2019s pumpkin spice latte, for instance, departs entirely from the commercial mold by starting with raw kabocha squash. The squash is roasted, blended with traditional spices like cloves and cinnamon, and then cooked down into a syrup\u2014a labor-intensive process that spans two days. <\/p>\n

Echoing a sentiment shared by many coffee shop owners navigating this cultural shift, Carrie describes their current operational approach as \u201cnot necessarily the coffee shop we wanted, but it\u2019s more like the coffee shop we have to be.\u201d Recognizing that the market demands elaborate syrups and cream tops, the Medinas ultimately decided to ensure that the same intentionality and devotion to quality they apply to sourcing coffee beans would carry over to their from-scratch flavorings.<\/p>\n

Similarly, in 2025, Michael Smith opened Trust Coffee Co. in Bay Village, Ohio, after taking over, remodeling, and rebranding an established neighborhood coffee shop. Like the Medinas, Smith initially envisioned a more purist, pour-over-focused third-wave establishment. However, his background as a seasoned business owner who also operates a restaurant and catering enterprise guided his perspective. \u201cI\u2019ve realized over the years that your customers tell you more about who you are than who you actually think you are,\u201d Smith says. His clientele made it clear that they wanted seasonal syrups featuring niche, sophisticated flavors like maple rosemary, caramelized banana, and strawberry rhubarb.<\/p>\n

The industry has firmly entered the era of what the New York Times<\/em> has dubbed \u201chyperflavor\u201d\u2014a cultural phenomenon where familiar foods and beverages are made newly interesting through the addition of complex, unexpected flavor profiles. The concept of incorporating miso into a peanut butter or chocolate chip cookie, once cutting-edge, has become thoroughly mainstream. Naturally, coffee drinks have rapidly followed the same trajectory. Where a studied self-seriousness once governed the specialty coffee world, largely reserved for pour-over coffee meant to be consumed black, the tide has turned. That same precision and culinary craft are now being directed toward the previously derided, sometimes dismissed category of the sweet-treat coffee beverage. <\/p>\n

Today, how specialty shops approach these creations feels less like traditional brewing and more akin to how a pastry chef might construct an elaborate dessert or how a bartender might balance a complex cocktail. The coffee purist is no longer the industry\u2019s north star; the maximalist has firmly taken its place.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/figure>\n

While commercial syrups like Monin, which the previous iteration of Smith\u2019s shop utilized, \u201cserve a purpose in the industry,\u201d Smith wanted absolute control over his menu. To achieve this, two full-time pastry chefs from his other culinary ventures now oversee the production of the shop\u2019s syrups. \u201cIt\u2019s become such a huge thing,\u201d he notes, explaining that every time Trust\u2019s social media manager announces a new syrup flavor on social media, the resulting queue stretches out the door for a full week. \u201cIt sets us apart,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

When Sabrina Kaylor opened the first location of Bizarre Coffee in Canton, Georgia, in 2020, the business relied entirely on bottled syrups. Having no prior professional coffee background, she felt that utilizing premade products was simply the industry standard at the time. \u201cIt allowed us to hone our craft and learn what we were doing,\u201d she explains. Over time, however, Kaylor\u2014who maintains an active presence on her company’s official social media platforms\u2014observed a distinct shift in consumer conversation. In the immediate post-COVID years, people began cooking and baking more at home, leading to a renewed cultural pride and appreciation for scratch-made goods. As her business gained renown for lattes featuring flavors like blueberry, banana, and guava, Kaylor decided to transition toward more house-made syrups. While early customers rarely inquired about ingredient sourcing, patrons now ask about it constantly.<\/p>\n

Despite the widespread industry valorization of the entirely from-scratch approach, Kaylor retains a degree of skepticism regarding the current wave of online backlash directed at brands like Torani and Monin. At Bizarre Coffee, 90 percent of beverages now utilize house-made syrups, yet one of the shop\u2019s best-selling drinks still relies on bottled ingredients. Because the menu is extensive, attempting to produce every single component in-house demands a massive investment in labor. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of [the house-made syrup conversation] is marketing, quite honestly,\u201d Kaylor says. Regarding the bandwagon effect behind anti-Torani memes, she notes, \u201cI think it\u2019s part of consumer behavior,\u201d acknowledging that online mockery can often feel discouraging for independent small business owners.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the debate between premade and house-made syrups boils down to the ongoing tension between independent establishments and large corporations. For many consumers, the economic and social conditions of recent years have fostered a deep-seated skepticism toward corporate influence and the growing footprint of private equity within the broader food and beverage landscape.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/figure>\n

This environment has created room for peer-to-peer collaboration among independent operators. For instance, the Minnesota coffee shop Little Joy gained widespread social media fame by publishing detailed DIY videos of its signature drink recipes. The business has since launched a membership program enabling other independent coffee shop owners to purchase its proprietary recipes scaled for commercial use, access training videos, and sell the drinks without needing to attribute them to Little Joy\u2014though participating shops can pin their use of the recipes to an online Drink Finder map.<\/p>\n

While these offerings are essentially recipes for syrups and foams, Little Joy owner Cody Larson described the initiative in an interview with Eater\u2019s industry newsletter Pre Shift<\/em> as a strategic way to build solidarity among independent businesses. \u201cThe big coffee chains, they\u2019re never gonna do house-made syrups, so I think that\u2019s where independent shops can get a leg up,\u201d he said. \u201cUltimately, the chains are our competition… If independent shops can, in any way possible, raise the bar across the board, that\u2019s good for all independent shops, including us.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is difficult to examine the beverages emerging from contemporary specialty coffee shops\u2014fluffy with cold foam and flavored to emulate nuanced desserts like princess cake and tiramisu\u2014without recognizing the legacy of the Starbucks Frappuccino. The powerful combination of mobile app ordering and social media \u201csecret menu\u201d culture has mainstreamed elaborate beverage requests. This shift has allowed major chains to position themselves as purveyors of highly customizable concoctions, effectively paving the way for the hyperflavor mindset now sweeping the industry.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on why consumers have moved away from the single-origin pour-over focus, Smith offers his perspective: \u201cMy guess is that these are a lot of people who used to be Starbucks loyalists and they\u2019re looking for something that\u2019s more local. It\u2019s a trend across everything where people want local, and we\u2019re able to provide what Starbucks did, but in a more high-quality, more local way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Intentionality has become the primary quality consumers gravitate toward, particularly as economic pressures drive up the cost of dining out. If consumers are willing to spend significant amounts on a beverage that is undeniably a luxury, they want reassurance that every element of that drink has been crafted with care. When they make the trip to an independent shop, they are looking for offerings they cannot find anywhere else, distinct from the mass-produced flavorings found in corporate chains. For small coffee shops navigating a competitive landscape, the key to standing out may ultimately come down to the syrup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a viral TikTok video that has drawn over 82,000 likes, the creator behind the camera zooms in on the shelves of a Pennsylvania coffee shop, capturing three rows stacked high with an array of Torani syrups in familiar flavors like blueberry, brown-sugar cinnamon, English toffee, and salted caramel. \u201cI just know my latte isn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":1795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[734],"tags":[2493,736,2827,735,1508,737,1108,2828,2825,738,2826],"class_list":["post-1796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-tourism-culinary-travel","tag-coffee","tag-culinary-tourism","tag-death","tag-food-travel","tag-house","tag-local-food","tag-made","tag-purist","tag-rise","tag-street-food","tag-syrup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetripbook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}