chocolate agave syrup

I have a number of coffee-loving friends, some of whom do not use refined sugar. Last Christmas I came across this recipe for coffee syrups, but realized I would have to tweak it for my friends. Because agave can be used as a straight substitute for simple syrup, it was a pretty easy swap. The only problem was that in my first experiments, the agave flavor was stronger than anything I was adding. I finally gave up and decided that they would all have to have chocolate in their coffee. As it turns out, this syrup also makes a fair cup of hot chocolate and tastes pretty good over ice cream. It didn't occur to me until I was finished, but this is just chocolate syrup! It's not particular to coffee.


I bought bottles from here for $5/case. Even with shipping, I seem to remember that it came in well under $2/bottle. The ingredients for the syrup itself (shown for a single 8 oz bottle) are:

• 1 Tbs. cocoa powder (the very same from yesterday's popcorn)
• 1 cup agave
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch salt

Pour the cocoa powder in a small saucepan and add about 1/4 cup very hot water, stirring to dissolve completely.

Add the agave, and just bring to a very gentle boil, stirring to blend. The mixture will be light at first, then marbled, and finally it will mix into a beautiful dark chocolate color.

Remove from heat, add vanilla and salt and let cool completely before bottling.

You can multiply the quantities to make a batch for gifts. Although these were Christmas gifts, I think the red ribbon and the heart on the label also make them perfect for Valentine's Day. The only change I would make would be to write the label without the word 'coffee,' and with a list of ways the syrup can be used.