It’s super easy to make this incredibly popular syrup from Starbucks with 2 ingredients in less than 5 minutes! Add it to your iced coffee or any other cold (or hot) drink that you want to sweeten at home.

Starbucks Classic Syrup
- At Starbucks, there are 2 simple syrups (liquid sweeteners). One is called classic syrup and the other is called cane sugar. They’re both unflavored and they’re used to sweeten hot and cold drinks.
- Classic syrup is made with white, granulated sugar and it’s clear, without any color. Cane sugar is made with a combination of turbinado sugar (raw, brown sugar) and cane sugar.
- Simple syrup is made by dissolving sugar in water. It’s usually equal parts sugar and water but Starbucks makes theirs sweeter by using more sugar.
- Classic syrup is in Iced Coffee, Iced Shaken Espresso, Matcha Frappuccino, and Strawberry Frappuccino.
RELATED: Simple Homemade Brown Sugar Syrup
Recipe Highlights
- With just two ingredients (sugar and water), classic Syrup is so easy to make at home in less than 5 minutes.
- Simple syrup is usually equal parts sugar and water, but since classic syrup is sweeter, this copycat recipe is made using 1.5 part sugar and 1 part water.
- Liquid sweeteners like classic syrup are the best way to add sugar to cold drinks since it’ll mix well into a beverage. Regular sugar just sinks to the bottom of the cup even after a few stirs.
- This recipe makes 1 cup of homemade classic syrup, which can be used to sweeten about 8 drinks if you add 2 tablespoons in each drink.
RELATED: 12 Simple Syrups Recipes
Ingredient Notes

- Sugar
White, granulated sugar is used to make classic syrup. You can also use cane sugar. - Water
Use filtered water, if possible, for a better quality syrup.
Step-by-Step Instructions

For full ingredients and instructions, scroll down to the recipe.
- Put sugar and water in a saucepan and simmer.
Simmer on low heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Take off heat and cool. - Pour syrup into an airtight container.
Photo Credit: amazon.com
Classic Syrup Uses
- Stir classic syrup to sweeten cold coffee drinks like Iced Americano.
- Sweeten an Iced Black Tea or Iced Matcha Latte with classic syrup.
- Whisk half & half with some simple syrup to make delicious cold foam for drinks.
- Make quick lemonade by shaking lemon juice, classic syrup, and water in a cocktail shaker.
Expert Tips
- This recipe makes a cup (16 tablespoons) of classic syrup. Use 1-2 tablespoons of syrup to sweeten a drink.
- Cane sugar can be used instead of white, granulated sugar if you want to use a less processed sugar.
- The syrup is good for 3 weeks when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- It’s not necessary to boil the water. You can even stir sugar in hot water until the sugar dissolves.
- Always use a simple syrup like classic syrup to sweeten iced drinks since it’ll stir best into a cold drink.
Questions You May Have
If classic syrup is being added to a drink, 3 pumps goes in a tall, 4 pumps in a grande, and 5 or 6 pumps in a venti.
Yes, but only if they have extras in stock to sell. Ask at the register if they have a classic syrup you can buy. If they do, it’ll cost around $14. It’s much less expensive to make the copycat version at home.
Yup, classic syrup works really well in cold drinks since it mixes better than regular sugar, which will just sink to the bottom of the cup. You can use classic syrup in hot or cold drinks when you want to sweeten a drink without adding any flavors or color.

Related
- Easy French Vanilla Creamer
- Best Starbucks Syrups
- Chocolate Syrup
- Simple Homemade Vanilla Syrup
- Rose Syrup
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Starbucks Classic Syrup Copycat
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
- Put sugar and water in a saucepan and simmer. Simmer on low heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Take off heat and cool.
- Pour syrup into an airtight container.The syrup will keep for 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
EQUIPMENT
NOTES
- This recipe makes a cup (16 tablespoons) of classic syrup. Use 1-2 tablespoons of syrup to sweeten a drink.
- Cane sugar can be used instead of white, granulated sugar if you want to use a less processed sugar.
- It’s not necessary to boil the water. You can even stir sugar in hot water until the sugar dissolves.
- The syrup is good for 3 weeks when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Always use a simple syrup like classic syrup to sweeten iced drinks since it’ll stir best into a cold drink.
- Stir classic syrup to sweeten cold coffee and iced tea drinks.
- Whisk half & half with some simple syrup to make delicious cold foam for drinks.
- Make quick lemonade by shaking lemon juice, classic syrup, and water in a cocktail shaker.