Coffee Syrup Fans Rejoice!
If you grew up in Rhode Island you know that coffee syrup has been practically considered a food group here since the 1930’s and is as ubiquitous as milk. Mention the Eclipse brand (the production plant was in Warwick) to anyone from the area and they will know instantly what you are talking about. Unfortunately Eclipse was bought out by Autocrat in 1991 and the product has never been the same since.
But as Linda mentioned in the previous post, since living in East Greenwich, RI for the past month we have been rediscovering some of our lost past. When we were at Schartner’s Farms checking out those fabulous pies, we found a shelf full of something we had not seen before – Dave’s Coffee Syrup.
Whoa, cool! Unlike the current incarnation of the Eclipse brand, which is produced who knows where with a lot of “artificial” ingredients, Dave’s is a genuine gourmet variation made in Charlestown, RI. It comes in “Original” plus several flavor variations and is all natural. No high fructose corn syrup here! There is even a decaf version! Woohoo!
If you’re not from RI or the surrounding areas, you’re probably wondering what the heck do you do with Coffee Syrup? Well for the most part you mix it with milk which makes a delicious drink, great for dunkin’ cookies and such. Guess all us kids must have been wicked wired as we drank this stuff constantly – now that I think of it, this might explain a lot about the behavior of some of us New England types – ??? Coffee Syrup also makes a great topping for ice cream (especially coffee ice cream!). Dave’s website has a few more creative recipes as well.
Dave’s sells their product online and also has some distribution to specialty stores. Most of these retailers are in MA, RI & CT with a few in the New York City area. In RI, Dave’s Market (no affiliation) carries the original version and in the other northeast states, Whole Foods seems to stock it, among others. There is also one store that carries it in Chicago, another in North Carolina and a few more on the West coast.
After buying a bottle to try out, we’ve consumed more milk in a couple of days than we normally do in a month! Good stuff, brings back lots of memories!
Great find Rob & Linda! Will definitely check this out!
Saw an article sometime last year regarding this Dave’s syrup but never purchased it. After tasting the luscious apple pie from Schartner’s Farm, or was it blueberry? only joking, we will have to head in that direction for some holiday items.