With the explosion in coffee house culture across the US, and technical developments in coffeemakers, a huge range of possibilities in different types of coffee has evolved. Whereas previously you could have chosen regular or decaf from basic coffee machines, you can now opt for a plethora of flavors and weird and wonderful names like frappaccino or mocha latte from your local coffee house. A large number of the varieties available are down to the use of flavored syrups, which are becoming popular worldwide.

So you just had a raspberry nutmeg latte? Now this might sound like a kind of dessert that would play havoc with your diet but don't panic, this is actually a relatively low fat way to enjoy these delicious flavors.

Syrups are available in a number of varieties from vanilla, toffee, gingerbread and hazelnut, to a number of fruity types. Although it may seem that these flavored syrups have only just arrived with the advent of coffee shop franchises such as Starbucks, they have actually been used in high end coffee establishments for years.

The best brands of syrup are made using high quality natural ingredients. They are made by taking the base ingredient, be it a spice, nut or fruit, and heating them vigorously with water and sugar to make a concentrated syrup. They do not contain any fat or cholesterol, other than that found naturally in the base ingredient, and so are not going to affect your diet. The sugar might not be so good for your teeth however, so if you become a flavored coffee addict you will want to clean them frequently. Check the bottle of syrup at your local coffee house to be sure that the flavor you choose uses only natural and high quality ingredients.

With the recent emphasis on low-carb and sugar free diets, suppliers have begun to introduce sugar free syrups to mix with your skinny latte. By using sugar free sweeteners, many of the old favorite flavors will still be available in sugar free, with no reduction in the taste. Vanilla, Irish cream, amaretto, chocolate and raspberry are available without the extra sugar. As well as a response to low sugar diets, these syrups are also a result of the increasing incidence of diabetes in our society caused by excess sugar intake.

So with the varieties available and the numerous sugar free options, you can have fun experimenting with a different coffee flavor for every day of the week.