Lavender and coffee, a match made in heaven! Luckily there are a multitude of ways to put them together so find one here and try it for yourself, I have a feeling you’ll like it too. A few things to keep in mind, lavender can be quite strong, and if you’re just beginning to explore the flavour and how it plays with others, it may be wise to with a little and build up until it has the taste you enjoy. The easiest way to be able to adjust the strength is with a simple lavender infusion or syrup- add a bit, taste, add more till it’s just right for you!
Lavender Infusion
This an unsweetened water-based infusion that can be used for everything from coffee to lemonade to cocktails. Because it is unsweetened it can be easier to achieve a good lavender flavour since you don’t have to worry about making things too sweet.
1 cup filtered water
2 tablespoons lavender buds
Mix the two and bring to a boil. Allow to cool, at least 30 minutes. but i’ll often just leave it (covered) overnight and then strain in the morning. Put into a clean bottle or jar and keep refrigerated. Use within one week or freeze as cubes for later use. *be sure to label the cubes since the don’t often have much colour after infusing, or you could put a few buds of lavender in each!
lavender simple syrup
Lavender Simple Syrup
Here is another place to customize and make something that perfectly suits your needs! A lavender syrup can be as thick or as thin as you like, simply by adjusting the ratio of sugar to water. Of course you can increase the amount of flowers you add as well if you’d like to have a more intensely flavoured elixir. My suggestion, start with the classic simple syrup (1:1) start exploring, and go from there.
Classic Lavender Simple Syrup
(1:1 ratio sugar to water)
1 cup organic sugar
1 cup filtered water
2 teaspoons culinary lavender
Bring everything to a boil together in a sauce pan. Remove from heat, cover and allow to cool fully before straining and bottling in a clean jar or bottle. Store in the fridge. Use within one month.
Rich Lavender Syrup
(2:1 ratio sugar to water)
2 cups organic sugar
1 cup filtered water
2 teaspoons culinary lavender
Bring everything to a boil together in a sauce pan. Remove from heat, cover and allow to cool fully before straining and bottling in a clean jar or bottle. Store in the fridge. This rich syrup is particularly stable and is likely to last many months if chilled.
Light Lavender Syrup
(.5:1 ration sugar to water)
1/2 cup organic sugar
1 cup filtered water
2 teaspoons culinary lavender
Bring everything to a boil together in a sauce pan. Remove from heat, cover and allow to cool fully before straining and bottling in a clean jar or bottle. Store in the fridge. This thin syrup is best used within 2 weeks.
Lavender Coffee
There are a multitude of ways to blend the incredible flavours of coffee and lavender, from the simplest to the most intricate. Here’s a straightforward way to approach it, try it out and let me know how you like it!
For French Press:
4 tablespoons coarse ground coffee
1 tablespoon of dried lavender buds
Make your coffee as you usually would.
For Pour Over:
4 tablespoons medium/coarse ground coffee
1 tablespoon of dried lavender buds
Make your coffee as you usually would.
For Espresso, lattes or flat whites:
after brewing, add a teaspoon of lavender syrup per cup of coffee. Increase to taste!
