Lavender Coffee

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!

Warm Winter Oatmeal with Spiced Maple Syrup

Who doesn’t love a warm bowl of freshly cooked oats on a chilly morning? Let’s make it even more cozy by drizzling a spiced maple syrup over top!

Warm Winter Oatmeal

1 cup water

1 tablespoon Flora Cocina Mulling Spice

Pinch of sea salt

½ cup old fashioned (rolled) oats

Combine water, mulling spice and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes then using a slotted spoon or small strainer remove the mulling spices, leaving the infused water in the pot.

Bring the water back to a boil and stir in the oats. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes.

Top with a shake of cinnamon, fresh berries or dried fruits or nuts, hemp or chia seeds, and edible flowers. Just before eating drizzle on some spiced maple syrup and enjoy!

Spiced Maple Syrup

12oz pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon Flora Cocina Mulling Spice

In a saucepan, warm syrup with mulling spices for at least 5 minutes. There’s no need to get the syrup too hot, the idea is to coax the flavours from the spices and not to cook or reduce the syrup at all. Once you are happy with the level of flavour, strain the syrup in to a clean, dry mason jar or bottle and store in the fridge. Use on oatmeal, pancakes, in cocktails or over ice cream!

How to make Lavender Lemonade

Sweet, tart, citrusy, floral. What’s not to love? This perfect lemonade could be easily transformed into an adult beverage with a few ounces of a crisp vodka, gin, or tequila. Oh hell, bourbon would be the bomb!

I’ve created this recipe to be ready in a hurry, ‘cause when the time is right- it’s right!

Lavender Lemonade

1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers (culinary)

1 cup organic sugar

2 cups of boiling water 

1 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cups cold water

Mix the flowers and sugar together and crush up the blossoms by rubbing them between your fingers using the sugar to add friction. This isn’t absolutely necessary but it really helps bring out the full flavour of the lavender. Add the infused sugar to the boiling water and stir to dissolve. Then cover and let cool, or alternatively, let infuse for 10-15 minutes then strain directly into a pitcher that already has the 2 cups cold water, lemon juice and ice so that it cools down immediately.