Real rose, hibiscus, and lavender in your coffee? Yes, yes, and a million times, yes! Latte lovers worldwide have enjoyed the slow and steady rise of floral-flavored lattes, and this year, our beloved (whoever you are) floral coffee creatives have achieved new floral coffee highs with the creation of delectable, beautiful lattes made with edible flowers. Below are some of our summer floral favorites!
Rose Lavender Iced Latte: If you love a sweet, smooth, sexy floral latte, this rose coffee with lavender-infused milk latte is an absolute dream! Made with a rose-honey-lavender simple syrup*, espresso or strongly brewed coffee, milk, and crushed ice, this visual treat is even better to drink than to gaze at. We recommend making this with a strongly brewed French Roast coffee or Espresso Blend coffee.
Scroll to the bottom of this entry for instructions on making your own simple syrups — they are really very easy to make!
Elderflower Latte: Elegant, understated, and almost too pretty to drink, this Elderflower Latte recipe uses dried elderflowers and strongly brewed coffee to create an eye-catching, mouthwatering summer masterpiece. We recommend making this delicate drink with honey as the sweetener, a strongly brewed Salvadoran or Guatemalan coffee / blend, and a touch of cinnamon. Equally enjoyable hot and iced, if you opt for iced, these Elderflower and Edible Flower Ice Cubes add an extra touch of magic to your cup. The most difficult thing about this latte is getting over the thought that it is almost too pretty to drink!
Vegan Lavender Latte: Brilliantly aromatic and made with three simple ingredients: coffee, almond milk, and homemade lavender simple syrup, this perfectly balanced latte captures the essence of Provence in its beauty, scent, and flavor. We recommend making this latte with honey instead of sugar to accentuate the lovely lavender notes. If you enjoy the taste of vanilla and are making your own simple syrup, toss a vanilla bean into the syrup as it is warming; it will add a wonderful touch of extra sweetness. We recommend making this latte with a French Roast coffee. If you enjoy iced coffee, this Iced Lavender-Honey Latte is sure to hit the spot.
Rose Cardamon Iced Latte: Smooth, fragrant, and beautifully refreshing, this stunning Rose Cardamon Iced Latte is made with dried rose petals, cardamon seeds, honey, and almond milk. As an added benefit, this delectable drink offers a double dose of powerful anti-inflammatories and antioxidants making it the perfect post-workout drink on a steam summer day. We recommend making this coffee with a Central or South American Medium Roast or Full City coffee.
The Floral Bouquet: This floral bouquet latte combines lavender, rose, hibiscus, and elderflower into a sensory garden symphony. This lovely latte can be made with either espresso or strongly brewed coffee and with either simple syrups or food-grade edible flowers. If using espresso, we recommend using two shots of espresso or eight ounces of a strongly brewed South American Coffee. However you choose to make this fragrant, colorful latte, it is sure to delight!
Pro tips
Espresso vs. strongly brewed coffee: If you are making your latte with strongly brewed coffee, we recommend using six to eight ounces of coffee per two shots of espresso called for in the recipe. Additionally, we recommend using two shots of espresso for all the recipes listed here unless you wish to make a very light summer drink with a touch of coffee (e.g., an elderflower lemonade with a hit of coffee).
Flower-infused simple syrup: Creating a floral-infused simple syrup is easy, only requires three ingredients, and generally takes less than 10 minutes to prepare. To make a syrup, you need equal parts sugar (we recommend honey or agave for most floral recipes), water, edible flower buds, and anything you wish to include in your syrup, such as vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, food-grade floral waters, and food coloring. To make your syrup, add all of your ingredients to a small pot and heat the pot on the stove until the sugar is fully dissolved. Once your sugar is dissolved, remove your syrup from the stovetop and, using cheesecloth or a fine strainer, strain out the flower buds and any other spice or herb that was added. The liquid that is left is your simple syrup. If stored in an airtight bottle or container and placed immediately in the refrigerator after cooling, your floral simple syrup should remain fresh for one month. For additional information and simple syrup ideas, click here.
Colored milk: To create a very colorful drink, add a drop or two of food coloring to your milk or simple syrup before adding the milk / simple syrup to your coffee.
Iced coffee: If you are making an iced latte, we recommend using cool or room temperature frothed milk.
If you enjoyed this entry, you may also like the blog entries listed below:
The Spring Edit: fruit, floral, and citrus toned coffees
Summer 2019’s trendiest coffee drinks
Spring 2020’s hottest (and coolest) coffee drinks. We’ve gone botanical!
Coffee with the Queen 
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