Honey lavender is such a fresh, springtime flavor combination that brings together the best of both worlds. You have a floral, sweet, and soft syrup that isn’t too soapy nor too sweet. Add this easy honey lavender syrup to coffee, matcha, tea, lemonade, and other delicious drinks.

Here’s how to make a honey lavender syrup at home!

Honey Lavender Syrup Takeaways:

• Use culinary grade lavender for the best flavor, and make sure your package says culinary on it!
• Steep the lavender off heat so you don’t get any bitterness.
• Add food coloring if you want a colored syrup, otherwise the base color is a grayish purpley brown.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

• It’s super easy to make and only requires 3 ingredients.
• Save yourself $10+ by not buying honey lavender syrup from the store!
• Make our own syrup that’s fresher and tastes better than premade.
• Use it in lattes, matcha, lemonade, tea, cocktails, mocktails, and other fun spring beverages.

What is Honey Lavender?

Honey lavender (not to be confused with lavender honey) is an infused sweet, floral syrup made by steeping honey syrup with dried lavender. It first became popular in ice cream, like Salt and Straw’s famous honey lavender flavor, which then made its way into cafe beverages, like a honey lavender latte or matcha latte.

It’s a super popular springtime flavor because it’s not too floral, where it tastes like soap or perfume, but not too subtle, where you only taste honey. It’s an incredible flavor combination!

Do Lavender and Honey Go Together?

Yes! Honey and lavender are a classic flavor combination! Before becoming popular in drinks, honey and lavender were popular in savory and sweet dishes. Such as: honey roasted chicken with lavender, lavender and honey scones, honey lavender cupcakes, honey lavender butter, etc.

Honey is known to pair well with floral flavors, since it, by default, can carry some subtle floral flavors from the pollen. The most popular floral pairing is orange blossom, which is bright and soft. Lavender is a close second or third with calming aromatic properties and a soft rosemary-esque flavor. It’s also slightly bitter, which rounds out the honey sweetness.

What Does Honey Lavender Taste Like?

Honey lavender tastes like a soft, slightly citrusy, and woody sugar. It’s herbaceous and floral without being overpowering, which makes it the perfect sweetener for baked foods and drinks.

It kind of reminds me of a cough drop in the best way, haha. It’s sweet, syrupy, herbal, subtly bitter, so it might be an acquired taste.

How to Use Honey Lavender Syrup

You can make so many drinks and dishes with honey lavender syrup. My favorites include a honey lavender latte or a honey lavender matcha latte. The coffee version is much more bitter, while the matcha one is softer and creamier. You can also add it to any brewed tea for a refreshing, calming cup.

You can make a Bees Knees cocktail, which is a gin-based cocktail, or a honey lavender spritz or margarita for a more refreshing drink. It’s also great in lemonades and sparkling water!

For edible dishes, drizzle it on cupcakes, cakes, pancakes, scones, bread, and other sweet-adjacent bakes. Or use it to flavor meat (chicken, pork, etc.) and other small vegetable dishes like glazed carrots or sweet potatoes.

Honey Lavender Syrup Recipe: Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need for honey lavender syrup:

• Dried Culinary Lavender Buds — This is the most important factor for a sweet, floral syrup! Culinary lavender is usually dried English lavender, which is low in camphor (aromatic oil) and has a sweeter flavor compared to general lavender, which is high in camphor and used for essential oils. If you use the latter, your syrup will end up tasting soapy and too strong. The packaging label should say whether it’s culinary or not.
• Water
• Honey — Use any honey you have, but I like using more neutral-tasting honey like clover or acacia honey. Orange blossom honey or darker colored honeys may have a stronger flavor that doesn’t pair as well with lavender.
• Purple Food Coloring (Optional) — Once infused, lavender has a light brown or gray color. For a purple color, you can add purple food coloring, but you’ll need a lot to make it super bright.

How to Make Honey Lavender Syrup

1. Make Honey Simple Syrup. Add honey and water to a small pot, then simmer on low to medium heat for 2 – 3 minutes until the honey dissolves. Turn off the heat.
2. Infuse Lavender. Add culinary lavender buds to the hot syrup and stir until you coat all the flowers in syrup. Let the flowers infuse into the syrup for 10 – 15 minutes until aromatic. Give it a taste test and see if you need to infuse it for longer.
3. Strain. Once infused, strain the syrup to remove the dried buds. You may need to strain it twice or through a cheesecloth to remove fine pieces.
4. Cool and Bottle. Let the syrup cool completely before pouring it into a bottle or jar. Seal with a lid and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
5. Use and Enjoy! Use this honey lavender syrup in coffee, tea, cocktails, lemonades, and more!

How to Store Honey Lavender Syrup

Like most homemade syrups, you want to store it in a bottle or jar that has a lid or cap. You want to create an airtight seal to minimize exposure to air and humidity, which increases the risk of spoilage.

Does Honey Lavender Syrup Need to be Refrigerated? Since we combine water with honey, it’s no longer a strong preservative and needs to be in the fridge for maximum longevity. If you leave it out on the counter, it can grow mold or other bacteria.

Tips for the Best Syrup

• Boil Water Beforehand: To jumpstart the syrup-making process, boil water in a kettle before simmering the honey on the stove. That way, you don’t need to wait for the water to simmer and can immediately make your honey simple syrup.
• Adjust Water Amount for Texture: If you want a thicker syrup, use less water; for a thinner syrup, use more water. If you’ve already added the water, simmer it for longer to get a thicker texture.

FAQ’s

How long does honey lavender syrup last?

Homemade honey lavender syrup should last up to 2 weeks in the fridge! It won’t last more than 3 days on the counter. If you want to store it long-term, freeze it in a sealable container for up to 3 months. Make sure to label it so you know for the future!

Can honey lavender syrup go bad?

Yes, any syrup can go bad, especially homemade. Storebought syrups have preservatives added so they can last on the counter for months on end. If your syrup has any discoloration, white strands or fuzzy dots floating in it, or smells weird, it’s probably gone bad and you should toss it.

Can I make this sugar-free?

If you can’t have sugar, you can always swap the honey for a sugar-free sweetener or sugar. It won’t have the same honey flavor, but you’ll end up with a sugar-free lavender syrup.

Other Syrup Recipes to Try

Honey lavender is a staple simple syrup every home barista has on rotation during the warmer months! If you want other amazing syrups, here are some other syrup recipes to try next:

• Lavender Simple Syrup
• Peach Simple Syrup
• Brown Sugar Simple Syrup
• Strawberry Simple Syrup
• Caramel Simple Syrup