Honey Lavender Cafe au Lait

Celebrate the start of warmer weather with our recipe for a Honey Lavender Café au Lait. The strong coffee mixed with a honey and lavender simple syrup, it will make you think of Paris in the spring time!

Café au Lait is the French term for strong coffee with hot milk. It is similar to the Italian latte which is made with brewed espresso, and our bold and rich dark roasted Espresso would work well here. But with its smooth and bright flavor, our Charleston Organic coffee blend is also one of our favorites for a café au lait.

Lavender is commonly used for its calming properties in wellness practices. But you don’t have to stop there! It adds a delicate floral flavor to food and drinks as well. You can typically find dried lavender in the herb or health section of your grocery store, or at a spice merchant. We used the lavender to add to that Parisian feeling, and created a honey lavender simple syrup to add to the café au lait.

Simple syrup is easy to make at home and can take on limitless flavors. The traditional ratio calls for equal parts water and a sweetener (usually plain white sugar). But since honey is a little sweeter than plain white sugar, we reduced the amount in this syrup so that it is not overly sweet. Add to that the dried lavender flowers, and you have a simple syrup that you can use not only in this coffee recipe, but in your baking as well.

Even if you can’t be in Paris this spring, or even in Charleston, we hope this café au lait will bring you there in spirit!

 

HONEY LAVENDER SIMPLE SYRUP

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons dried lavender flowers

1. Place water and honey in a small saucepan.
2. Bring to a simmer, and heat just until honey is dissolved.
3. Remove from the heat and add lavender flowers. Let sit for about 15 minutes to infuse the flavors.
4. Strain out the lavender flowers if a less floral flavor is desired.

 

HONEY LAVENDER CAFÉ AU LAIT

Makes 2 8-ounce cups

1 cup strong brewed coffee, like our Charleston Organic blend
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon Honey Lavender Simple Syrup

1. After brewing the strong coffee, keep it hot while heating up the milk.
2. Place the milk and simple syrup in a small saucepan. Bring the milk just to a simmer, and then turn off the heat.
3. If you like a little froth and/or foam on your café au lait, whisk the milk for about 10-15 seconds before removing from the heat until desired foaminess is reached.