Top tips for making lavender latte at home

• Making a lavender latte at home is so easy. But for a real and lasting experience, follow my top tips:
• When you are trying out my recipe, try to stay exactly to the amounts I recommend. It will give you a baseline for a great latte. But everyone’s tastes are different. So, once you’ve tried my recipe, feel free to experiment.
• For example, if you have a sweet tooth, try adding more sugar. Or the lavender taste and aroma might be too strong for you. If so, simply reduce the amount of lavender.
• You will soon find what works best for you.
• But Remember: always keep a note of how you change the recipe. Trust me I have (so many times) made a great coffee. Sat down enjoyed it and resolved to drink it just like that again. Then… yes, you guessed, next time I can’t remember exactly what I did.

Preparing your espresso

• I recommend using medium roast espresso beans. Espresso beans are usually dark roast to give a deeper intense bitter taste. By choosing a medium roast, you will get all the flavors and aromas with far less bitter notes. Medium roast espresso balances well with the milk and lavender tastes.
• Always grind the coffee beans just before you use them. You will notice a huge difference between fresh ground and coffee that you ground a week ago.
• Whatever coffee maker you use, brew a short strong coffee.
• You don’t need an espresso machine, any coffee maker will do a great job. But don’t worry if you haven’t got a coffee maker. Just make a strong short coffee with regular instant coffee. The important thing is to make a strong coffee – you will be adding milk sugar and hazelnut flavors. These could easily drown the taste of a weak coffee.
• Not sure which coffee maker is best for you? My two favorites are French press and AeroPress. Both are inexpensive and easy to use and clean. Check out my guide Aeropress vs French press: which makes the best coffee?

Foaming the milk

• You can use any milk you prefer, including dairy and non-dairy, including: oat and almond milk.
• If you have a steam wand (on the side of most espresso machines), use that to steam the milk creating a creamy texture and foam.
• If you don’t have a steam wand, heat the milk on the stovetop or in a microwave and then use a blender or hand whisk to make it creamier and frothy.

Lavender syrup

• Add lavender syrup to taste. Lavender syrups are widely available in supermarkets and online. If you are using lavender syrup, it is very sweet, so go easy on the sugar.
• Alternatively, you can use culinary lavender extract. Like vanilla extract, it is very concentrated and you should only use a small amount. If using extract, it is not as sweet as syrup, so you will have to adjust the amount of sugar you add.

Assembling lavender latte

• Stir the sugar into the heated and frothed milk.
• Pour the strong coffee into a latte glass or mug,
• Gently pour over the milk, keeping back the foam to layer on top.
• For for a final flourish, garnish with some lavender buds or flowers.