Here's Why Your Homemade Lavender Syrup Tastes Bad

Homemade lavender syrup is the perfect subtle addition to lemonades, coffees, cocktails, and baked goods. Lavender's natural herbal flavor and aromatics are brought out by the sugar's sweetness, giving a refreshing floral taste. Lavender syrup is simple to make and only requires lavender, sugar, and water. But you may have encountered one problem with your end result — an undeniably bitter taste. And it's probably because you're not using culinary-grade lavender.

"Culinary" refers to certain types of lavender that have been processed in a special way. Not all lavender is made equal; in fact, the lavender found in floral shops or on the street is often full of pesticides and has naturally bitter flavor notes. Only culinary-grade lavender is safe for cooking, with a pleasantly floral taste, such as that used in Herbes de Provence. It can be bought fresh or dried and is usually available in Whole Foods and specialty stores. If your recipe requires dried culinary-grade lavender and you only have fresh, make sure to double the amount, as dried has a much stronger flavor.

Regular and culinary lavender might look similar on the outside, but trust us, not using culinary lavender is a guaranteed way to ruin the taste of your lavender latte.  Most culinary kinds fall under the "true lavender" category. Other types, like Lavandin, aren't sold for cooking purposes due to their naturally bitter flavors. But what defines lavender as "culinary" lies largely in how it's processed. It is first harvested when its flavors are optimal for cooking purposes. Culinary lavender is also sifted many more times than regular lavender to ensure that only the buds remain with no leaves or stems. Having a clean bud means that there will be no debris in your food.

Culinary lavender only uses the flower bud as this is what gives a floral and herbal flavor. A few stems and leaves can be used in tea mixes, but they give too much of a bitter taste to be used on their own. High-quality lavender is intense in flavor and can give a soapy taste if too much is used. So, when you're making your lavender syrup, don't go too heavy-handed — start small and build from there.