Floral and sweet with a touch of spice, this honey rose cardamom syrup is perfect for flavoring coffee and tea. Honey and water form the base of a simple syrup that is steeped with dried rose petals and green cardamom pods. The resulting flavored syrup adds a subtle floral sweetness to drinks, desserts, pancakes, and more!
Rose and cardamom are easily one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. There’s something incredibly magical about that floral and spicy flavor pairing. Though I love them all year round, I find these flavors especially comforting during the shoulder months of autumn and spring. I decided to combine these two flavors in a honey simple syrup so that I could use it in ALL THE THINGS. From coffee to tea to oatmeal, it makes everything taste luxurious and special!
Notes on Ingredients
HONEY — aim for a locally produced honey if possible. Buying local honey will support both your local economy and agriculture as a good majority of plants (like eggplant, cucumbers, and squashes) need to be pollinated by bees in order to produce. I like to use a fairly mild one like a wildflower honey.
DRIED ROSE — make sure you buy a culinary dried rose and that it is less than a year old for the best flavor.
GREEN CARDAMOM — the whole pods work best here rather than pre-ground cardamom. Ground cardamom doesn’t filter out in the straining process leaving grit in the bottom of the syrup.
How to Make the Most Flavorful Honey Rose Cardamom Syrup
- The fresher your dried rose petals are, the better! As dried herbs (like rose) age, they lose flavor. Aim for dried rose petals that are less than a year old.
- Don’t forget to crush your cardamom pods before adding them to the syrup! This will help intensify the flavor.
- This might sound like a no-brainer, but use a honey that you actually like the flavor of. Since honey makes up a large part of the recipe, you want to ensure that you’re using something you like. I used a local raw wildflower honey.
- Steep the syrup for 30 minutes to allow the rose and cardamom to infuse maximum flavor.
How to Enjoy your Honey Rose Cardamom Syrup
- Coffee — I love adding some to cold brew or a latte. Add as much or as little as you like!
- Tea — these flavors pair really well with black tea. It would also be really lovely in an herbal tea like chamomile or tulsi.
- Oatmeal — make your morning oats feel special rather than mundane!
- Yogurt — stir some of this syrup into yogurt and top it with whatever seasonal fruit you have for a quick snack or dessert.
- Pancakes — because maple syrup can be a little basic when it comes to enjoying your favorite pancake recipe!
- Cake — brush some syrup in between the layers of a vanilla cake to keep it moist and add flavor. YUM!
Honey Rose Cardamom Syrup
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3/4 cup 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Floral and sweet with a touch of spice, this honey rose cardamom syrup is perfect for flavoring coffee and tea. Honey and water form the base of a simple syrup that is steeped with dried rose petals and green cardamom pods. The resulting flavored syrup adds a subtle floral sweetness to drinks, desserts, pancakes, and more!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 8 whole green cardamom pods
- 1 heaped tablespoon dried rose petals, crushed
Instructions
Add the honey and water to a small pot. Using a knife or a spoon, gently crush each cardamom so that they crack open a bit. Add the crushed cardamom pods and the dried rose to the pot along with the water and honey.
Set the pot over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for 3 minutes, then turn off the heat and cover the pot with a lid or towel so that the flavors can develop as the syrup steeps. Allow the syrup to steep for 30 minutes, then strain the syrup into a small bottle or jar.
Keep the syrup in the fridge and make sure to use it within 2 weeks. Use the syrup to sweeten tea, coffee, oatmeal, pancakes, yogurt, etc.
Notes
- If you cannot consume honey or you’d like to make this syrup completely vegan, substitute an equal amount of cane sugar in place of the honey.
- If you don’t have access to local honey, use whatever honey you like!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Steep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: syrup
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!
Thanks so much! Rose and cardamom are my favorite flavor/scent combo 🙂
I tried this on my pancakes and it was divine! I have also loved it in my tea – the aroma is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
Yay! So glad you tried it. Rose and cardamom together are my ideal pair — so fragrant and so incredibly delicious.
This syrup plus black tea is arguably my favorite cozy beverage (though a good chai is pretty high up there!). It’s so easy to make and such a great way to make a normal coffee or tea feel extra special.
This is amazing! I just enjoyed it with a cup of Tulsi rose tea but can’t wait to try it with black tea. It would also be great with a shot of bourbon added to the mix for a hot toddy. Or over ice cream.
I bet it was amazing in the tulsi tea! I definitely think it would be great in a hot toddy…let me know if you try it!