Lavender finds its way into a lot of food and drink, and is currently quite fashionable in culinary arts. One place that lavender appears quite frequently is, of course, tea. Despite the fact that its peak season (summer) is coming to an end, there are still plenty of opportunities to include some lavender in your September and October teatimes.

I am not a huge fan of floral teas, but I find that lavender makes an interesting addition to many kinds of tea. As well as its distinctive taste, lavender is known for its soothing and relaxing properties that can help improve sleep quality. Keep a store of dried lavender to use in any herbal infusions you brew up from scratch. This works whether you like pure lavender tisanes, or whether you want to combine it with something, such as fresh mint leaves, for an interesting twist. These tisanes will be perfect for a bedtime cup of tea because they contain no caffeine.

Of course, there are also many ready-made teas out there that use lavender. Pure lavender tisanes are popular, so if you want to skip making it yourself, there are plenty of options. But there are also many interesting blends that feature lavender. In Lavender Earl Grey, a popular twist on the classic tea, the two floral tones of lavender and bergamot compliment each other nicely. Lavender and chamomile tisane is another common and delicious combination (this one would also be easy to blend yourself!), as is white tea with lavender. Both of these are good choices if you are looking for the sleep-assisting properties of lavender; white tea has virtually no caffeine, and is therefore perfect for the evening, and chamomile, like lavender, is known to help with relaxation.

One last lavender tea that I would like to draw your attention to is a less common one. Created by David’s Tea, “jessie’s tea” (named after the country singer Jessie Farrell, for whom it was created) is a blend of rooibos, honeybush, coconut, lavender, and cornflowers. It is quite a unique blend, and is an excellent example of the creative ways in which lavender can feature in tea. What better inspiration could there be for incorporating lavender into your tea this month?

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