Petals and Potions: The Edible Flower Trend

Edible flowers have been popping up everywhere recently, from soups to salads to desserts and to our favourite drinks. Although a growing trend now, flowers have been a part of people’s diet for a long time. In Japan for example, sakura has been on the menu for hundreds of years; salted, pickled and then consumed in tea, mochi and anpan, a variety of sweet roll. In neighbouring China, osmanthus blossoms are traditionally used in tea and wine, while butterfly pea lends its blue hues to South-East Asian cuisine.

Compared to tea and food, cocktails are relatively new territory for flowers. Only really coming to prominence in the last few years, floral cocktails have already made a global impression. Part of this is down to the complex flavours that mixologists are coaxing out of fresh buds, but much of the trend’s growth is due to social media. Interesting flavours aside, adding colourful blossoms to already enticing cocktails is a guaranteed recipe for Instagram success.

Misel Posavac - Beverage Innovation Manager for Balkans - loves a Falernum Jasmine Tea Cocktail himself, but knows flower flavours can be a little too exotic for some customers. By using fine and subtle floral fragrance in your drinks, it gives the opportunity to taste this beautiful gift of nature. One method he’s found helpful for making botanical beverages less daunting is to pair flowers with the more familiar flavours of fruit. Fruits and flowers from the same genetic families complement one another well, such as jasmine and yuzu. If you’re ready to bring some fresh flavours to your drinks, have a go at some of these recommended recipes from Misel: