🍯 Honey Dove

Chamomile, cayenne, pineapple gum, honey, lemon & black pepper — Copra SF

8 min
Floral & Spiced
Coupe or tall glass
Copra, San Francisco
0% ABV
  • Chamomile syrup: steep 3 chamomile tea bags in 200ml hot water 5 min; dissolve 100g sugar; cool.
  • 40ml chamomile syrup
  • 20ml pineapple juice or pineapple gum syrup (Liber & Co. Pineapple Gum works)
  • 20ml raw honey (thin slightly with 5ml warm water)
  • 25ml fresh lemon juice
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 2 cracks of black pepper
  • 60ml sparkling water
  • Ice
  • Chamomile flowers & lemon wheel to garnish

  1. 1
    Spice mixDissolve cayenne and black pepper into the raw honey solution.
  2. 2
    ShakeCombine chamomile syrup, pineapple juice/syrup, spiced honey, and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake for 10 seconds.
  3. 3
    StrainStrain into a tall glass over fresh ice or a chilled coupe.
  4. 4
    TopAdd sparkling water gently.
  5. 5
    GarnishFloat dried chamomile flowers if available. Slide a lemon wheel onto the rim. Finish with 1 crack of black pepper over the surface.

About This Drink

Chamomile is the floral backbone of Honey Dove — steeped into a syrup to carry its apple-like, honey-adjacent aroma into every sip. Cayenne (lal mirch in Hindi — one of the most common spices in South Indian cooking) and black pepper (kali mirch — India is the world's largest black pepper producer) provide the heat that develops gradually, like a dish rather than a drink. Pineapple gum syrup (a bartender's ingredient — simple syrup with gum arabic for a silkier texture and pineapple depth) and raw honey add sweetness with complexity. Lemon is the structural acid. The result is a NA cocktail with genuine layering: floral first, sweet middle, spiced finish.

Good chamomile tea (loose-leaf Egyptian chamomile) produces a more aromatic syrup than tea bags. Steep at 90°C (not boiling) for 5 minutes. The cayenne and black pepper are separate contributions — cayenne gives quick heat, black pepper gives slow warmth and aroma. Start with a small pinch of cayenne and adjust to your heat preference.

Restaurant
Copra, San Francisco
Origin
Contemporary Indian, North Beach SF
Flavour
Floral & Spiced · Easy
Restaurant
Copra
Address
1700 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115
Style
Modern Indian cuisine & cocktails
Accolades
Michelin Bib Gourmand · One of SF's most acclaimed Indian restaurants

A Pacific Heights gem where Indian flavours meet California produce. Copra's bar programme is built on house-made infusions and seasonal ingredients — jaggery, kokum, dried mango, fresh turmeric — interpreted through a California craft cocktail lens. The result is a drinks menu that feels simultaneously rooted in the subcontinent and completely native to San Francisco.

Visit coprasf.com