London Fog Drink (Earl Grey Tea Latte)
on Oct 14, 2018, Updated Jan 08, 2021
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Made with Earl Grey tea and warm milk, a London Fog drink is a delicious tea latte with hints of vanilla and lavender. Make this London Fog drink at home with this simple 8-minute recipe.
London Fog Drink (Earl Grey Tea Latte)
A London fog drink, or an Earl Grey tea latte, is made with Earl Grey tea and frothed milk. It’s a popular drink in the Northwest and thought to have originated in Vancouver, Canada.
There are four parts to a London fog drink: Earl Grey (black tea flavored with bergamot, a citrus fruit from Italy), milk, vanilla extract, and sugar.
At Starbucks, the London Fog drink uses Earl Grey tea with a hint of lavender. This recipe recreates the drink by using dried lavender.
RELATED: Starbucks London Fog Tea Latte Copycat
Recipe Highlights
- Made with just 6 ingredients, this hot drink is soothing and delicious.
- This London Fog drink contains caffeine from the black tea, making it a tasty alternative to espresso-based lattes.
- Velvety, cafe-quality milk froth is made at home using my trick of using a French press.
RELATED: 17 Tasty Recipes with Earl Grey Tea
Ingredient Notes
- Earl Grey tea: Earl Grey is the star of this drink and it can’t be called a London Fog without it. Use loose tea or tea sachets instead of tea bags for a better quality cup of tea.
- Water: For the best flavor, use filtered water to make the tea.
- Brown sugar: White sugar also works, but brown sugar adds a richer sweetness due to the molasses.
- Vanilla extract: A flavor enhancer that makes tea lattes extra delicious.
- Dried lavender buds: The standard London Fog drink recipe is made without lavender so feel free to take this out.
- Milk: Use any kind of milk you prefer.
For full ingredients and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Photo Credit: Harney.com
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Combine tea, lavender buds, and hot water in a teapot. Cover and steep.
Use an electric kettle with temperature setting to quickly and easily boil filtered water for tea or boil water on the stovetop. While tea is steeping, make the frothed milk.
Step 2: Heat milk and pour into a French press. Pump French press plunger until milk doubles in volume. If you don’t have a milk frother, a French press makes excellent frothy milk perfect for tea lattes.
Step 3: Strain tea leaves and pour tea into a cup. Stir in sugar and vanilla extract.
Step 4: Pour frothed milk from the French press into the cup.
Expert Tips
- To froth milk like a pro at home, another option is to use an electric milk frother which heats milk and froths at the same time.
- If you don’t have or love lavender, feel free to make it without. It’s still delicious!
- Be careful not to boil the milk since it can easily burn. Use low heat and let the milk come to a simmer then turn off the heat.
- To microwave the milk, heat 30 seconds at a time in a microwave-safe cup.
RELATED: Starbucks Iced London Fog Tea Latte Copycat
Questions You May Have
A Starbucks London Fog is made of black tea, bergamot essence (black tea and bergamot make up the Earl Grey flavor), lavender flowers, vanilla syrup, and steamed milk.
This drink is made of Earl Grey tea, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and dried lavender buds. What makes my London Fog so great is the perfect froth I create using a French press.
Yes, since there’s caffeine in Earl Grey since it’s made with black tea.
Victoria Fog is a variation on London Fog where the Earl Grey tea is taken out and replaced with lavender tea. A Cape Town Fog is where the Earl Grey is substituted with rooibos. Tokyo Fog is a tea latte made with matcha instead of Earl Grey and a Dublin Fog is made with Irish breakfast tea instead of Earl Grey.
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Easy London Fog Drink (Earl Grey Tea Latte)
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup water
- 2 teaspoons Earl Grey tea, (or 1 tea sachet or 1 tea bag)
- ¼ teaspoon dried lavender, + extra for garnish
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup milk, (any kind)
Instructions
- Boil water.Boil water on the stovetop or use an electric kettle with a temperature setting (water set to 208°F). Use filtered water for a better tasting tea.
- Combine tea, lavender buds, and hot water in a teapot. Cover teapot and steep for 5 minutes.While tea is steeping, make the frothed milk.
- Heat milk and pour into a French press. Pump French press plunger until milk doubles in volume.Heat milk on the stovetop by simmering on low then turning off the heat. Keep careful watch to make sure the milk doesn't come to a boil. Stir occasionally.Fill the French press halfway with milk. You want to leave room since the milk will double in volume.
- Strain tea leaves and pour tea into a cup. Stir in sugar and vanilla extract.
- Pour frothed milk from the French press into the cup.Garnish with dried lavender buds.
Notes
- You can take out the dried lavender if you wish since the drink is still delicious without it.
- To froth milk like a pro at home, another option is to use an electric milk frother which heats milk and froths at the same time.
- Be careful not to boil the milk since it can easily burn. Use low heat and let the milk come to a simmer then turn off the heat.
- To microwave the milk, heat 30 seconds at a time in a microwave-safe cup.
- You can use any milk you prefer. But know that not all milk will froth as well as whole or 2% milk.
- Make sure to hold down the lid of the French press so that you don’t make a mess when pumping.
- Always add vanilla extract last since you don’t want it to cook down and evaporate. The flavor will be weaker if it’s hot for too long.
- You can use white sugar if you don’t have any brown sugar, but the brown sugar adds a richer sweetness due to the molasses.
- Loose tea, tea sachets, or tea bags can be used to make this drink. I recommend using loose tea or tea sachets since the quality is a lot better. Tea bags contain the lowest quality tea.
- Victoria Fog is a variation on London Fog where the Earl Grey tea is taken out and replaced with lavender tea. A Cape Town Fog is where the Earl Grey is substituted with rooibos. Tokyo Fog is a tea latte made with matcha instead of Earl Grey and a Dublin Fog is made with Irish breakfast tea instead of Earl Grey.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I noticed the # of tea bags is not adjusted with the increased servings. Is this correct or should I adjust by adding one tea bag for two servings? Thanks! Can’t wait to try.
Hi LL, yes, adjust the tea bags so that it’s 1 tea bag for 1 serving.
Fabulous! So enjoyable, smooth and a wonderful, warm evening drink to relax by after the kiddos have gone to bed. Thanks so much for sharing.
I made this today and it was delicious. I used 0 sugar oat milk and it was perfect.
Thank you, Jee! It’s my new afternoon break drink! I look forward to trying the other Fog recipes and your other beverage recipes!
Hi Beth, wonderful!
How did I never know about using a French press to froth milk? I love it! Thanks
This was fantastic! I didn’t have lavender, so will try it again next time with it!
Thanks for the recipe Jee! I am happy to have found this blog. I made a few modifications based on what I have in the house. It can indeed be made “decaf” by using Bigelow’s decaf Earl Grey tea bags. Not the same as loose tea but I can’t do caffeine. I used raw sugar instead of brown sugar. I put the dried lavender buds in a tea ball and let it steep while the tea bag did. I also use a hand-held milk frother. I used to make mine with Starbuck’s caramel syrup but that’s really not necessary.
I loved it it was absolutely delicious! Though the french press method didn’t work well for me so I used a milk frother.
I’ve only used the battery powered milk frothers & skim milk seems to froth the best with them. I haven’t have much luck frothing 2% or whole milk.
This is really good and easy also if you don’t have a french press or a electric frother you can heat the milk to a simmer and put it in a stand mixer or hand mixer and whip it in till it doubles in size.