A London Fog is a sweetened Earl Grey tea latte and at Starbucks, it’s made with a touch of lavender. Recreate this easy copycat iced tea latte at home the same way it’s made at Starbucks.
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What is a London Fog Drink?
A London Fog is a tea latte made with Earl Grey tea (black tea with bergamot), milk, vanilla extract, and sugar. Vanilla simple syrup can be used to replace the vanilla extract and sugar.
The drink can be made hot or iced and it’s a popular drink in the Northwest, having originated in Vancouver.
At Starbucks, the Earl Grey tea they use has a bit of lavender in it, so that’s why their London Fog may taste slightly different than the ones you’ve had elsewhere.
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Recipe Highlights
- Starbucks Iced London Fog Tea Latte is a cold drink made with Earl Grey tea, 2% milk, vanilla syrup, and ice.
- A London Fog must be made with Earl Grey tea otherwise it’s just a regular tea latte and this recipe uses the same Earl Grey that Starbucks uses.
- This Starbucks copycat drink will make a 16 ounce (grande size) Iced London Fog Tea Latte.
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Ingredient Notes
- Earl Grey tea
Earl Grey tea is black tea blended with bergamot, a citrus fruit from Italy. The brand used at Starbucks is Teavana Earl Grey and their blend includes lavender buds, which is usually added by other brands. - Vanilla syrup
Instead of using vanilla extract and sugar separately, vanilla syrup combines the two to flavor and sweeten the drink. Use homemade or buy vanilla syrup directly from Starbucks. (See how below.) - Milk
Starbucks makes all their lattes, including tea lattes with 2% milk but you can use any milk you like. - Ice
For a better tasting drink, make ice using filtered water.
RELATED: Starbucks London Fog Tea Latte Copycat
Step-by-Step Instructions
For full ingredients and instructions, scroll down to see the recipe.
- Put Earl Grey tea sachets and hot water into a teapot. Cover and steep.
Boil water on the stovetop or use an electric kettle with a temperature setting. For best results, make tea ahead of time and chill in the refrigerator. - Put vanilla syrup, tea, ice, and milk into a cocktail shaker.
- Shake.
- Pour iced tea latte into a cup.
Empty everything in the cocktail shaker into the cup, including the ice.
Photo Credit: amazon.com
Recipe Notes
Make Earl Grey tea ahead of time.
Steeping and cooling down the tea takes a while so to make the drink quick, make the tea ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Tea (without anything else added) can be stored for up to 4 days.
Vanilla syrup can be purchased from Starbucks.
Vanilla syrup can be purchased directly from Starbucks if you ask the barista at the register. The only catch is that they’ll only sell it to you if they extra in stock. It costs less than $14 if you get the vanilla syrup from a Starbucks location.
No cocktail shaker?
Starbucks handshakes their Iced London Fog Lattes in a cocktail shaker but if you don’t have one, use a large jar with a tight lid. Or, just pour syrup, cooled down tea, ice, and milk into a cup and stir before drinking.
RELATED: Starbucks Iced Black Tea Copycat
Expert Tips
- If you’re not using Teavana Earl Grey tea sachets, you can use loose Earl Grey or Earl Grey tea bags and add steep the tea with a pinch (1/8 teaspoon at most) of dried lavender.
- The hot tea can be cooled down quickly with ice in the cocktail shaker but it’s best if you wait a little bit for the tea to cool down on its own.
- Customize this drink with homemade vanilla sweet cream cold foam!
RELATED: Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte Copycat
Questions You May Have
To make a grande size, Starbucks handshakes pre-steeped Earl Grey tea that has been cooled down, 2% milk, 4 pumps vanilla syrup, and ice in a cocktail shaker.
Yes. Since there is Earl Grey tea, which is a black tea, this drink has caffeine. In a grande size at Starbucks, there’s about 40 mg of caffeine in this drink.
Earl Grey tea must be used to make a London Fog. Earl Grey tea with its citrus notes is the tea that makes this drink a London Fog.
Related
- 17 Best Earl Grey Tea Recipes
- Starbucks Iced Green Tea Copycat
- Starbucks Iced Matcha Latte Copycat
- Iced Earl Grey Tea Latte
- Earl Grey Hot Chocolate
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Starbucks Iced London Fog Tea Latte Copycat
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Earl Grey tea sachets
- ¾ cup hot water
- 2 tablespoons vanilla syrup
- ½ cup 2% milk
- 1 cup ice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Put Earl Grey tea sachets and hot water into a teapot. Cover and steep for 5 minutes.Boil water on the stovetop or use an electric kettle with a temperature setting. Set water temperature to 195°F.Discard tea sachet after steep.For best results, make tea ahead of time and chill in the refrigerator.
- Put vanilla syrup, tea, ice, and milk into a cocktail shaker. Shake 10 times.
- Pour iced tea latte into a cup.Empty everything in the cocktail shaker into the cup, including the ice.
EQUIPMENT
NOTES
- Steeping and cooling down the tea takes a while so to make the drink quick, make the tea ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Tea (without anything else added) can be stored for up to 4 days.
- Vanilla syrup can be purchased directly from Starbucks if you ask the barista at the register. The only catch is that they’ll only sell it to you if they extra in stock. It costs less than $14 if you get the vanilla syrup from a Starbucks location.
- Starbucks handshakes their Iced London Fog Lattes in a cocktail shaker but if you don’t have one, use a large jar with a tight lid. Or, just pour syrup, cooled down tea, ice, and milk into a cup and stir before drinking.
- Any Earl Grey tea can be used to make a London Fog, but if you want it to be as close to Starbucks as possible, steep the tea with a pinch (1/8 teaspoon at most) of dried lavender.
- Instead of Teavana Earl Grey tea sachets, you can use any Earl Grey tea.
- The hot tea can be cooled down quickly with ice in the cocktail shaker but it’s best when the tea has cooled down a bit.
- Customize this drink with homemade vanilla sweet cream cold foam!