London Fog Tea Latte

Before you start

A London Fog is an Earl Grey tea latte: black tea scented with bergamot, sweetened with vanilla and topped with frothed milk. The name refers to its soft gray color. The drink is often credited to a café in Vancouver, but the details of its origin are not well documented.

The main challenge is strength. Milk and vanilla quickly mute Earl Grey, so the tea has to be brewed stronger than you would drink it plain, using more leaf rather than a longer steep. Steeping too long pulls out tannins and makes bergamot taste soapy. Brew about 4 minutes, then sweeten the tea before adding milk.

Ingredients

• 4 g (2 tsp) loose leaf, or 2 tea bags Earl Grey tea
• 180 ml (6 oz) water — just off the boil, about 95°C (205°F)
• 15 ml (½ oz) vanilla syrup — or 10 ml simple syrup plus 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 120 ml (4 oz) whole milk or oat milk
• pinch dried lavender buds — optional garnish

Method

1. Heat the water to about 95°C (205°F), just off a full boil.
2. Steep the Earl Grey in the water for 4 minutes. Set a timer; going much past 5 minutes brings out bitter tannins that milk will not hide.
3. Remove the tea leaves or bags without squeezing them, which presses out extra bitterness.
4. Stir the vanilla syrup into the hot tea. Taste: it should be strong, fragrant and a little sweeter than you want the finished drink to be.
5. Froth the milk to 60 to 65°C (140 to 150°F) with plenty of foam. The Fog is traditionally foamy, closer to a cappuccino top than a flat latte.
6. Pour the milk into the tea, spooning a generous cap of foam on top. Garnish with a few lavender buds if you like.

Tips for success

• Choose an Earl Grey made with natural bergamot oil on a robust black tea base. Very lightly scented teas vanish under milk.
• Doubling the leaf instead of extending the steep is the single biggest improvement to a weak Fog.
• Make a batch of vanilla syrup ahead; it keeps in the refrigerator for a few weeks and makes each Fog take a few minutes.

Substitutions

Earl Grey

Lady Grey adds orange and lemon peel for a brighter cup. Rooibos Earl Grey is caffeine-free and less tannic, so steep it 6 minutes.

Vanilla syrup

Honey with a drop of vanilla extract works. Lavender syrup gives a floral version sometimes called a lavender fog.

Whole milk

Oat milk complements bergamot and foams well. Skim milk foams high but tastes thin.

Variations

Iced London Fog

Brew with 120 ml water at double strength, sweeten, cool, then pour over ice and add cold milk.

London Fog cold foam

Pour sweetened iced Earl Grey over ice and top with milk frothed cold with vanilla syrup.

Troubleshooting

It tastes like sweet milk with little tea

Use twice the tea or slightly less milk, and do not cut the steep short of 4 minutes.

It tastes bitter or soapy

The tea steeped too long or the bags were squeezed. Time the steep and remove the tea gently.

The foam collapses at once

Start with very cold milk and stop before it gets too hot. Whole milk and barista plant milks give the most stable foam.

Storage

Make each London Fog fresh. Brewed, sweetened Earl Grey can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 2 days for iced versions. Milky leftovers should be refrigerated within 2 hours or discarded.

Safety notes

Earl Grey is a black tea and contains caffeine; the FDA cites 400 mg a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most healthy adults.