If there is one thing I love, it’s a good cup of tea. Okay so really, I love about 3-4 cups of tea a day these days. But who’s counting? I don’t remember the first time I tried a London Fog Latte, but I can tell you it was love at first sip.
Once I found the perfect Earl Grey tea and vanilla syrup combo, I began making them at home once a week as a special treat.
The ingredients are pretty straight forward {Earl Grey tea, vanilla syrup, and steamed milk}. The key to a good cuppa in my opinion though is steeping your tea long enough to get the maximum flavor out of it {3 minutes seems perfect to me}.
Steeping your tea long enough and using a REALLY good Earl Grey tea blend like Steven Smith Tea Maker are the biggies for me. There is a huge difference in taste between an everyday tea like Bigalow with it’s leaves ground down into tiny bits and one with more of an unprocessed kick to it.
When I started making London Fog Latte’s at home a few years ago I played around with a few different brands of vanilla syrup and found that the vanilla syrup from Starbucks was my favorite.
While Starbucks no longer sells their syrups on their website, you can still pick up a bottle at your local Starbucks. All you need to do is ask the cashier for a bottle of their vanilla syrup. It’s not something they stock on the shelves in the store, so you’ll need to ask for it. You can also purchase the syrup online off Amazon, but it will cost you a pretty penny.
Below you’ll find the exact recipe I use. {But maybe you want to try it with decaf, or almond milk or something else?}
Ingredients
10 ounces hot water
1 Steven Smith Teamaker Lord Bergamot Tea Bag
2 Tablespoons Starbucks Vanilla Syrup
1/4 cup steamed milk
Directions
Step tea bag in hot water for 3 minutes. While the tea is steeping, warm 1/4 cup of milk in a saucepan. Whisk it until the milk has a nice froth to it. Basically until it doubles in size. About 3 minutes or so over medium heat. Once the tea is done steeping, remove the tea bag. Stir in vanilla syrup and then pour the warm frothy milk into your cup.
~Mavis
Cathy Lynch says
I love the name of the Tea , I’m trying this today
What fun !!!
Jenny Young says
I need to try this.
By the way, my favorite method for frothing milk at home….this is for 1/2 cup of milk so for less I think times would vary a little. Whisk cold milk with an immersion blender for 30 seconds. It might look a little thicker but it doesn’t look very different. Microwave for 30 seconds. Done. It froths up when the heat hits it.
If you’re using less milk watch the timing carefully. It will balloon up very quickly. Use a deep cup as well so it doesn’t go over the top as it grows. I usually add my coffee too the frothed milk, then the syrup, for a homemade latte.
Katie W says
Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to try making drinks like this 🙂
Nancy D says
Jenny- I just made a frothy latte with your immersion blender idea…what a morning treat! Thank you
Diane Neal says
That’s a great tip! Thanks for sharing it!
Jane says
I love London Fogs!! I have a dairy allergy and they are delightful with Oatly oat milk!
Katie W says
I’m not a tea person really (though I have tried over the years!) but this sounds delicious. I never knew what was in a London Fog. I may have to order one at a coffee shop (made by a “pro”) to see if I like it before trying it at home.
Misty says
Steeping bit of lavender with the tea is lovely too.
MEM says
Yes! I was going to say this. Culinary lavender buds in a tea ball. Just for a minute. Or to taste.
Jody says
I’ve been making my own vanilla simple syrup…2 cups water, 2 cups sugar, bring to a gentle simmer until sugar is dissolved. Add 2 TBS. vanilla extract. Let cool, then store in the fridge in a jar. It also works if you reduce the sugar a bit and it’s easy to find the amount that works just for you. Love making a London Fog in the afternoon. So satisfying!
Cindy says
I just bought 2 bottles of Starbucks syrup at Walmart of all places. I think they were $5 ea. LOVE London Fogs!!
Kerri Adams says
What area of the store did you find these?
Cindy says
It was in the coffee isle with the other flavorings.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks for letting us know Cindy. I love how we help each other out on this site.
Karin Carson says
I make my own flavoured syrup with simple syrup and then I add the flavour I usually make vanilla with real vanilla and use it in the summer time for iced coffee drinks for my husband , the syrup is very easy to make and flavours are endless and they keep well in the fridge .
Kristi says
I make mine, too. It’s inexpensive (water, sugar and flavoring if you want). Once I made homemade, I didn’t like the “fake/plastic” taste of the stuff you buy at the store
Sandra Cirello says
Mavis,
Wal-Mart has the Starbucks Vanilla Syrup 12.17 oz for $4.98 and I got a Sugar Free one too on line. Can’t wait to try your recipe. Thanks, Sandy C.
Mavis Butterfield says
I just checked the bottle I bought at Starbucks and it is 33.8 ounces, I think I paid $12.99 for it. So, $4.98 isn’t a bad price for the smaller bottle. Thanks for letting us know Sandra.
Diana says
For some reason, I’ve never tried the flavored syrups for coffee and tea. Really need to get brave and try one. This looks like what I should try first. Thanks for the cozy looking drink recipe.
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m not that brave either, vanilla is the only one I’ve tried. Ha!
Terri says
I worked at Starbucks Support Center (corporate hdqtrs – our job was to support the stores and our “partners” who served the public).
One of my favorite things was the tea center. It was a beautiful room with dimmed lights where we could be treated to special tea leaves that were less than 24 hours from the tea trees in China.
Nothing better than having a tea master serve you a wonderful cupa tea.
Although a purist probably wouldn’t choose syrups – knowing many would we worked hard to make sure they were the best.
The search for the best dark chocolate… really tough job. So many dark chocolates, so little time.
Enjoy your tea today.
Valerie says
You can make your own syrup by making simple syrup 1 part water to 1 part sugar. Heat until sugar is dissolved then add a whole vanilla bean and let steep for at least an hour.
TerriSue Borden says
This sounds incredible!
Katy says
Steven Smith teas are the BOMB! We met one of the family members too by accidentally walking into her office while visiting the store (oops). She was so nice and gave us a mini tour.
If you ever get a chance try a malted macha latte – to die for.
Mary says
I am having trouble getting my tea strong enough
I used the lord bergamot you recommend.
Is the end result not super strong tea tasting?
It’s still delicious, just was curious
Thanks
Mavis Butterfield says
Hmmm, I think it’s a very flavorful tea. How long are you letting the tea steep? I let mine steep for at least 3 minutes before removing the tea bag.
Mary Ann Lipe says
I think I figured it out! I put my tea steeping and walk away. Watched tea doesn’t steep!
I love love love this treat!
Thank you for the recipe
Donna says
I, too, steep my tea for three minutes. But, I also put a saucer on top of my cup while steeping.
Margo says
The first time I made this I didn’t have vanilla syrup, so I used a mixture of store bought vanilla creamer and milk. I’m usually a coffee drinker and we make vanilla lattes every day, so I figured I’d foam the vanilla milk combo the same way and add it to my Earl Grey tea. It was delicious! I’ve had these at Starbucks and enjoyed them, but I’ll usually make them at home now when I want one. I’ve made these for guests and they’re always a hit. And I learned about these first from your site a while back, Mavis. Thank you!
Laura says
One of the most delicious and refreshing drinks I have ever had was a “tea float” in Japan: iced Earl Grey tea with a swirl of soft-serve vanilla ice cream. Just amazing, and grows more delicious as the ice cream slowly melts. These should be a thing in the U.S.
Jen says
This week the weather turned cooler at night where I’m at and as soon as that happens I prefer to drink tea vs. coffee. I bought Earl Gray tea and vanilla syrup earlier this week and today I bought lavender syrup so I could fancy up my London Fog lattes occasionally. I have one of those cheap battery-operated milk frothers, which works great for making both coffee and tea lattes. I warm up in the microwave whatever milk/milk alternative that’s in the refrigerator. My lattes taste just as good as the ones in the tea and coffee shops.
Julie says
Hi Mavis, My favorite bakery makes a London fog cake. I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds delicious. Have you done any baking with earl gray tea? Do you have any favorite recipes that use tea?
Tanya says
I literally looked up how to make a London fog 2 hours ago and here you are in my inbox I fell in love with Earl Greyer tea by The Republic of Tea that they have at Panera. I got a tin of it as a gift so I’m going to try a latte at home.
eliz says
I bet that is a delicious tea latte!
Why only once a week?