This family has become addicted to London Fogs. The kids and I are prone to drinking two to three a day -- each! They started out as a BC lower mainland invention, quickly spread to Washington state and the interior of BC, and we are doing our best to export the contagion elsewhere. Here is our recipe, refined for ease of production by children:1 Earl Grey teabag
1/2 a mug of boiling water
1/2 a mug of steamed milk
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Set tea to steep with water. Steam milk and add this along with the other ingredients. Mix. Remove teabag and begin drinking as soon as the fog reaches a nice medium brown tea-like colour.
We sometimes use a Tbsp. or two of vanilla syrup, the kind cafés have on hand to make vanilla lattés with, in lieu of the brown sugar and vanilla extract. That's the official barrista way of making them. And because our dairy consumption has gone way up since we discovered these, we've recently begun making a soy-based London Fog premix. We make 2 litres of soymilk, add a 1/4 tsp. of salt, 3/4 of a cup of sugar and 3 Tbsp. of vanilla extract. Then all we need to do is combine one part Earl Grey tea with one part premix for a quick and easy dairy-free version.
We highly recommend London Fogs for greasing the wheels of family meetings, for improving math concentration, and for cozying up with for a readaloud.
that sounds so yummy. i want to try it later with rooibos tea and pumpkin seed milk!
ReplyDeletedoes sound yummy - we've had a wee bit of a stressful day here and this sounds like just the thing for a pre-bedtime pick me up. Off to round up the others and give this a whirl . . .
ReplyDeleteI noticed London Fogs on the menu in the Starbuck's store tonight. It apparently IS spreading :)
ReplyDeleteWow! These sound just so amazing. I can't wait to try them! we have a chilly rainy day here, seems just perfect for it, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteMmm, sounds yummy. Any tips for steaming milk without a fancy machine?
ReplyDeleteYou can "steam" milk just by warming it (on the stove, or in the microwave), and add some froth if you like by whisking it a bit. Really all you need is hot milk.
ReplyDeleteSo, in Starbucks on the Royal Mile today I asked for a London Fog. It wasn't listed on the board, but yes, they knew what I meant. When it arrived, it looked rather less frothy than the one in your picture. In fact it just looked like milky tea. Taste? - I think something must have got lost in translation between BC and Scotland. Megan thinks the only solution is to fly to Vancouver to try the real thing.
ReplyDeleteHoly sucrose, Batman!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds very delicious... we've been doing something very similar (sans the cool name) - with less sugar (1/2 a tsp cures our sweet teeth) and no vanilla. I tried the vanilla this morning and it really does open it up!
We also use this amazing decaf organic Earl Grey tea that just oozes with bergamot... and the vanilla compliments that so well.
Very yummy. Thanks for sharing.
Well, the gold standard is an ounce of that vanilla syrup. A loose Tbsp. of brown sugar (more like 1 1/2 tsp. of granulated) is certainly less sweet than that stuff. But yeah, scale the sugar back to suit your taste. The vanilla sure is great, agreed. Something I would never have imagined would suit Earl Grey tea, but there you are.
ReplyDeleteI've seen these advertised at the Starbucks here, but haven't ventured to try one yet - I'm not really a fan of tea... I do love my skinny vanilla lattes though and wish I could make 'em at home.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the mug! I refuse to have boring coffee mugs in my house - everything is colourful or unique in some way. Your rainbiw mug is sweet!
Found your blog from mothering.com! Trying your london fog recipe now. Yum!
ReplyDeleteI too followed the trail from MDC to find a fellow blogging-Wondertree Bc mama. And lo your family digs London Fogs as well! Fab! I was in Hawaii in January and requested one, they were baffled, so I taught them. I don't think they'll add it to their sunny menu tho.
ReplyDeleteCheers