Making a Tea Latte

How to Make a Tea Latte 

Tea lattes are a sweet, indulgent treat! Like coffee-based lattes, they are made by adding steamed, frothed milk and sweetener to a tea base. Some popular versions of tea lattes include matcha lattes, chai lattes, London fog lattes. They are the perfect drink for cold winter days, whether you’re ordering one from a coffee shop or enjoying a homemade cup at home.

Lattes can seem intimidating to make, but they are actually pretty simple! All you need is good tea, milk and a sweetener of your choice. Master a few easy steps and you will be able to create your own delicious tea lattes  whenever you get a craving. While tea lattes are simple at their core, they are also fun to experiment with, so feel free to play around with different variations until you find your favorite!

What is a tea latte?

At its most simple, a tea latte is just like a coffee-based latte, but with tea instead of coffee or espresso. Tea lattes blend steamed, frothed milk with brewed tea and sweetener for a cozy, satisfying drink that's surprisingly easy to make at home.

How to make a hot tea latte

Making a tea latte that is as good as the one from your local coffee shop is surprisingly easy!

To make a tea latte at home, you’ll need:

    Tea of your choice (popular options include Matcha, Chai, Earl Grey , a favourite of mine caramel London fog)

    Milk (use whole milk for an extra rich latte, or use non-dairy milk like oat milk or almond milk if you prefer!)

    Sweetener (sugar, honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, etc.)

 First Brew your tea

The first step when making a tea latte is to brew up your tea base. This can vary depending on what type of tea you use, but for a black tea we recommend using one heaping teaspoon of tea leaves for every six ounces of water, heating water to boiling, and infusing your tea for about four to five minutes.

Tea infusers are a great option to brew your tea with. Be sure to leave enough room at the top of your cup for the milk!

Then Sweeten your tea

The next step is to sweeten your tea using a sweetener of your choice. You can use regular sugar, honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, agave, corn syrup, whatever is your favourite. Don’t be shy to experiment, do try new things, even change up the quantity of you tea verses your milk or the amount of sweetener you add. Adventure is a good thing.

Next Heat your milk

If you’re using a specialized milk frother or espresso machine, you can use this to heat up your milk. Otherwise, you can heat milk on the stove or microwave it for about 45 seconds. You want your milk to be hot, but not boiling! For a normal size latte, use about 1/3 cup of milk. You can use any type of milk you want, but whole milk will get the frothiest.

I have enjoy almond milk and even eggnog during the holiday season to create a most enjoyable cuppa.

Then  Froth your milk

Frothing the milk is probably the most intimidating part of making a tea latte at home. Luckily, you don’t necessarily need any specialized equipment to froth milk, and you probably already have a couple of these items in your kitchen! Prior to researching National Hot Tea Month I had no idea that frothing milk could be done in a couple of different ways:

Using a milk frother - This one is pretty self-explanatory: a milk frother will easily heat and froth your milk for you!

 Using a frothing wand - Frothing wands are another easy option, and often come as an accessory for immersion blenders. Just heat up your milk and froth away until your milk is fluffy and foamy.

 Using a whisk - If you don’t have a milk frother or frothing wand, you can use a hand whisk or electric whisk to froth your milk. Heat up your milk on the stovetop or in the microwave, then whisk until it’s nice and frothy.

 Shaking in a jar - If you don’t have any of the above equipment, you can froth your milk using a simple mason jar. Add steamed milk to a jar, screw on the lid, and shake vigorously.

Last Assemble your latte

To assemble your latte, pour the frothed milk into your teacup or mug and spoon the foam on top. You can garnish your latte with cinnamon, rose petals, or other indulgences.

 Then sit back and enjoy!

The Tearoom gift shop has many loose leaf tea blends that are perfect for tea lattes.

Why not stop in to see what new blend you could enjoy during this hot tea month.

Today I am enjoying coco chai that was brewed according to package directions as different teas need a different temperature and steeping time for optimum flavour, or as I say deliciousness. I added frothed almond milk to the top with a little shake of cinnamon sugar. What an indulgent treat.

I am enjoying my research about National Hot Tea Month, which has taken me to tea growing, tea production, manufacturing, and now consumption. I visited Pluck Tea, artful tea and other recipe type pages on the world wide web. I am going to need a really good massage as my posture has not been good while doing all this reading.

I do hope you are enjoying your Hot Tea Month.

Do share what new things you have tried, or how have you participated in this most enjoyable event?

Happy day to you!

Joanne