This London Fog drink is a delicious tea latte, and makes an excellent alternative to coffee if you’re trying to cut back on caffeine. This recipe is a little healthier than the version from Starbucks, made without refined sugar or cream.
What is a London Fog?
London Fog is a drink made with Earl Grey tea, steamed milk, and sugar. Starbucks makes it by adding vanilla syrup to the drink, so I’ve included a splash of vanilla in my version, too.
How Much Caffeine is in a London Fog?
The caffeine in a London Fog will vary based on the type of tea you use. The average 8 oz. cup of Earl Grey tea has roughly 45-50mg of caffeine, but there are decaf versions available if you’d prefer a caffeine-free drink.
Keep in mind that the longer you brew the tea, the more caffeine it will have. According to this chart, Earl Grey tea can have anywhere from 14mg of caffeine (when brewed for just 1 minute) to 47mg (when brewed for 5 minutes.)
What does a London Fog taste like?
If you love the flavor of Earl Grey tea, you’ll love the taste of a London Fog. It tastes like a sweet vanilla latte, with savory hints of floral black tea swirled through it.
Earl Grey tea gets its signature flavor from the addition of bergamot, which is a bitter citrus fruit found all over Europe. Thanks to its complex bitter & floral flavor, I find it to be a satisfying alternative to coffee.
How to Make a Healthy London Fog Drink
Similar to my Instant Vegan Latte (which is made with coffee), you can make a healthy London Fog using dates as a sweetener and a spoonful of almond butter for creaminess. It might sound strange adding these two ingredients to your tea, but when you blend them together they become a magical latte!
What I love about this method is that you don’t need to buy a special non-dairy creamer, or even make your own homemade almond milk. Those would just dilute the flavor of this drink, anyway. You get maximum flavor by adding the sweetness and creaminess directly to the tea. No extra liquid needed!
London Fog Drink (Tea Latte)
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 Earl Grey tea bags
- 2 Medjool dates , pitted
- 1 teaspoon almond butter (or cashew butter)
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the Earl Grey tea by pouring 8 to 12 ounces of boiling water over the tea bags in a mug. I like to use 2 tea bags for an extra-strong tea flavor, but you can use just 1 bag if you prefer a more mild drink. Cover the mug with a tea saucer, to lock in the heat.
- After the tea has brewed for 3 to 5 minutes, remove the tea bags and pour the hot tea into a blender. Add in the dates, almond butter, and vanilla, and blend until very smooth and creamy.
- If you have a powerful blender, like the Vitamix, you can pour the mixture directly into your mug and drink it right away, as the dates should be totally pulverized. If you are using a regular blender, I recommend holding a fine mesh strainer over your mug as you pour the blended mixture into your cup, so the strainer will catch any stray pieces of dates. (You don't want chunks in your drink!)
- Serve the hot tea latte right away and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
Per cup: Calories: 166, Fat: 2g, Carbohydrates: 37g, Fiber: 3g, Protein: 1g
Recipe Notes:
- If you don’t have dates on hand, feel free to use another natural sweetener, such as honey or maple syrup to taste. I use two dates in this recipe to create the sweetness I remember in the original drink, but feel free to use only 1 date, if you prefer something less-sweet.
- If you don’t want to use almond butter, you can experiment with any other nut butter, or try a spoonful of coconut cream for another non-dairy alternative. Just keep in mind that substitutions will change the flavor a bit.
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Reader Feedback: Have you ever tried a London Fog before? Let me know what you think about this version in the comments below!
can’t wait to try this! Can I use date syrup instead of whole dates?
Sure, just add it to your taste!
Thank you for sharing! I just made this and it’s delicious.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I haven’t had a London Fog in years, but I just made this and it’s ah-mazing. I think I might end up drinking this on a daily basis! Thanks for the idea.
I just made this using an English Breakfast tea, and it tastes SO good! I can’t believe how creamy it gets with just the little bit of almond butter.
Actually, Starbucks Earl Grey tea bags have Bergamot AND Lavender, and many indie shops will add Lavender syrup when they add Vanilla. Simply adding Vanilla to Earl Grey is not a proper London Fog.
Also, there is not a single Starbucks in my city that knows how to make a London Fog! I’ve gotten variations where they just gave me a big cup of steamed milk w a teabag and syrup added, or where they’ve used regular black tea because they say all black tea is the same. It seems that my favorite drink is also the bane of my existence as it is so incredibly difficult to find anyone who can prepare it correctly.
I’ll have to figure out how to make lavender syrup someday! We didn’t have that when I worked as a barista in college, so this is going off my memory from over 10 years ago. 🙂 I did find some Earl Grey tea bags with lavender today at the store, so I’m excited to give those a shot in this, too.
Wow this is so yummy! I realized I didn’t have any almond butter so subbed peanut butter and it was delicious! It tasted just like a London fog… I also couldn’t find the vanilla but don’t think it affected the taste too much. This will probably be replacing my morning coffee. Thanks for another fab recipe 😊
Allergic to all tree nuts. Would sunflower butter work or would that be too strong? Pretty sure peanut butter tea is a no go. LOL
It’s worth a shot! Someone did try it with peanut butter today and said it was good, so you never know until you try I guess! 🙂
I personally don’t put anything hot in plastic (the blender is plastic) do you think o could do this once the tea has cooled a bit and then re-warm it?
Sure, of course!
That’s what I did! I brewed the tea in my cup, and let it sit for a little while. Then I dropped the dates, almond butter and vanilla into the cup to help cool the tea down, before adding to the blender.. After blending, it was lukewarm, but still delicious.
Just tried. Substituted figs for dates. YummY!
Made this with chai tea because I was out of earl grey. So great! So creamy! Thanks for another great recipe Megan!
Looks yummy. I made the coffee version the other day. I’ll try this too. I don’t mind bits of dates though!
The London Fog tea was tasty! A little more effort than I am up for first thing, but it was a nice after- coffee treat.
So yummy! Love my new morning latte! I used decaf earl grey and 1 tsp cashew butter. Next time I will try using one date instead of two. Thanks!
This is the BEST London Fog!!! Thank you for the recipe! I’ve been trying to find a good London Fog at all our local coffee shops to no avail. This one is by far better than any I’ve tried and is so easy to make! I will now be making my own London Fog daily!!
I’m so happy to hear that! Glad you enjoyed it, too.
I did an elimination diet and ever since coffee just doesn’t taste the same so I’m in love with black tea now. This is so delicious! I think it’s better than the London Fog I got at my local coffee shop. I’m also using the almond butter I made from your recipe too 🙂
Loved it!!! Now I want to try this drink with different types of tea… Rooibos is next!
Thanks for sharing
Never heard of this tea recipe before, but it sounds interesting! Also, love the mug in your photos, where did you get it from?
So creamy and delish. I didn’t have almond butter so I used sunflower butter and it came out perfect. Thanks!
such an incredible recipe!!! I love it soo much, thank you!
Delicious treat in the morning and complimented my fruit (and spinach)smoothie for breakfast!
Holy kaw! This is delicious! I made it with homemade cashew butter. With two dates, it was almost too sweet. I might try one next time. Home run!
PS: Now that I know this technique, I’m addicted to also making chai lattes this way!
Hello there! Unfortunately I’m out of almond butter and I really wanna try this. Have you ever tried it with peanut butter? That’s all I have at the moment.
This is delicious! I was craving a London Fog but didn’t want to walk over to Starbucks lol and this hit the spot. I upped the almond butter to 1tbsp. so this drink could double as a snack!
This drink is amazing! I was hesitant because…well…come on, almond butter and earl grey??? But the combination is amazing. So delightful. Thank you for another awesome recipe!
Wanted something warm and creamy tonight. Made this, used one date, hit the mark.
Thank you
Trina
Thank you so much for this recipe! I am using decaf tea as part od thyroid healing, and was growinf bored with chicory as a coffee substitute. I dont feel like I am giving up anything with my new go-to beverage! I have been following you and using various recipes over the past several months, and sharing with friends and family. Thanks for your hard work and care!
This looks amazing! I’m going to try it. Do you think you could add real pumpkin purée instead of Almond butter or along with, to make a pumpkin fog latte?
Yes, my pumpkin spice latte does something similar! I use both almond butter and 1 T of pumpkin puree in that one, so that’s what I’d try here, too. You can add more to taste, as you go.
Wow! I’m a convert! Ok, I’ve been eyeing this recipe for months everytime I see it pop up on your FB story. I wasn’t familiar with the London Fog. I don’t care for drinks such as chai, and I figured it was akin to that. I was skeptical, but my curiosity got the best of me (after I had 1 morning coffee). I didn’t have Early Grey on hand at the moment, so I used 1 teabag-strength (cautious) of Twinings Black Tea English Breakfast Honey & Vanilla and then followed the rest of the directions (2 dates for my sweet tooth). Conclusion: I don’t know what it was about the flavor, but it was DELICIOUS! I might try 2 teabag-strength tomorrow. You’ve won me over to the Tea Latte or London Fog.
Hi Megan,
I haven’t made this yet but I plan to soon and treat my daughter with it as she studies for midterms (First year university all on-line because of COVID…everyone needs a latte!)
I don’t leave enough notes because I SOOO appreciate your work & I feel like you and I are on a first name basis in my kitchen. I have all your books and have REALLY appreciated your creative and healthy ideas. As a public health nurse I find myself wanting to teach just as much about healthy eating as I do about all the other determiniates of health.
May you be encouraged that you are doing great work for me, my family and probably even more Canadians.
L
Aw, thank you so much for the kind words, Loretta. I really appreciate hearing from you, and I’m glad that your family is enjoying the recipes. Good luck to your daughter and her midterms, and thanks for your support!
This is just the recipe I *need* in my life. Over the last 3 years or so I’ve gradually transitioned to a much healthier lifestyle and have ditched a lot of bad habits related to food. The less-than-healthy (and expensive!) habit I haven’t managed to shake is Starbucks. Their London Fog is my drink of choice.
I have tried other recipes for homemade London Fogs, but always found them disappointing. They often come out tasting watered-down or the sweetener just tastes wrong to me. Not so with your version! It’s not a copycat flavor, but I think I like it better as it has that “real food” wholesomeness.
This recipe has the potential to save me money and keep me healthier. Thank you!!
I tried your recipe today and it’s DELICIOUS!! I used Earl Grey Tea, which is what I had on hand. Starbucks uses Lady Grey which contains lavender and that adds a nice extra layer of flavor. I’ll have to rummage around and see if I can find some lavender to brew with my tea next time.
Not sure why my rating didn’t show up before- 5 stars!
You did it again Megan! Absolutely lovely drink. Really appreciate your dedication to getting your recipes right before sharing with your audience. Every one I try works 100% Satisfaction guaranteed 🙂
Aw, thanks for the kind words. And I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! It’s my favorite lately.
This is one of my favorite at home drinks to make! Especially when the weather gets cold!
I’m so glad you love it, Anna. I’m sipping on one right now, too! 🙂
We make this and enjoy it very much. I’ve also used with with sweet and spicy tea from the good earth, delicious this way too.
So good!!!! I had earmarked this recipe for quite some time and really glad I finally made it today. It’s perfect for a cold day and I bet it would be amazing over ice in the summer. Such a delicious treat with some caffeine! Definitely going to add it onto my regular drink rotation. Thank you!
Sure this drink tastes good, but it is definitely not even close to making a London fog. It would be better if you called it something else so you don’t pull a Starbucks and start making fake drinks that are named after real drinks, which just confuses everyone and annoys baristas. There are many ways to make healthy, lactose free London dogs that don’t involve abandoning the entire recipe altogether.
I recently messaged you about trying to find a healthy replacement for Diet Coke, my addiction! I prefer sweet to bitter tastes, but remembered seeing you post about this drink. I decided to give it a try today. I used one tea bag, rather than two, thinking that may cut down on the bitter taste. It was delicious! Thank you!
My bf and I are addicted to these now. I seriously go to bed excited that I get to have one in the morning! I’ve found I prefer using ground almonds instead of almond butter – it could just be the almond butter I was using, but it overpowered everything. Thanks so much for this recipe! (I also tried making it was cookie butter instead of the dates and almond butter… I’m basically just blending everything into tea now and seeing what happens…lol)
My current go to drink! Not sure why it took me so long to try this one, but I LOVE it and make it for anyone who comes over. Another hit!
Very good and frothy! I tried two dates but will cut back to one next time. I also think the almond flavor was a little strong so I will try less next time. Overall, very delicious!
I’m in love with this drink. I took a break from coffee for 3 weeks and loved this healthy alternative. It has replaced my morning coffee drink. I just ran out of dates and can’t wait for my new thrive market shipment to arrive so I can make this tea. Thank you for an amazing recipe.
Megan – what nontoxic teapot do you recommend? Thank you.
Creamy and delicious! My new favorite hot drink.
This drink is wonderful!!
This is so delicious. I even forgot the vanilla and it was super. Thank you for the recipe.
Great recipe, as good as Starbucks but without all the refined sugar!