A while ago on Twitter, Linsey from The Necessiteas sent me a recipe for a drink called a 'London Fog', which is a combination of Earl Grey tea with vanilla syrup and steamed milk. It sounded delicious and I really wanted to try it. Here's Linsey's original recipe, which I would think serves two people:
* 250ml strong brewed Earl Grey, hot
* 250ml steamed milk
* 3-4 tablespoons vanilla syrup (that's American tablespoons; if you're using metric, make it 2-3)
Combine the Earl Grey and the vanilla syrup in 2 tall glasses or mugs, then pour on the steamed milk. Stir and enjoy.
I decided to make my own vanilla syrup, combining equal parts sugar and water and scraping in the seeds from a fresh vanilla bean. Sounds great? Well, I wouldn't know because while I was waiting for it to cool, ants infested it... and it's very difficult to tell the difference between ants and vanilla bean seeds when they're both floating in clear syrupy liquid... so I had to discard the whole lot.
Slightly discouraged, I decided a few days later to have a go using some vanilla extract and a little vanilla sugar in place of the syrup. The result was extremely tasty, perhaps a little on the sweet side for my taste, but a very nice desserty type drink.
A couple of weeks after that I thought I would try using some T2 French Earl Grey (a sweeter, more flowery Earl Grey) instead of Twinings regular old Earl Grey (yes, I know it's a boring supermarket brand, but I happen to like this one, so long as it's not in teabags), no sugar, and soy milk instead of regular milk. The result was perfect. I made another one for myself this morning, and the recipe follows below...
It's a bit of a mixture, I guess - a 'London Fog' made with 'French Earl Grey', in Melbourne (!) and so in honour of the damp, grey morning that I woke up to today, I have renamed this version a 'Melbourne Mist'. This quantity serves 1 person (if that person is me).
Melbourne Mist:
* 250ml strong-brewed French Earl Grey from T2 (I used about 2.5 tsp to one cup water, brewed 3 minutes), hot
* 250ml strong-brewed French Earl Grey from T2 (I used about 2.5 tsp to one cup water, brewed 3 minutes), hot
* approximately 125ml soy milk, heated and frothed
* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Combine vanilla extract and tea in a tall glass or mug, pour in the frothy soy milk, stir and drink.
This would preferably be accompanied by wholemeal toast with tahini and homemade marmalade. The perfect breakfast? I think so!
This would preferably be accompanied by wholemeal toast with tahini and homemade marmalade. The perfect breakfast? I think so!
Oh my...I know am I am just loving reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteOh that *does* sound like the perfect breakfast! Delicious!
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious
ReplyDeleteThat sounds wonderful - do you have a milk steamer then, or is there a trick to steam the milk without it?
ReplyDeleteI hope you all get a chance to try making one of these!
ReplyDeleteJamie - my sister has a coffee machine with a milk steaming attachment, but bless me if I know how to use it - instead I have a milk frother that looks a bit like a coffee plunger, a bit like this Bodum one here http://www.whereismycoffee.com/shop/plungers/bodum_latteo_milk_frother_406.html
- except I can't remember what brand mine is, but it's very similar. You warm the milk up first (can be done in the glass part of the frother, in the microwave) and then use the plunger bit to froth it. It works pretty well!
Ooh, yum! I have to give that one a try. I sort of stopped drinking Black tea a few years ago, I prefer the fruit and herbal teas. But I might change my mind for this recipe:-)
ReplyDeleteOh..yummo!
ReplyDeleteoh wow..I think I may have to try that one tomorrow morning :)
ReplyDelete