British Tea Even Ted Lasso Would Love!
Ted Lasso hates hot tea. He’s the fictional American football coach on Apple+ TV’s show Ted
Lasso. He moves to England to take over a failing professional UK soccer team - the fictional AFC Richmond.
When he’s asked how he takes his tea, he responds, "Well, usually I take it right back to the counter, because someone's made a horrible mistake." He also says, "Tea is horrible. Absolute garbage water. Don't know why you all do that."
"Tea is horrible. Absolute garbage water. Don't know why you all do that." - Ted Lasso
But he hasn’t tasted a Game Day Grub London Fog. One sip and the heavens would open,
angels would sing, and Ted would finally understand why Brits are so passionate about their
tea!
Ted (played by Jason Sudeikis) is used to being served a cup of English Breakfast tea. But a London Fog is made from a different tea blend - Earl Grey -- that’s infused with bergamot. Queen Elizabeth had this every tea blend ever morning with breakfast. (For more on the Queen's breakfast, try our Royal Scrambled Eggs.) Bergamot makes all the difference!
I love bergamot! My kids have bought me bergamot candles, bergamot cookies, bergamot essential oils for my diffuser, bergamot vitamins. Once, my daughter Grace came home from New York trip with a package of Italian bergamot shortbread. Lordy, they were good!
And bergamot is the game-changing ingredient in a London Fog. That’s what gives Earl Grey Tea its distinctive flavor. My son, Jake, who lives in London, just came home for 10 days. He brought me…you guessed it…Earl Grey Tea. Waitrose is a wonderful UK grocery store chain that makes a really good regular and decaf Earl Grey, so no matter how late in the day it gets, I can still enjoy a London Fog. (Whittard of Chelsea is also a great source for Earl Grey Tea, but many American brands are available too.)
So what is bergamot?
It’s the oil and juice extract from an especially ugly orange that grows in southern Italy. Besides flavoring tea, it’s used in perfumes, cosmetics, vitamins, baking, etc. But it doesn’t taste “orange-y”.
Since Earl Grey Tea is already packed with bergamot flavoring, you don’t have to go find bergamot oil, although it’s readily available. (I use it in my diffuser, so my house can smell like an Earl Grey teabag, even when I'm not having a cup.)
Now for the recipe…think of it as an amped up latte made with tea instead of espresso. The proper way is to use loose tea in a teapot and then strain the tea as you pour. Ours is the quickie American version with a tea bag. Enjoy!
As we mentioned the Queen had Earl Grey tea each morning, often with scrambled eggs her chefs made with two special ingredients. Find out what they are in our Royal Scrambled Eggs.
London Fog Tea
Recipe Ingredients
1 Earl Grey Tea bag
½ t good vanilla extract
¼ c half and half
Boiling water
Preparation Instructions
Warm your mug with boiling water and then discard the water. (I prefer using a tea kettle rather than a microwave to heat the water, but I’m a little picky when it comes to London Fogs.)
Place tea bag in warm cup and pour in fresh boiling water, leaving about 1 inch of room at the top.
Add vanilla.
Let steep for 2 min.
While that is steeping, put milk in a frother, and froth on “warm” setting, so the milk is light and bubbly and doesn’t cool your tea. (If you’re using a hand frother, that’s OK too. You’ll just have to sip faster before it cools.)
Remove the tea bag from the cup. Pour the frothed milk on top. Enjoy!
If you like a cold London Fog, let the tea steep with vanilla and then let it cool.
Take a big glass, add ice and then pour in tea mixture. Add cold frothed milk on top. So refreshing! Serve with a biscuit.
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