earl grey lovers rejoice! the london fog, a delightful tea latte with steamed milk and vanilla, is making a comeback. curious about its resurgence?
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imagine this: you slip into a cosy nook at third draught in shoreditch. the rain taps lightly on the windows as someone beside you orders something that sounds strangely nostalgic, a london fog. the hiss of the milk steam wand follows, mingling with the perfume of earl grey tea. the barista pours the silky milk over a swirling pool of bergamot and vanilla. you can almost taste the delicate dance of citrus and cream. why, amid the myriad options available, are people flocking back to this classic concoction?
here is the thing about the london fog: it has nothing to do with london.
according to sprudge, the drink was invented in vancouver, british columbia in the late 1990s by a ceramicist named mary loria. she was pregnant, had gone off coffee, and needed something warm and satisfying that wasn't just plain tea. so she started asking the baristas at her local spot, buckwheat cafe, to brew earl grey and steam some milk into it. she'd add vanilla sugar. it worked. she kept ordering it at other cafes, kept explaining the formula to confused baristas (there's a great detail in the sprudge piece where she recalls trying to explain it to a starbucks employee who had absolutely no idea what she wanted), and somehow, gradually, it spread.
nobody knows who named it. not even loria herself. the wikipedia entry on the drink) notes that "fog" likely refers to the steamed milk clouding the tea, which is at least poetic if not historically precise. the name stuck, and the drink migrated south and east along the pacific coast, eventually landing on menus across north america and, eventually, the world.
starbucks put it on their menu in 2009 under the name teavana london fog latte, which both legitimised and slightly flattened it. but the independent cafe version, made well, is a different thing altogether.
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most tea lattes use whatever bag is cheapest in the stockroom. the london fog lives or dies on the quality of the earl grey, and it is worth understanding why.
earl grey is black tea scented with oil extracted from the rind of the bergamot orange, a small citrus grown mainly in calabria, italy. bergamot tastes like nothing else. floral, slightly bitter, faintly reminiscent of orange marmalade but more perfumed, less sweet. when you steep earl grey properly and add steamed milk and vanilla, the bergamot lifts the whole drink. the vanilla rounds off the bitterness. the milk softens everything into something almost dessert-adjacent without being cloying.
use a bad earl grey, and you get warm, slightly scented milk. use a good one, loose leaf if you can, and the cup smells like a proper tea shop the moment the hot water hits. a barista at a small cafe on portobello road told me once that she thought of it as the only tea that actually wants to be made with milk, the bergamot doing the same job that espresso does in a flat white: giving the milk somewhere to go, something to hold onto.
not all earl greys are equal. a few things worth knowing before you buy:
twinings is the obvious accessible option and genuinely decent. for something with more character, any loose leaf from a specialty tea shop will make a noticeable difference.
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the classic london fog is earl grey, steamed milk, vanilla, and a touch of sweetener. but as the grow tea company notes, the drink has picked up regional variants as it has spread, most of them sensible swaps rather than gimmicks.
| variation | tea base | sweetener | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| classic london fog | earl grey | vanilla syrup | the original formula |
| halifax fog | earl grey | nova scotian maple syrup | earthy, slightly smoky |
| dublin fog | irish breakfast | vanilla | bolder, less floral |
| mexican fog | earl grey | agave | lighter sweetness, works cold too |
| lavender fog | lavender earl grey | honey | floral forward, good in spring |
| iced london fog | earl grey (cold brew) | vanilla | surprisingly good in summer |
the lavender version deserves special mention. swap in a lavender earl grey, use raw honey instead of vanilla syrup, and top with oat milk foam. it is softer and more fragrant than the original. a small number of specialty cafes have started putting it on permanent menus alongside matcha lattes and there is a reason for that: it photographs well, it tastes good, and it is interesting without being difficult.
the iced version is also underrated. cold brew the earl grey overnight (one tablespoon of loose leaf per 250ml of cold water, steep in the fridge for 8 hours), mix with vanilla syrup, pour over ice, and top with cold frothed oat milk. not the same drink, but a good one.
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the numbers tell part of the story. according to nation's restaurant news, citing datassential data from 2023, london fog appearances on u.s. restaurant menus spiked 173% over four years. still a small percentage of menus overall, but the trajectory is clear. only about 9% of american consumers had tried one at the time of the survey, which means the growth ceiling is high.
but menu data only explains so much. the more interesting question is why now.
part of it is the wider shift toward tea in specialty coffee spaces. matcha and hojicha have been on menus for years, chai has never really left, and there is a growing appetite (especially among people who either avoid coffee or want an afternoon option that won't wreck their sleep) for something warm, comforting, and slightly sophisticated. the london fog sits right in that gap. it has the ritual of a latte without the caffeine hit of a double shot. it tastes like something an adult would drink but does not require explaining fifteen ingredients.
part of it is also, honestly, aesthetics. the pale, cloudy look of a london fog in a clear glass is visually distinct. the lavender version especially. that is not nothing in 2024.
and then there is the comfort angle. post-pandemic cafe culture tilted hard toward familiarity and warmth. people are not always after the most technically demanding single origin pour-over. sometimes they want something that tastes like a rainy afternoon done right. the london fog has been quietly waiting for that moment since buckwheat cafe in vancouver in the 1990s.
pepperidge farm even brought back a limited-edition milan london fog cookie in 2024, which is perhaps the clearest possible signal that a cafe drink has crossed into mainstream flavour recognition.
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you do not need special equipment. a small saucepan and a whisk will do it. a milk frother makes it easier. an espresso machine with a steam wand makes it cafe-quality. the drink is forgiving.
here is a reliable method for one serving:
the whole thing takes under ten minutes and costs a fraction of a cafe price. if you are making it regularly, it is worth buying a small bottle of monin vanilla syrup (the same stuff most cafes use) rather than relying on extract. the texture is different, more syrup-like, and it blends more smoothly into the warm tea.
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at its core: brewed earl grey tea, steamed milk, and vanilla syrup or vanilla extract. most versions also include a small amount of sweetener, usually honey, maple syrup, or plain sugar. some cafes add a touch of cream on top, or a dusting of cinnamon. that is it. no obscure ingredients, no specialist equipment required.
yes, but less than coffee. a standard earl grey tea bag brewed for 3-4 minutes contains roughly 30-60mg of caffeine, depending on the brand and brew time. compare that to an espresso shot at around 63mg, or a drip coffee at 95mg or more. the london fog is a real option for people who want a warm cafe drink in the afternoon without being wired until midnight.
absolutely. several brands make decaf versions. the flavour profile is slightly muted compared to full-leaf earl grey, but with good vanilla and properly steamed milk it still holds together well. worth doing if you are sensitive to caffeine or making one after dinner.
more or less. starbucks uses the name "earl grey latte" for their version (previously branded as a teavana london fog latte). the terms are used interchangeably in most cafes. the main distinction some people draw is that a london fog uses vanilla as an explicit ingredient rather than it just being implied by the latte format, but in practice the drinks are the same thing.
whole dairy gives the richest, most traditional result. oat milk is the most popular alternative and froths well enough to give a decent foam. almond milk is thinner and can separate slightly if the tea is very hot. soy works but has a distinct flavour that competes with the bergamot. coconut milk is an interesting choice if you want something slightly tropical underneath the floral notes, though it is polarising. honestly, use what you like drinking.
as the rain-soaked streets of london or even a quiet cafe in vancouver inspire this delightful drink, it's no wonder the london fog is steaming back into popularity. it's a simple pleasure in a complex world, one sip of nostalgia at a time. so next time you're in the mood for something warm and comforting, maybe you'll consider ordering this classic cup, sharing in the story it carries with every swirl.
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