Sipping on an iced English tea latte is sure to hit the spot on a hot summer day! Incredibly easy to make with just two ingredients, you can enjoy this luscious coffee shop quality beverage at home any time you want and for a fraction of the cost!
Hot days call for a refreshing cold drink.
You could certainly swing by your favorite coffee shop to pick up an iced caffeinated drink…
…like an iced English tea latte…
…and pay a few dollars for it…
…and have it served a plastic disposable cup, no less.
Why do that when you can make your own refreshing luscious drink, served in a real glass, and for a fraction of the cost, without actually leaving home? This iced English tea latte
Only Two Ingredients
Since this is called a latte, that means there has to be milk. The other ingredient is tea bags. Milk and tea…that’s the bare minimum this drink needs…and that’s just TWO ingredients! You could add sweetener if you’d like, but I find that milk is sweet enough on its own so that I don’t add any. That being said, even if you do add sweetener, that would still only be three ingredients.
The difference between this tea and any other regular tea is that the tea bags are steeped in hot milk instead of hot water. Steeping in milk makes the tea richer and creamier. Chill it and serve it over ice and you’ve got one luscious drink.
All you need to do is heat the milk in a pot on the stove until it’s hot and then pour it over a couple of tea bags in a measuring glass. Then you let it steep for 10 minutes.
Ten minutes may seem like a long time, but the tea takes longer to steep in milk than it does in water, and you also want a really nice deep tea flavor. After 10 minutes, you’ll also have a beautiful rich tea color which, I think, only adds to its deliciousness!
After the steeping is done, it’s time to remove and discard the tea bags, then let the tea cool down a bit before transferring it to the fridge. To prevent a skin from forming on the tea, I like to cover the measuring cup with a towel, which also absorbs any condensation that might drip back into the tea. Once the tea has cooled down enough, I loosely cover the measuring cup with plastic wrap and transfer it to the fridge to get all nice and cold.
What Milk and Tea Should You Use?
I use regular full-fat dairy milk. I like the flavor of it, and the creaminess gives a nice body and richness to the tea.
That being said, you can really use whatever milk you want. If you are dairy-free, use a nut milk like almond milk, or soy, coconut, or oat milk. Except for coconut milk, I find that most nut, soy, and oat milks to be thinner, much like if you were to use a lower fat dairy milk.
Black tea is my tea of choice for this recipe, but you can also try using other teas…just make sure you are use tea bags and not loose tea. I’m not sure how this recipe would work with herbal teas as I’m not sure about the herbal milk flavor combination…but if you give it a try, please let me know how it works out in the comments below!
Make A Bottle’s Worth
The recipe explains how to make a single serving, but really, you can multiply the servings and have a bottle of cold English tea latte ready and waiting in the fridge! This is definitely worth doing if you want enough to serve to a few people at once, or if you just want to be able to enjoy the tea at a moment’s notice.
I simply multiply the recipe by 2 or 3 times, use a larger measuring cup for holding all the milk and tea bags, and follow the same steps for steeping, cooling, and chilling. Then I just transfer the finished product to a bottle or sealable jar and store it in the fridge!
This recipe is a cold adaptation of my Yummy Cuppa English Tea Latte…which is definitely another recipe to bookmark for when temperatures start to get chilly again and a hot drink is preferable! If you’re looking for other refreshing drinks to enjoy in the hot weather, check out Cold Brew Coffee Ice Cube Latte, Iced Matcha Tea Latte, or Crazy Easy Triple Layer Iced Coffee. If you aren’t in the mood for tea or coffee, there are also Fresh Fruit Sparklers!
Skip the trip to the coffee shop and save yourself some money by making this refreshing iced English tea latte at home. You won’t feel like you’re missing anything by not going, and you’ll be surprised at how easy and delicious it is. Also, it will be all the more enjoyable as you sip it from a real glass and not a plastic cup. 😉
~ Lisa.
Iced English Tea Latte
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk (or milk of your choice)
- 2 black tea bags
- Sweetener of choice (optional)
Instructions
- Place the two tea bags in a measuring cup large enough to contain the milk.
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk over low, stirring frequently. Remove from heat when you see steam; do not allow the milk to boil.
- Pour the hot milk over the tea bags in the measuring cup and let steep for 10 minutes.
- Gently stir the tea bags and squeeze slightly before removing from the milk.
- If adding sweetener to your tea, add it at this point and stir to dissolve.
- Loosely the measuring cup with a towel and let cool for about 30 minutes.
- Loosely cover measuring cup with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tea until cold.
- Pour over ice in a glass to serve.
If Making A Bottle's Worth:
- Once the tea has cooled down sufficiently in the fridge, pour the tea into a bottle and store in the fridge until ready to use.
Notes
- I use whole dairy milk, but you can also use lower fat milk.
- Try this with non-dairy milk, such as coconut, almond or soy milks.
- If you want to add sweetener to your tea, add it to the tea after you remove the tea bags, while the milk is still hot. Stir well to dissolve
- Between removing the tea bags and storing the tea in the fridge, cover the tea with a cloth to prevent a skin from forming on the tea as it is cooling.
**This recipe was June 18th, 2018 and republished on July 29th, 2020 with recipe updates, and new photos and writing.
Great recipe!!! But please remember to NEVER set anything warm into a fridge, it needs a minimum of room temperature before setting it to the fridge, or your can spoil anything else you have in there!!!
Yes, absolutely, Ole. Thanks for the tip!
I absolutely love this recipe! I’ve used fruity herbal teas mixed with a black tea and its top notch. I just tried it with oat milk and a little honey, with BlackBerry vanilla tea and earl grey and it is heaven!!
Mixing black tea with fruity herbal teas sounds delightful, Lindy! I’m going to have to try that myself! Thanks for sharing your idea!
Very good, 10/10, top marks, would do it again if possible, thanks for the tutorial
Can I add any type of milk?
Can I add low-fat milk?
Yes.
Yes, this will work with other milks.
How long should I leave it in the fridge to chill for?
I would let it chill for at least an hour to get it nice and cold.
Saves me a lot of money and test so AMAZING!
I’m so glad you like it, Mark, and saving money is a great thing!
Simply refreshing! You are corrrect, those daily trips to the cafe can add up & making this at home is a fraction of that cost. Amazing!
Delicious with almond milk, too! So simple, but so refreshing!
Oh yes! It would taste good with any nut milk, I think!