Name: Iced English Tea Latte
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups whole milk ((or milk of your choice)); 2 black tea bags; Sweetener of choice ((optional))

JUMP TO RECIPE

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!

Light brown liquid pouring into a glass containing ice cubes

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!

Two tea bags in a measuring cup, white milk being poured into the measuring cup, brown tea

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.

Light brown tea latte being poured into a glass bottle

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!

Light brown tea being poured into a clear glass

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.