Tea from Hawaii

Ever wondered how tea grown in Hawaii would taste like? Now you have the opportunity to try it, as Samovar Tea has joined forces with Tea Hawaii – a Hawaii-based tea company. The two currently available teas are an oolong and a black tea.

This is not the only tea vendor on the Big Island – Mauna Kea Tea and Hilo Coffee Mill are other companies who also sell the local tea. Mauna Kea Tea have a tea farm on the slope of Mauna Kea, which is the highest mountain on the island and their offerings are organically grown. Prices vary anything form 5 USD (3,5 EUR) for a sample to 40 USD (28 EUR) for full size packages.

London Fog

London Fog is a tea drink or tea latte first invented in Vancouver, Canada. This beverage also known as Vanilla Tea Misto or just Earl Grey Tea Misto consists of Earl Grey tea, milk and vanilla syrup. Originally London Fog was made with Peppermint Tea in 2006. Other variations of London Fog are Manchester Fog (with soy milk instead of regular milk and sugar-free syrup) and Seattle Fog also known as No Wang’s Special (with soy, water, vanilla and hazelnut syrup). There are places that make London Fog (for example Starbucks) but it’s usually an off-menu item and you have to ask for it.

How to make London Fog?

To make one glass you will need one bag of Earl Grey or the equivalent of loose leaf tea, enough to make a fairly strong essence which will still have a rich flavor after mixing with milk. You also need about 450ml of heated milk, preferably steamed milk if you have access to a steamer and a shot of vanilla syrup.

1. First you have to make a small amount of tea to make an essence, you can add 125ml of boiling water to the tea bag, leaving it to steep for 3-4min

2. You add heated milk/steamed milk to the Earl Grey essence

3. Add vanilla syrup according to taste