Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte

The vanilla rooibos tea I have at home is Adagio’s Vanilla Rooibos. It’s an herbal tea made by blending vanilla beans in with rooibos – and the vanilla flavor comes through wonderfully, giving the tea an impressive natural sweetness. Since the tea has a bold flavor and is a bit sweet to begin with, it’s a great choice for a tea latte, where added sweetness will only bring out the natural sweetness of the tea and the flavor of the vanilla will still stand out over the addition of milk.

The tea latte is easy to make by brewing strong tea – use twice as much as you normally would – and adding in some hot milk. Steamed milk is ideal, but if you use a small whisk to froth up regular milk you’ll get a good result, too. I usually sweeten tea lattes with vanilla syrup if I have some on hand, but regular sugar works out just fine, too.

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Torani Honey Vanilla Syrup, reviewed

I usually drink coffee black, but there are lots of drinks – tasty drinks, I might add – out there that are worth changing things up for every now and then. I prefer to make my own sweetened syrups for coffee when I can, but sometimes the big syrup companies come up with some unusual flavor combinations that I can’t pass by without trying.Torani’s Honey Vanilla Syrup is one of these. It’s a new, seasonal offering from the company and it’s already one of their best sellers.

The syrup definitely lives up to it’s name. It is sweet, surprisingly thick and with a really natural tasting floral honey flavor. The vanilla is an undertone and, again, tastes very natural. It works well with the honey.

The honey flavor does come out well in a finished drink, even over a fairly dark coffee. It makes a great, slightly unusual latte and is delicious in just about all types of tea where the honey can really shine.

Zhena’s Gypsy Vanilla Mandarin Tea, reviewed

Zhena’s Gypsy Vanilla Mandarin Tea is one of the non holiday options (as opposed to the seasonal Caramel Apple Tea) from the organic fair trade company. This tea has a black tea base, to which notes of vanilla and mandarin orange have been added. Unlike the Lipton Mandarin Tea, the orange notes are very subtle in this blend. Partially, this contrast stems from the fact that the Lipton tea has a green tea base with a much lighter flavor to it, but mostly it is because Lipton really focuses on the fruit flavor and Zhena really focuses on the tea.

The flavor of black tea is both the first thing you smell and taste when you brew a cup, followed by very smooth, but subtle, vanilla flavor. It really comes through the tea beautifully without being artificial or overwhelming. The orange is also subtle and only appears as of a hint of citrus in the aftertaste of the tea. It adds just enough to brighten the cup, but is definitely playing second fiddle to the vanilla and black tea.