Fog

We got a few requests last week for London Fogs, and a few more for tea lattes in general, so I thought I'd write a little bit about the drink.


I) Tea Lattes


To use an analogy:  Tea latte : "regular" latte :: tea : espresso.

That is to say, a tea latte is strong tea with steamed milk. We brew our tea in Finum filters, let them steep, then steam the milk and pour it over the tea. You can do this with any kind of tea, though some teas work better than others. Fruity teas, for example, have a tendency to curdle the milk.

Nope, not that one.

II) London Fog

A London Fog is a variety of tea latte that has acquired its own name (Wikipedia has the whole story). It is an Earl Grey tea latte with vanilla syrup. There are other variations, for Atlantic City (rose tea), Dublin (Irish breakfast tea), and Bombay (a redundant name for a chai latte). Inspired, we came up with Harrisburg's signature tea latte.


III) Capital City Fog

After making and sampling London and Atlantic City fogs, we wondered which of our many teas would adequately represent Harrisburg. Of course, we decided, it would have to have some smoky notes, to evoke the failed incinerator, and maybe be a green tea, both to represent Harrisburg's natural beauty, and to symbolically draw "the green" back to this bankrupt town. We settled on Rishi's Green Mint, a savory tea that Rishi's website describes as "mellow and toasty with the distinctive aroma of chocolate mint cookies and buckwheat." It combines nicely with the vanilla and the steamed milk, making a worthy signature beverage for the Capital City.