Gandalf the Grey Latte (aka Earl Grey Latte)

Top of the morning to ya internet friends! I am thrilled to share my first Middle Earth beverage with you all! One of my favorite characters in LOTR is Gandalf. He is such a remarkable character and I've always been interested in his personal history. One of the most admirable characteristics of Gandalf is that he gets sh** done. Sure, he may go about it in a kooky way but it all comes together in the end. The accessory and/or life force of many productive people is COFFEE. But Gandalf just doesn't strike me as a coffee kind of a guy. I think he's more of a tea guy - an Earl Grey guy to be specific. Some of you might already be familiar with the Earl Grey latte, also known as a London Fog latte. Most of the recipes I have seen online involve steeping your Earl Grey tea bags in warm milk. Now this method definitely works if you're short on time and don't have an concentrate prepared, but I find that it doesn't have as pronounced of a taste. I encountered this same problem when developing a Chai Tea recipe. I ended up deciding that using a tea concentrate would be the best solution. The concentrate provides the latte with a distinct and recognizable Earl Grey flavor without being bitter or overpowering. These lattes can be made either hot or cold depending on the weather and your preference.

Ingredients & Instructions
Concentrate
5 cups of water
5 tbsp of loose leaf Earl Grey tea or 5 tea bags
3 tbsp agave
1 tbsp raw cane sugar
Bring water to a boil and then stir in agave and raw cane sugar. Reduce heat to medium and add your tea bags or loose leaf tea. Allow the concentrate to simmer for 5 minutes and then strain out your tea leaves while preserving the liquid. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Latte
2-3 tbsp of Early Grey concentrate
1 cup of vanilla almond milk
Combine concentrate with almond milk. If you prefer a warm latte heat almond milk and froth prior to mixing with the concentrate. If you prefer an iced latte just pour the concentrate and cold almond milk over ice.

Interested in more Middle Earth Treats? Click the photos to check out the recipes!

Lembas Bread or Elvish Bread 

Welsh Cakes - A Hobbity Treat