London Haze

Inspired by the description for Londinium by Roman Haze. I've never tasted the original but this blend is truly delightful. An earl grey tea true to it's name, doused with a lush vanilla cream. I wanted to make a simple recipe that delivers flavor that will keep you coming back

Development Notes:

Earl Grey Tea Base:

FA black tea/FA bergamot/JF lemon juicy

FA black tea can be very dry and unpleasant at higher % but here it sits perfectly. I found that 1.5% was not enough for the tea to shine through, so I landed at 1.75% and it is juuust right.

FA bergamot is for the bergamot oil on our tea leaves, 1.1% is right where I want it. We want to avoid the bergamot becoming overpowering or spicy but we also do not want to lose it in the mix. JF lemon juicy is here to provide juiciness for the whole recipe while adding a lil something to the bergamot.

Simple Vanilla Cream Base:

INW shisha vanilla/TPA marshmallow

I wanted to make this more of a thick vanilla latte feel rather than vanilla and milk. INW Vanilla Shisha was the first thing that came to mind when I was thinking of doing a vanilla earl grey tea. It's got a deep, lightly earthy vanilla flavor that compliments tea and bergamot so well. The first version used 1.5% shisha and it was too much vanilla imo. I also tried using Holy Vanilla but that version was not as satisfying.

Instead of getting complex with the cream base I decided to keep it simple and attack the main problem child here: FA bergamot can be rough around the edges so I landed on TFA marshmallow to complete the cream. This is such a useful ingredient and here it was the last touch to the recipe, it brings the citrus down into the body of the mix and allows for the black tea to shine through on the exhale. It's also adding density to the delightful shisha vanilla. Marshmallow also adds a ton of sweetness which makes this mix all the more comforting. (cannot sub any other marshmallow, this one does too many things here)

These two ingredients provide a solid cream base and a perfect pairing for Earl Grey Tea.

There you have it. 5 ingredients, right under 5% on flavoring. This is a recipe for tea lovers, cream addicts and vanilla heads alike. I think this is something that anyone can enjoy and I hope that you do.

*Before anyone asks, the only sub I can see working is for another lemon flavor, CAP juicy lemon comes to mind. There is absolutely no other vanilla that will taste like this one, so that's out. I think all these ingredients are vital but I understand that no one has all the flavors. I hope you do have these because it's fuckin tasty.

Edit lowered the % on cream base