Tea Lattes: All the Froth, None of the Caffeine

If you love the creaminess of lattes, but don't want a heavy dose of caffeine, it's time to start making tea lattes.

Simply put, a tea latte combines steamed and frothed milk with brewed tea instead of a shot of espresso. But before you head to the kitchen, keep reading to learn how to make your tea lattes turn out perfectly. We'll cover ingredient suggestions and product recommendations, and highlight a few recipes to try.

First, Select Your Ingredients

While we certainly love our espresso drinks, one big reason we're embracing tea lattes is the variety of flavors. Sure, you can add syrup to lattes -- cinnamon, vanilla, caramel -- but that means added sugar along with flavor. With tea lattes, the flavor comes primarily from the tea you choose.

Pick any tea you like to blend with steamed milk for a tea latte. We do suggest starting out with a recipe or two, like the ones we'll offer later in this post. Once you gain confidence, start experimenting!

Likewise, you can use nonfat, 2% or whole milk -- or you can get creative with almond, cashew or coconut milk. You may find that you prefer different types of milk with different teas.

Finally, while you don't have to add syrup or extracts or spices, you may find these add another dimension or enhance the natural flavors in your choice of tea.

Next, Assemble Your Supplies

You'll need a few basic items to make a tea latte. First, use a stainless steel saucepan to heat the milk, unless you already own a milk frother.

Next, you'll need to brew the tea. If you're using bagged tea, you can steep it right in your mug. If you're using loose tea, try a teapot with an infuser. Or if you already own the amazing Craftea electric tea maker, you can whip up tea lattes for a crowd.

Last, you'll blend the tea and milk together. You can do this in a few ways. If you used a milk frother, you can pour the steamed milk into your mug of tea, just as you'd pour it over a shot of espresso.

You can also use a whisk to froth the milk while it's in the saucepan, and then pour it into your mug of tea. Take care while whisking the hot milk so you don't splash yourself.

Finally, Try Some Recipes

Ready to get started with a few recipes we found? We bet at least one of these will entice you to give tea lattes a shot.

London Fog Latte

Take a guess what type of tea is in this latte: it's Earl Grey, of course! Check out all the details from Tasting Table for this Earl Grey tea latte, including a tip to use vanilla extract instead of vanilla syrup. Add it to the foam on top and stir gently.

Chai Tea Latte

We like this recipe from Heather's Dish not only because we love chai, but also because she's gone to the trouble to perfect her method. Heather makes a batch of chai tea syrup in advance, then mixes a portion of it with steamed milk for individual lattes.

Matcha Green Tea Latte

We've written about matcha before, both as an ingredient in baking and in brewing tea. Just as you steep Earl Grey and chai in water before adding milk, in this recipe from Japan Centre you'll mix matcha powder with water before whisking it with hot milk.

Ginger Turmeric Latte

We realize ginger and turmeric are spices derived from roots, not teas made from Camellia sinensis leaves. But turmeric is making the rounds among foodies, so we couldn't resist including this recipe from Goop. (Yes, Gwyneth Paltrow's website.) Substitute cane sugar or stevia for coconut sugar if you like, and let us know what you think.