How to Make a Black Tea Latte

Looking for that bold, creamy, and sweetened to perfection cuppa?

Look no further than a black tea latte. The beauty of a black tea latte is the flavor—bold and deep for the base, and the perfect accompaniment of frothy milk and a pinch of sweetener if you please. The result is a flavorful and dreamy, revved-up version of a beautifully blended black tea.

Let’s get started on how you can make your very own one of these and get sippin’!

Black Beauty: Choosing Your Tea

Black tea offers such a dynamic balance when paired with milk and sweetener.

Black tea, unlike others, is allowed to fully oxidize before it’s heat-processed and dried. This creates the rich dark brown and black colors that our black tea leaves are known for—their black beauty! The oxidation process is what alters the flavor profile of black tea as well, adding in malty, fruity, or even smoky notes depending on the tea. This creates the perfect base for a black tea latte.

I have a great many favorite black teas from Plum Deluxe, but I implore you to give one of my favorites for lattes a try!

A go-to fave for lattes is Housewarming Blend black tea. It's also known as our Vanilla Crème Brulee black tea and it is amazing. It’s nicely and lightly creamy, caramelly, and has just the right touch of floral.

I just adore the Heritage Blend black tea all on its own, but when made as a latte — watch out! This maple Scottish breakfast tea is a mix of the best black teas from India, Africa, and Sri Lanka. To send it over the moon, it’s paired with a drop of real Vermont maple syrup extract to create the perfectly balanced maple black tea power combo.

Something a bit more fruity and light up your alley? Then the Gratitude Blend tea will do the trick! This strawberry Earl Grey blends up with a Ceylon tea base to give it body, fruity strawberry, and (of course) heavenly Earl Grey flavor. It makes a great black tea latte!

One final recommendation is the Porch Sippin’ Pecan black tea. This tea has a base of bold, vibrant, malty Orange Pekoe black tea, with rich cinnamon chips and fresh pecans. It’s a lively, nutty, and enticing tea.

Frothed Milk: Creating the Perfect Complement

Nice, foamy milk doesn't require a commercial-grade steamer or anything like that—in fact, it can be done right at home with what you have!    However, we make it easy with our Plum Deluxe tested Latte Whisk milk frother. 

Check out our Butterfly Pea Milk Tea recipe, which includes a section on how to create perfectly creamy, frothy milk for your milk tea and lattes.

Sweetener: Choosing your Match

Many of us would say a latte, or tea latte if you please, wouldn’t be complete without a bit of sweet. If you decide to forgo the sweeteners, no worries, as some of our teas have such a pleasing and dynamic flavor profile there’s no need for extras, but if you so choose:

You’ve come to the right place!

First up is our Vanilla Sugar Dust. With a delicate blend of organic sugar and real vanilla bean, this sprinkling of goodness is perfect for a black tea latte. Recommendation? It serves up beautifully with our Housewarming Blend black tea.

Our Maple Dust is another fabulous find with a blend of pulverized maple syrup and organic coconut sugar. Need I say more? It’s one of my absolute favorites — even great to sprinkle on top of baked goods or toast and butter. Looking for the perfect black tea latte pairing? A little goes a long way when complemented with the Heritage Blend or Porch Sippin’ Pecan black tea.

If you’re looking to sweeten the deal, but don’t want to change the flavor of your tea, then the Deluxe Tea Sugar is just for you! These are 100% amber rock cane sugar crystals that allow for just the right amount of sweet to really seal the deal!

The Perfect Process

Time to brew and blend this perfect black tea latte!

First up, you want to heat your water and brew your eight ounces of tea according to the package instructions, which will vary depending on your tea of choice. If you’re going to add in that sweetener, now’s the time. It melts better when mixed in with your hot tea water.

Next, heat your milk and froth it. Once you’ve got your milk whipped up to perfection, then go ahead and pour your frothed milk over your sweetened tea. Make sure to scoop a little foam and place it on top.

Feeling a little fun and frisky? Depending on your black tea choice, feel free to add on top a sprinkling of cinnamon, some dried rose leaves, or whatever your heart pleases!