Spring evenings still get pretty chilly around here, and I always want to start the day with something hot + comforting when I wake up in a slightly chilly bedroom. I love hot beverages of all kinds + varieties, from both the coffee and the tea realm, but rooibos holds a special place in my kitchen. There’s just something about this earthy, warm, and very slightly fruity drink that hits all my flavor hot spots. In you’re unfamiliar with rooibos, it’s an herbal tea made from the leaves of the aspalathus linearis plant and it mainly grows in Africa. I especially love having it with a generous bit of milk, and that’s the rooibos latte recipe I’m sharing with you here.

You can make it as simple or complex as you’d like in terms of the milk froth. I have instructions in the recipe for both simply heating the milk with the honey, or if you want to get fancy, how to froth the milk with the honey coffee-shop-style. When I do it at home, I just heat the milk with the honey and leave the frothing to the professionals, but it’s completely up to you. From there all you do is add some strongly brewed rooibos tea, and voila! You have an insanely delicious and creamy herbal latte in your hands. And if you want to add even more flavor to the mix, you could swap the honey for my lilac syrup for an extra spring-y floral kick.

Now, the overall taste and flavor of rooibos tea can vary a lot depending on the quality, tea maker, and source. This isn’t a sponsored post or link, but if you want to go with my personal favorite rooibos blend, it’s the Vanilla Rooibos from my local tea shop The Jasmine Pearl (they ship pretty much everywhere, though!) It has the perfect balance of sweetness and warmth, and the vanilla complements the flavors of the rooibos perfectly. I hope you enjoy this cozy rooibos latte, and that it keeps you nice and warm on these cool spring mornings 🙂

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Rooibos Latte with Honey

Course Drinks

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups whole milk or your preferred plant-based milk
• 2/3 cup strongly brewed rooibos tea
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 tablespoons honey

Instructions

To Froth the Milk

• If you want to froth your milk, you can follow the below instructions. Note that not all non-dairy milks will froth, if you're using a vegan milk. If you don't want to froth your milk, you can skip the next two steps and simply heat your milk in a small pan on the stovetop over low heat until hot but not boiling, stirring every 30 seconds or so.
• To do it manually with a metal milk-frothing pitcher (basically a very tiny pot) and a normal whisk or handheld electric milk frother, pour the milk and honey into the metal milk pitcher and place the pitcher on the stovetop over medium heat until the milk teaches 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring it every 30 seconds or so. Remove the pitcher from the heat. If you're using a normal whisk, it has to be small enough to fit inside the metal pitcher.
• Place the whisk in the pitcher and clap your hands flat together on either side of the handle. Rub them back and forth (like you would if you're warming your hands) to spin the whisk around. Slowly, foam will form on the top. If you're using a hand-held electric frother, submerge the whisk end of the frother into the milk, and turn it on. Froth until a layer of foam forms on top that's about 1/2-inch thick. (Also, make sure to turn your frother off before removing it from the milk, otherwise it will flick drops of milk everywhere).

To Assemble

• Evenly distribute your milk and foam between 2 heat-safe serving glasses. Evenly distribute the hot brewed rooibos between the 2 glasses. Serve immediately and enjoy!