Rose Cardamom Tea Latte

Warmly spiced, slightly sweet, and with fragrant floral notes, this Rose Cardamom Tea Latte is a beautiful and soothing take on a classic London Fog. Best of all, it’s fully customizable to be dairy-free and caffeine-free. I also reference this tea latte in my other post, Dry January: Five Non-Alcoholic Drink Recipes.

There are three steps to this Rose Cardamom Tea Latte: the rose cardamom syrup, the sprinkles, and then putting it together into a tea latte. I will make a batch of both the syrup and the sprinkles at once, and then as the craving hits, will whip up a Rose Cardamom Tea Latte. Both the syrup and sprinkles last for about a month, so you will have lots of time to use them up – but I promise they won’t last long!

Rose Cardamom Syrup

The Rose Cardamom syrup is a simple syrup consisting of sugar, water, green cardamom pods and rose water. It takes about 5 minutes to put it together, and about 30 minutes to infuse on the stove.

I find both the green cardamom pods and the rose water in the Indian aisle at my local grocery store. They are both inexpensive items that never hurt to have lying around. However, you can also order them on Amazon if you are having trouble finding them.

This is the brand of rose water (Amazon link) that I find at my grocery store. I do not know if there is a difference between rose water used for the skin or for cooking, but this is a food-grade rose water.

When picking cardamom pods, make sure you use green cardamom pods (Amazon link) only. Black cardamom pods are very pungent and strong, best used in savory dishes.

Simply break up the cardamom pods (I crush them using the bottom of the pot), and then combine the pods, sugar and water in a sauce pan. Gently simmer on the stove for about 30 minutes. Then, remove from the heat, strain out the cardamom, and stir in the rose water. Store in the refrigerator and it will last at least a month.

Rose Cardamom Sprinkles

The sprinkles also come together quickly in about five minutes. In the recipe below, I list ground cardamom as an ingredient. However, if you don’t have any on hand, you can use the green cardamom pods if you have some leftover from the syrup recipe. Again, break open the pods by crushing them slightly, and remove the black seeds from within. Then, add those to your spice grinder with the roses and sugar. Discard the shells.

If it was summer in British Columbia, I would have harvested fresh wild rose petals for the sprinkles. However, it is currently -20 C with two feet of snow; therefore, I purchased dried rose petals from a local health food store. They were really affordable, less than $5 CAD for a large bag.

If you are using dried rose petals, sort through and remove any stems or leaves beforehand.

To make the Rose Cardamom Sprinkles, add the sugar, dried rose petals and ground cardamom (or whole seeds) to either a spice grinder, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle. I used my Nutribullet (Amazon link), which pulverized everything to a fine powder in about 10 seconds. It’s a piece of equipment that really needs its own post – I seriously use it daily at the coffee shop and have one for my home as well!

Store these in a sealed container at room temperature. I don’t know if and when they would spoil, but I’ve kept mine for a month with no issues. As long as they are kept dry, I can’t imagine they would spoil. Likely, the sprinkles will simply become less fragrant with time.

Rose Cardamom Tea Latte

The Rose Cardamom Tea Latte can be customized however you like. Substitute dairy-free mylk for the whole milk, use more or less syrup depending on your preference, or switch out a rooibos or decaffeinated tea for the black tea. I personally make mine with a classic Tetley black tea and whole milk.

Simply add an ounce of rose cardamom syrup to a mug. Add the teabag and hot water until the cup is half full. Let steep 4 minutes. As the tea is steeping, heat your milk up. You can use a microwave, steam wand on your espresso machine, or one of these fancy milk frothers. I splurged on a Bodum milk frother (Amazon link) last year and I LOVE it. When the tea is finished steeping, add the milk and top with your rose cardamom sprinkles.

Let me know if you’ve tried it in the comments below!