Chocolates and tea

Dumplings, an unidentifiable great and very spicy soup. Chya of a complex tea does the job. Milk in a great tea? When it comes to pairing it with a spice dish: absolutely! Milk balances the spicy notes of the dish, the complex character of the tea becomes more dominant. A real surprise to me.

Stronger tea or just more of it to complement this pastry? This time I chose a huge mug. A Zealong New Zealand black tea, 7 grams and 500 ml 80 centigrade for two minutes did the best job! More savoury notes in the pastry and more fruity notes in the tea!

My favourite breakfast. Dosa. Perfect with a malty Assam tea! 7 grams on 500 ml, 95 degrees water, 3 minutes.

It’s Sunday! Chocolate cake and fruit. Great with a Taiwan Sun Moon Lake black tea. 9 grams of tea on 110 ml of 85 centigrade water. 20-20-25-30-40 seconds brew time. Delicious!

Chocolate cheesecake and a China Yunnan Hong Cha Bi Luo. 7 grams on 500 ml 80 centigrade water. 1-1.5-2 minute brews. Brings out the chocolate notes in the cheesecake in a wonderful way!

Vondel speculaas (spiced biscuit) I picked up at Simon Lèvelt and their Assam Goudblad zomerpluk (very tippy Assam second flush) is one of the first tea and food pairings I discovered. The spices and sweetness of the biscuit are balanced so beautiful by the Assam tea. It’s almost as if it becomes a masala chai! 7 grams of tea on 500 ml 95 degrees Celsius water and a infusion time of three minutes. It really needs hot water and a relatively long steep in order to do it’s job 😁.

Spicy paneer and a Golden Nepal black tea to reduce the spicy mouthfeel. Such a wonderful combination. 8 grams of tea, 500 ml, 80 degrees water. Steeping time of 1-1.5-2.0-2.0 minutes.

And why not. An other chocolate with the same tea 😁.

Breakfast. Plain and simple. Great Iranian tea doesn’t need much to pair with.