Blueberry muffin and China Fujian Golden Monkey

Figs, goats cheese and honey. A great pairing in itself. Nepal Golden tea brings it all together. You need to drink the tea pretty hot and then the magic happens! 8 grams of tea, 500 ml of 90 degrees water, 1.5-2.0-2.5 infusion time.

Great evening snack. A blini with a tuna cream cheese topping. A India Meghalaya La Kyrsiew SFTGFOP black tea is the perfect companion! 6 grams of tea and 110 ml of 85 centigrade water. 1-1.5-2 minutes infusions.

Lovely lunch. Sandwiches and a big mug of Japan Asatsuyu black tea. 7 grams on 500 ml 80 centigrade water. 1-1.5-2 minute infusions.

Nepal meets The Netherlands. @ctcfnepal Golden Tips meets Venco Apothekers drop (sweet liquorice) @theehoffje brought with her. Beautiful soft mouthfeel with typical liquorice aroma’s and fruity aroma’s of the tea!

Couldn’t resist picking up some beautiful chocolates at my local Simon Lèvelt store. The shop owner suggested their Yunnan Gold to drink with these beauties. She was right! Brewed it real strong in order to taste both tea and chocolates. 9 grams of tea on 500 ml of 90 degrees Celsius water and a steeping time of 3 minutes. Normally I would use 80 degrees Celsius water and a 1-2 minute steep but the tea really needs more extraction in order not to taste like hot water. The slight astringency balances the sweetness of the chocolates and brings out the chocolaty flavour much more.

Samosa’s and a CTC black tea of a CTCF cooperative. The sweet full flavour of the tea balances the fatty mouthfeel of the samosa and the vegetable flavours combined with the honey like tea really bring everything together! 3 grams of tea on 250 ml 90 degrees Celsius soft water.

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.

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 😁.

A simple breakfast. Rose’s Lemon & Lime marmalade on toast and a mug of Ceylon Uva Blairlomond. 8 grams of tea on 500 ml of 95 centigrade water. Steeping time 2 minutes. Brings out the citrus part in both tea and marmalade