Samosa CTC black tea

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 😁.

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!

Italian nougat and a Ceylon Nuwara Eliya Lovers Leap Estate. 7 grams on 500 ml, 95 centigrade water and a 3 minute brew. Real delight!

Quiche and @satemwa_tea_coffee Malawi Bvumbwe Handmade Treasure. The honey sweet tea brings all the ingredients of the quiche beautifully together. Beautiful soft and creamy mouthfeel. 7 grams on 500 ml 80 centigrade water. Steeping time of 2.5 minutes.

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.

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!

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!

Iranian cookies and @amard_tea tea are a perfect combination! Sweet, fruity tea and nicely baked cookies 🎉.

Iranian fruits, nuts, sweets, etc and a really great strong brewed Iranian @nobartea.ir black tea to balance all the sweetness. The tea becomes even more fruity and complex!