Shrimps and Ceylon Nuwara Eliya Lovers Leap Estate

No Vino Santo to dip in the Cantuccini alle mandorle but a very sweet China Fujian Golden Monkey. 10 grams on 400 ml of 75 centigrade water for just one minute. Multiple infusions needed.

I have to admit, I’m not the biggest fan of bubble tea. Too sweet and there is often no tea in it at all. This is different. A black tea from the south of Yunnan province gives a natural sweetness. Cold tea and cold food can be a very good combination!

@travel_sutra_ came up with a great idea. Earl Grey based on an Assam and Raffaello. I’m not a big fan of Earl Grey and I don’t have a sweet tooth. But I have to admit, this is a great combination. Sweetness disappeared partly, nutty flavour was more noticeable, Earl Grey gave it a fresh aroma.

Bengali style Nepali snacks and a beautiful Nepal Golden Tea. One leaf and a bud. 6 grams of tea, 96 degrees Celsius soft water, first infusion minutes, second infusion 2 minutes. May seem strange but believe me. Learned it from my teacher @susmabastola

Fried cod, a fresh salad and a China Mi Lan Xiang. Brings out the pine nuts in the salad, fish notes in the cod and the flowery notes in the tea. The typical “fried” aroma’s seems to disappear.

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!

Kroket sandwich (Ragout Sandwich) and a huge glass of Sri Lanka Uva black tea. Perfect combination for a day at the beach

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.

Blueberry muffin and a China Fujian Golden Monkey black tea. You’ll need a lot of tea to join this huge muffin.