Shrimps and Ceylon Nuwara Eliya Lovers Leap Estate

Cottage cheese and a tomato tapenade on a baguette. Nepal Shangri La Second Flush FTGFOP1 7 grams on 500 ml 95 centigrade water. 2 minutes infusion. Tomato and cheese really come together!

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!

Turkish pide and @turkiyenincayi strong black tea. The tea can handle the fats in the pide and acidity in the salad beautifully.

@dorsetteauk and fresh crumpets. Why Dorset tea? The way they put it: there is only one T in Dorset 😁 2 bags in a huge mug, 4 minutes and a dash of milk. Simply perfect!

@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.

Crisps and a China Fujian Golden Monkey. 7 grams of tea, 500 ml 75 centigrade water and 1.5-2.0 minute steeps. Nice afternoon snack.

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.

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 😁.

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!