Stroopwafel and English blend

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.

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 😁.

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!

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

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.

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.

Roti, vegetables, potato and a China Mi Lan Xiang black tea. 8 grams of tea in a gaiwan. 30-20-30-40-45 seconds infusion time, water temperature of 80 degrees Celsius. Let the tea cool down a bit to gain sweetness. Just perfect.

Chocolates and tea; great to play with all the possible combinations!