Pairing Tea with Chocolate just makes sense when you sit in a workshop
with Lisa Richardson of Lisa Knows Tea. I had the opportunity "slow down and think"
with Lisa at the NW Tea Festival.
She instructed us to put the chocolate in our mouth and suck, not chew,
letting the chocolate melt in your mouth, then sip the tea.
We started with the lightest and worked our way to the darkest.
She suggested that we might want to look at matching lightness to lightness or
we might appreciate a contrast in flavors.
She shared a quote by Lu Yu - "for the mouth to decide".
Indeed it is for the mouth to decide which combinations you might like,
but definitely chocolate and tea is a very good thing.
With the white chocolate we paired it with a light oolong.
With the milk chocolate we paired it with an amber oolong, medium oxidation.
With the dark chocolate we paired it with a Golden Yunnan and a Puer.
With the bittersweet chocolate we had Makibari 2nd flush Darjeeling.
Now I have two chocolates and alot of different teas in my cupboard.
The chocolates are a Dark Milk from the Philippines
and thin slices of pear dipped in key limes, then dipped in a bittersweet chocolate.
In the next few days I will be experimenting to see which tea enhances the flavor
of these two teas.
Take the adventure and see what you can find.
Maybe you can find the perfect chocolate to pair with a Lapsong Souchong?
I am curious. Let me know.
Note: The small pot in the top pictures was found yesterday on an excursion
to a thrift/antique mall. They said it was a creamer, but for $3.50 I thought it
would make a nice small teapot. It was also made in the USA, which I always like.
with Lisa Richardson of Lisa Knows Tea. I had the opportunity "slow down and think"
with Lisa at the NW Tea Festival.
She instructed us to put the chocolate in our mouth and suck, not chew,
letting the chocolate melt in your mouth, then sip the tea.
We started with the lightest and worked our way to the darkest.
She suggested that we might want to look at matching lightness to lightness or
we might appreciate a contrast in flavors.
She shared a quote by Lu Yu - "for the mouth to decide".
Indeed it is for the mouth to decide which combinations you might like,
but definitely chocolate and tea is a very good thing.
With the white chocolate we paired it with a light oolong.
With the milk chocolate we paired it with an amber oolong, medium oxidation.
With the dark chocolate we paired it with a Golden Yunnan and a Puer.
With the bittersweet chocolate we had Makibari 2nd flush Darjeeling.
Now I have two chocolates and alot of different teas in my cupboard.
The chocolates are a Dark Milk from the Philippines
and thin slices of pear dipped in key limes, then dipped in a bittersweet chocolate.
In the next few days I will be experimenting to see which tea enhances the flavor
of these two teas.
Take the adventure and see what you can find.
Maybe you can find the perfect chocolate to pair with a Lapsong Souchong?
I am curious. Let me know.
Note: The small pot in the top pictures was found yesterday on an excursion
to a thrift/antique mall. They said it was a creamer, but for $3.50 I thought it
would make a nice small teapot. It was also made in the USA, which I always like.
12 comments:
Keemun Mao Feng has long been a favorite of mine with chocolate. And I can well believe the Darjeeling and chocolate paired well--I have a recipe that uses Darjeeling tea in a choc cake. The Darjeeling isn't a vivid presence but it does add a "something" to the flavor of the chocolate I think. I once served a slice of dark choc cake with a sencha green tea, rather nice if unexpected.
This was a fun event!
With all due respect, there is no such thing as "Dragonwell oolong".
VERY FUN, Marilyn! I love chocolate with a cup of tea. White chocolate is also good with a cup of jasmine tea, I think. To go with Lapsong Souchong, I think I'd go for a chocolate with candied ginger or chili taste...The smokiness of the Souchong might pair nice with a chocolate with kick? hhhmmm... This give much food for thought! ;o) Happy Weekend ((HUGS))
How interesting all this tea business is becoming Marilyn, I'm amazed! Now those chocs look fabulous - especially the leaves. I love dark choc, I love any choc!!
Adorable tiny teapot - even better being made in the USA! Not much is any more sadly.
Love, Mary
COUNT me in!! I would love to attend! What a fun experiment...tasting tea and chocolate! Love your blog. Thanks for visiting my blog~
That teeny teapot caught my eye right away. Is it a Hall China piece? Love it to the max. Afraid the chocolate wouldn't survive before the tasting was done!
I love chocolate tasting becuase when you compair the, you really see thier differnce. How fun to throw tea in the mix. Clarice
Chocolate and tea? I must try it! I love seeing the sweet, little 'teapot' you found when we thrifted together.
~Adrienne~
I think chocolate makes everything better. even tea. ha.
That sounds like a fun event! As a chocolate lover, I have often heard that you should always slowly savor your chocolate with a hot beverage such as tea because it magnifies the flavor of the chocolate. I think it has actually helped me lose weight this year to eat chocolate this way! Hurray for tea! Oh, and I love your thrifty teapot find. I like finding old Made-in-the-USA pieces as well!
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