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.
