In spite of the typical pairing of wine and chocolate, likewise teas can also be paired with chocolate. True teas like green, black, oolong, white, pu-erh tea and herbal teas are accessible for choice. There are various classic blends, however, some teas blend better with chocolate than other teas.
Could there be an appealing dessert than a smooth rich chocolate paired with flavourful tea? Indeed, tea and chocolate are a perfect match. To enjoy the best experience, you need to pair them well. Some tea flavours go well with the pleasantness of milk chocolate while others are incredible for adjusting the bitterness of cocoa.
Read it carefully to know tea and chocolate pairing rules, then select the pairing, read about teas, find out your optimal pairing and enjoy.
Why Chocolate Pairs Well With Tea?
Coffee, tea, alcohol and chocolate offer a ton of likenesses. They may possess incredible taste or flavour though not completely ideal. There is a huge variety of fragrances, flavours, characteristics and aroma which rely upon the methods of processing.
If you choose to eat chocolate while having some tea you will be amazed by the changed flavour. Unexpectedly, your tea will come up with an entirely different taste. The aim of pairing tea and chocolate is to enjoy the ideal flavour out of them. For exceptionally sweet chocolate, try not to add sugar or any other sweetener in your tea.
Tea And Chocolate Pairing Tips
Take a bite of chocolate and let it melt on your tongue, sip with tea and experience how the chocolate goes with and enhance the flavor of tea. You can also start by taking a sip of tea and allowing it to spread completely across the tongue prior to swallowing. This basic step will warm your tongue and set up the taste buds for the dissolving chocolate that is to come their direction. Now take a bite of chocolate and see how a different flavour is produced.
You can pair tea and chocolate which you want according to your taste. However, there are some tips which will help you enjoy a robust flavour and you will know which tea goes well with chocolate.
- You can use any chocolate you like but the best pairing results from the chocolate which contains high quantities of cocoa. Subsequently, something with negligible and premium quality ingredients may result in excellent pairing. The same is the case with high quality tea too.
- Try to add the tea or chocolate you usually don’t utilize too much. Pairing could make you rethink about one or other as you are making new flavours.
- You are required to concentrate on complementing, contrasting and enhancing the flavour. You can contrast, complement and enhance flavour only if you pair them properly.
Complementing
Seek for tea and chocolate that might not have similar attributes but they may still be viable. For instance, an orange-infused chocolate could go well with a honey sweet oolong tea.
Contrasting
Look for chocolate and tea with totally different attributes which will allow the flavours to highlight the differences. For example, a spicy dark chocolate to pair with smooth green tea or creamy milk chocolate with spicy dark tea.
Enhancing
Pair the tea and chocolate sharing similar qualities like an earthy tea would upgrade the flavour of nutty chocolate.
A fruitful pairing will draw out each of the flavours in tea and chocolate blends. No one of the flavour profiles is reduced and depending on the ideal results (complementing, contrasting and enhancing) you will enjoy exciting outcomes.
Teas And Chocolate Pairing
There are heaps of potential blends so on the off chance that you want a few ideas, we take care of you. Here follows some ideal matches of tea and chocolate!
Teas Pair Well With Milk Chocolate
Milk chocolate offers about 10-40 % of cocoa, milk solids, milk fats and sweeteners and it melts in the mouth. It is highly adaptable for tea pairing and goes well with creamy black tea types, combined with spices and fruits and possesses light astringency and sweetness. Chai tea, early gray, sencha green tea and Darjeeling black tea are perfect match for milk chocolate.
Japanese sancha is a slightly astringent and strong tea that combines well with milk chocolate. While English breakfast tea is strong, rich with natural cocoa nuts making it a great pair with milk chocolate.
Teas With Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate contains a high concentration of cocoa (50-89%) and possesses a strong bitter taste. Owing to the high content of theobromine and caffeine, dark chocolate does not pair with smooth teas. It only goes well with spicy and smoky teas with citrus ting. Dark roasted oolong teas, earl gray and herbal teas like mint and ginger tea are perfect match for dark chocolate.
Pu-Erh tea with earthy and light sweet taste goes perfect with dark chocolate. Ceylon black tea with fresh and floral ting is perfect to pair and fade the bitterness of black chocolate. Mint and ginger herbal teas with spicy and sweet taste are a perfect match to balance the bitterness of dark chocolate.
Teas For White Chocolate
Good quality white chocolate is creamy, smooth and is made up of milk, sugar and cocoa butter. White chocolate is not sharp and pairs well with teas having malty and hay notes, somewhat astringents, spicy and roasted flavour and teas having intense bites.
Slightly sweet white chocolate pair perfectly with green teas like Dragon well and white Pai MU Tan. While, Sweeter white chocolate combines well with strong and astringent jasmine tea or Chunmee tea. White chocolate pair unexpectedly good with Matcha.
Masala chai with strong rooibos is an ideal match for sweet white chocolate. Hojicha, a roasted Japanese green tea containing roasted and astringent flavour, is a great pair for white chocolate or white chocolate with nuts.
Teas Pair With Caramel Filled Chocolate
Caramel filled chocolate is made of milk, sugar, butter, glucose and vanilla, and pairs well with herbal teas or tisanes like peppermint, cacao mint, peppermint sage and Moorish mint tea.
Bottom Line
Although brewing teas and pairing with chocolate is a scrumptious experiment resulting in a robust and delighted flavour. It has been a topic of discussion that whether teas and chocolate pairing result in great combinations and from above guides and ideas it is clear that how pairing results in unique flavoured teas. You simply need to know about the flavour, aroma and strength of both teas and chocolate.