Tea & Chocolate

[srhcb]

Coffee and chocolate is, of course, one of the great flavor pairings of all time, and one of my personal favorite treats.

Lately I've begun drinking tea occassionally in place of coffee, and this afternoon decided to try a bit of chocolate with it. Neither was a very exotic variety, Earl Greys and Baronie Bittersweet, but they certainly didn't enhance each other.

Is this just a peculiarity of mine, a general rule of thumb, or are there some tea-chocolate combinations that work well?

SB

[mikepetro]

Is this just a peculiarity of mine, a general rule of thumb, or are there some tea-chocolate combinations that work well?

SB 

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The citrus in an earl grey may have been what didnt compliment, try a straight unflavored tea, you might get different results.

I like several tea and chocolate combinations. In particular I like black/cooked/shu pu-erh with a good 70%+ Grand Cu chocolate.

[Naftal]

I have noticed that,if teas and sweets are to work well together, two things should be kept in mind. First, the tea must be really strong, unscented and black. Second, the sweet should be really, really, really sweet. Under these conditions, I find that chocolate and tea is a fine combination. But that is just me. I could be in the minority.

[Naftal]

I agree: pu-erh is wonderful It would actually be my personal choice.

[prasantrin]

Coconut-flavoured tea goes amazingly well with Karova cookies.

[baroness]

Try a good oolong.

I like tea and chocolate even better with the addition of fruit (mango, raspberries, dried apricots, etc.) and/or simple cookies (biscotti, pizzelle, shortbread).

[torakris]

Some nice frothy, milky, sweetened matcha with a nice bitter chocolate is a wonderful pairing..

[Beebs]

Darjeeling + chocolate, and Lapsang Souchong + chocolate are great. Especially the Lapsang...actually, any kind of smoky tea goes wonderfully, IMO -- yummm! You can also try Keemun. I find Earl Grey goes better with milk chocolate rather than bittersweet, but it's got to be a really good looseleaf Earl Grey with a natural bergamot scent.

I've also been told that Sencha & Genmai Cha green teas are good paired with dark chocolate, but I've not gotten around to trying it.

Edited to add: A number of chocolatiers are infusing chocolates with tealeaves. So far I've seen chocolates with chai, Earl Grey, jasmine green, matcha, and lapsang, and probably a couple other types but I can't recall which teas.

Edited April 23, 2007 by Beebs (log)

[srhcb]

Thanks for all the great ideas! It hadn't occured to me that the problem might lie with the Earl Grey.

Many years ago when I used to drink tea I enjoyed the smokey Lapsang Souchong. (of course, I also used to enjoy smoking cigarettes with my tea)

I forgot to mention that I live in an area where a good selection of teas is not easy to come by, but the next time I travel to Minneapolis I'll print out this thread to take with me.

SB (will be sure to visit a good chocolate shop too! )

[Naftal]

Try a good oolong.

I like tea and chocolate even better with the addition of fruit (mango, raspberries, dried apricots, etc.) and/or simple cookies (biscotti, pizzelle, shortbread).

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As mentioned earlier, I love a good pu-erh. But, it goes even better with a plate of dried turkish figs.

Edited April 24, 2007 by Naftal (log)

[Panda]

A tea that I have with dessert/chocolates at times is a regular old English Breakfast with a bit of cream in it.

[phaelon56]

Edited to add: A number of chocolatiers are infusing chocolates with tealeaves.  So far I've seen chocolates with chai, Earl Grey, jasmine green, matcha, and lapsang, and probably a couple other types but I can't recall which teas.

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Hmmmm.... I'm not a tea aficionado but based on my very limited experience I would have picked Earl Grey as a good match. I do recall trying a Christiian Constant chocolate a couple years back that had either an Earl Gray infused filling or an Earl Grey infused ganache. Can't recall which it was but in either case it didn't make much of an impression on me.

[chromedome]

I like Lapsang Souchong, but I'm thinking that the milder smokiness of a Keemun would work well. I've got some Mao Feng Keemun that I think would go well with an earthier (as opposed to fruity) dark chocolate...must try that once I get my chocolate supplies laid in.

I haven't tried the combination, but I would also think that a nice malty Assam tea would complement a lighter and fruitier chocolate.

I feel a special tasting night coming on...

[Beebs]

Edited to add: A number of chocolatiers are infusing chocolates with tealeaves.  So far I've seen chocolates with chai, Earl Grey, jasmine green, matcha, and lapsang, and probably a couple other types but I can't recall which teas.

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Hmmmm.... I'm not a tea aficionado but based on my very limited experience I would have picked Earl Grey as a good match. I do recall trying a Christiian Constant chocolate a couple years back that had either an Earl Gray infused filling or an Earl Grey infused ganache. Can't recall which it was but in either case it didn't make much of an impression on me.

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I tried an Earl Grey chocolate from Jean-Phillippe Patisserie in Las Vegas a while back, and another one from somewhere else can't remember where. The tea wasn't particularly pronounced in either chocolate, just a suggestion of bergamot and no detectable black tea flavour. Guess chocolate is too overpowering for infusing tealeaves? The lapsang chocolate I had once was excellent though -- the bold smokey tea really complemented the chocolate!

If lapsang souchong is too smokey, a small amount of it added to whatever black tea makes an interesting option. I find that 1 part lapsang to 3 or 4 parts something else tastes pretty good.

[Carolyn Tillie]

In the past week, I have had no less than four meals at Samovar Tea Lounge. On three occasions, a chocolate dessert was served with various teas (everything from Japanese Matcha to Russian Lapsang Souchong). In all occasions, I was surprised how well the various chocolate went with the teas that were being served. I'd hazard to guess that a tea/chocolate tasting could be staged and would show some very interesting combinations!

[Richard Kilgore]

Twice in the last week people have mentioned that chocolate and Lapsang Souchong are a great combination -- Kelly at TCC and friends this past weekend. We tried a medium smokey LS with chocolate cake on Sunday and it really works.

[ravenshadow13]

I enjoy Earl Grey or Green or Black tea with chocolate, if the chocolate is flavored with the tea or I'm having them together. But I've tried chocolate flavored teas and I was not a fan. I also don't like vanilla tea, though, and it reminded me of that.

[Naftal]

Hello-Just a brief comment: Twinnings makes a chai flavoured with chocolate and caramel (sp?).

[Naftal]

Hello-I should make a correction-the chocolate and caramel chai is made by celestial seasonings, not twinnings.