Chocolate and Tea: Suggested Pairings

Are chocolate and tea good together?

Chocolate and tea are the perfect match. Why? They share many characteristics and behave in similar ways.  

Both are available in a wide array of aromas, flavors, and strengths. The climate, region, and soil where tea leaves and cocoa beans are grown impact their final taste.  

Below are our top tips for delicious results:  

• Choose the finest quality loose-leaf teas and chocolate you can. Natural flavors blend effortlessly with other flavors more so than synthetics.  

• You should be able to taste both the tea and chocolate. One shouldn’t overpower the other.  

• Keep the tea in its purest state to maximize its delicate flavors. Don’t add any milk or sugar to your cup.   

• Stay away from highly fragrant teas like jasmine or silver needle white tee. These are too delicate and will be overwhelmed by the bold flavors of chocolate.  

 

Chocolate and tea pairings

Tea and chocolate’s pairing hides marvelous mysteries. In most of the cases, its pairing is pleasant and satisfying, but the choice of which tea painting with chocolate comes from personal preferences. Let’s discover some sweet combinations.

 

White Chocolate and Green Tea

Enjoy the dance between sweet and bitter flavors by pairing white chocolate with green tea.  

The white variety of chocolate is defined by its creamy sweetness. So, when choosing a tea to serve it with, you can balance out the sugars with a bitter hot brew like green tea.  

Matcha is the bitterest green tea of them all. Its grassy notes pair delightfully with white chocolate. The culinary world is enchanted with this coupling, too, serving up delicious desserts that star both matcha and white chocolate. 

 

Dark Chocolate and Tea: the Best Pairings

Welcome to the most intense and bold member of the chocolate family: dark chocolate. Brimming with earthy, fruity notes, dark chocolate pairs effortlessly with zesty, strong teas that are full of life.  

Top-quality varieties contain only cocoa solids, cocoa powder, and cocoa butter. The higher the cocoa content, the earthier and more bitter the taste. 

Suggested Dark Chocolate and Tea Pairings:  

• Earl Grey: the Bergamot notes infused into this black tea delightfully match the richness and fruitiness of dark chocolate.  

• Dark-leafed Oolongs: the brew’s subtle mineral tones allow the chocolate to shine through in inspiring ways. If you need any further proof, think of how magically sea salt couples with dark chocolate.  

• Pu-Erh: a deep-bodied Chinese black tea. It features woody notes that complement well with dark chocolate’s earthy taste. 

 

Tea and Milk Chocolate Pairings

Enjoy a moment of creamy sweetness with milk chocolate. This type of chocolate is crafted from milk, sugar, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder. The cocoa content can range from 10 to 55%. Mellow in taste and velvety in texture, milk chocolate combines effortlessly with teas.  

Suggested Tea and Milk Chocolate Pairings: 

• Milky Oolong: the tea’s leaves are steamed in milk before drying, making it the ideal complement to milk chocolate.  

• Spicy Chai: the well-rounded flavors of milk chocolate create the perfect base upon which chai’s notes of spice and cinnamon can flourish.  

• Darjeeling & English Breakfast: full of tannin, black teas have a robust flavor that is balanced well with milk chocolate’s creaminess.

 

Chocolate in tea: hot chocolate teas to discover

Chocolate in tea is even possible in hot gourmet recipes. It is absolutely recommended to add tea in hot chocolate. In fact, hot chocolate’s sweetness really amalgamates with even with the bitterest flavors found in tea. Let’s discover these combinations together.

 

Chocolate Chai Tea

Nibbling on chocolate whilst sipping on chai is an exquisite experience, best done in your favorite chair and curled up with a book. But, sometimes, it’s lovely to merge the flavors into a Chocolate Chai Tea.  

The tea’s aromatic embrace is especially appreciated during the cooler months when a hot beverage warms up our bodies and hearts. You can infuse chai tea with pure cocoa nibs in boiling water and then strain. Or opt for an already blended chocolate chai tea and find comfort in its blissful flavors.  

 

Chocolate Milk Tea or Chocolate Boba

Just as delicious as a chocolate and wine pairing, chocolate milk combines delightfully with black tea. Chocolate milk tea celebrates all the rich sweetness of chocolate and infuses these flavors into a warm beverage that can be whipped up from home with just a few simple ingredients.  

How to make chocolate milk tea? In a saucepan, gently heat ½ cup of cream and milk and stir in 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. Pour 1 cup of hot black tea into a cup. Mix in the chocolate mixture. Find a quiet corner in your house and enjoy! 

You can add boba balls to the above recipe to create chocolate boba, which is a mouthwatering bubble tea drink. Boba balls are made from tapioca pearls: when you let them marinate in the tea, they’ll transform into chocolatey, chewy goodness.