A taste adventure - Rishi Tea and Theo Chocolate

At Theo, we are always game for discovering food, beverages or experiences we can pair with chocolate. Rishi Tea, a small independent organic and fair trade tea company, recently experimented with tea and chocolate pairings which inspired us to come up with a few of our own.

Set-up: We made sure that the tea cups were at least wide enough to get our nose in. Each tea was brewed for only a few minutes. Longer brewing masks delicate flavors and creates a more bitter tea. We broke chocolate into half inch squares, and placed confections on plates.

 

A few of our favorite combinations

Cinnamon Plum Botanical Blend Tea + Madagascar 74% Bar

Hibiscus and sweet mellow cinnamon were the first things we experienced as we tasted the fresh brewed Cinnamon Plum tea. Notes of plum gradually appeared. As the tea steeped, the tanginess of the hibiscus flowers was heightened. Possessing a tang of its own that evokes dried fruit or citrus, the Madagascar 74% bar was enhanced by its pairing with the Cinnamon Plum. When we took a sip of this mellow herbal tea to warm the mouth following it with a square of chocolate, the range of fruity notes expanded and intensified.

Emerald Lily Green Tea + Lavender Caramels

This green tea was very unique —  almost seaweedy in the aroma, grassy and nutty in the taste, and with floral notes in the finish. Grown in southwest China along the historical southern Silk Road, the tea is handpicked when the leaves are at their prime. Its brisk flavor wanted to be mellowed by a smooth, creamy caramel, and the lavender caramels from Theo rounded out the flavors in the cup of green tea. Buttery but with the vegetal fragrant lavender added variance to the combination. The salt on the caramel brought the experience full circle back to the sea.

Pu-erh Ginger Tea + Spicy Chile Bar or Theo Ghana 85% Bar

Similarly to our cacao beans’ fermentation, pu-erh tea is fermented in piles after harvesting to develop its unique flavor. Because of the parallels between this tea and chocolate, we paired two bars with it. The tea itself has a wonderful aroma like a freshly tilled garden. The ginger smoothes out the smokiness of the pu-erh. The Theo Ghana 85% bar, which we find to be mellow, round and full of deep cacao notes on its own, delved even further into woodsy notes when we paired it with this tea. The Spicy Chile bar, with orange zest and a blend of three chiles added some heat to the equation which enhanced the herbal ginger in the tea, our mouths still tingling with heat after the pairing was consumed.