Easter weekend is upon us, and no matter if you celebrate it or not, you’ll likely be treating yourself with lots of chocolate. As winter fades into spring, theres lots of reasons to get together with friends and families over tea and chocolate. When pairing tea with food, you should keep in mind the principles of complementing and balancing flavours. You’ll want to avoid overpowering food with tea, and strike the right harmony between the two.
I’ve paired some common easter treats with three different teas and one tisane. I focused on balancing out the creamy chocolate and fluffy marshmallow flavours with tea. Using different teas can enhance the flavours of your easter treats and bring out the best flavours and aromas. Finding the right type of tea to complement your easter treats can turn dessert time into a fun dining experience with friends and family.
Mini eggs with Morning Routine (English breakfast blend)
I added a touch of milk to this black tea blend to complement the milk chocolate eggs. The smooth balanced notes and malty flavours of Morning Routine complements the candy crunch coating of mini eggs. Milk chocolate and tea with milk both leave a creamy mouthfeel, so neither chocolate or tea will struggle for centre stage.
Marshmallow Peeps with Sparkling Hibiscus Tisane
I knew a hot cup of tea would overpower these marshmallow treats so I paired them with a cold brewed Hibiscus tisane. Steeped overnight, the hibiscus flowers pack a tart grenadine like flavour with a lemonade finish. To round out those tart citrusy notes, I topped the glass with sparkling water. The sugar texture on the marshmallow treats balances out the bubbles in the sparkling hibiscus tisane.
Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny with Cream Earl Grey
Like with the mini eggs, a touch of milk in the Cream Earl Grey has a similar mouthfeel to the creamy chocolate in this easter bunny. The balanced milk chocolate notes are enhanced by the vanilla and bergamot (citrus) undertones in the cream earl grey. As the easter bunny is smooth and contains only one flavour, pairing it with a tea with additional flavours proves complementary.
Sencha with Chocolate Creme Eggs
The savoury and creamy notes of these chocolate creme eggs are a match made in heaven with the creamy and buttery notes of this green tea from Japan. As these chocolate eggs are filled with creme, pairing with a tea made with milk would be overpowering. When pairing tea with food, usually one or the other takes precedence. In this case, the heavy chocolate creme eggs are balanced out with the light, bright notes of Sencha.
Tea and tisanes pair well with just about everything. Picking out the flavours of your easter treats and balancing them out with tea is a great way to enhance dessert time. I hope everyone has a great long weekend, filled with fun treats and delicious tasting tea!
Happy Easter! Great pairing. Time to start my ‘Morning Routine’ with some mini eggs for breakfast! 😛
Delicious!