Pairing Chocolate & Green Tea
How to Pair Green Tea with Chocolate
Green tea steamed or pan-fired as close to the harvest as possible in order to preserve the leaves profile qualities. Green tea from China is often pan-fired in woks, whereas green tea from Japan tends to be steamed in bamboo trays; each style yields a unique taste. A pan-fired tea will have lighter, toasted flavor, while steamed teas have a vegetal, sharp taste. Post harvest, the leaves are dried & rolled regardless of the heating method. Depending on the terrior and specific leaves, the brewed flavors will vary, although it comes down to finding which you enjoy most.
Green Teas pair well with lighter chocolates, primarily white and milk chocolate. Matcha for example is a tea grown in a shaded & controlled environment, resulting in delicately grown leaves. Dark chocolate can be overpowering when it comes to green tea flavors complimenting or getting in the way of the chocolate’s flavor; so a mellow, smooth white or milk chocolate will pair better as a whole.
Dragonwell Green Tea
Dragonwell Green Tea is the most popular Chinese green tea sold in the U.S. The mild and sweet flavor tends to be attributed with notes of chestnuts, especially the higher-end, traditionally made “pre-rain” Dragonwell brews.
Genmaicha Green Tea
Genmaicha Green Tea is a blend of Japanese green tea along with puffed brown rice. The flavor tends to be sweet with vegetal notes, and some deem this variety as “popcorn tea.” This tea is considered easy to drink, and also known to settle the stomach.
Gyokuro Green Tea
Gyokuro Green Tea originates from Japan, grown in the shade as opposed to full sunlight, and falls under the “Sencha” category. The leaves are shielded from the sun for 20 days with straw mats prior to harvest. This causes both theanine and alkaloid caffeine levels to increase, yielding a stronger flavor. This is the most expensive Sencha available due to the growing and harvesting process, although reknowned world wide for its unique and sweet flavors.
Jasmine Green Tea
Jasmine Green Tea is one of the most popular teas in the world, and for good reason. High quality Jasmine tea leaves have been naturally scented by Jasmine flowers, yielding a deliciously sweet and floral flavor sought out for globally.
Matcha Green Tea
Matcha Green Tea is a finely ground powder of specific green tea leaves also used to make Gyokuro, traditionally consumed in East Asia. Matcha is shade-grown for three to four weeks prior to harvest, which includes removing the stems and seeds from the vegetation. Grinding the leaves can be tedious too; the mill stones must not get to hot (or else it can alter the taste), and it can take up to an hour to grind just 30 grams of Matcha. The flavor is dominated by amino acids, and higher grade blends have more intense sweetness and deeper flavor than the “standard” grades harvested later in the year.
Sencha Green Tea
Sencha Green Tea is the most popular Japanese tea, representing over 80% of all tea grown in Japan. The flavor can slightly vary depending on what season the harvest takes place, but tend to have a grassy, vegetal flavor, some refer to it as seaweed-like. An ideal brew yields a golden green color, although a bit cloudy in appearance.