Rather conveniently, I recently received a subscription box from Bruu Tea which was filled to the brim with goodies. It featured little themed surprises, beautifully illustrated cards with gilded clips, and information on their ‘plantation of the month’ – something I had never seen before in a tea subscription box. All in all, it is one of the most intricately curated tea boxes I’ve tried… and was perfect for a cheeky tea and chocolate pairing.

Each box is packed with passion, knowledge, and skill – and honestly, the more I learn about BRUU, the more I fall in love with the company. Their origin story comes from the fact that Scott, the BRUU founder, began to feel peeved off when his in-laws kept offering hot drinks after hot drinks, but he never really wanted any. Eventually though, he started to accept the occasional brew – and whilst a niggling love for tea was ready to burst out, he felt as though their teabags simply weren’t cutting it.

Scott realised that consumers deserved more than the fannings and dust offered in these paltry teabags, and his eyes were opened when he visited a local loose leaf tea shop and saw the endless array of options. With a focus on a subscription service, he wanted to bring fresh teas from around the world to thousands of (at last) happy tea-lovers. With pure, unique, delicious-tasting teas that are unavailable anywhere else, he struck gold.

The concept of the subscription box is pretty cool: Each tea has been specifically handpicked for the person receiving the box, meaning that as their subscription goes on, the boxes become gradually more tailored to what they do and do not like. Not only is it one of the best tea boxes out there, but it is also (surprisingly) one of the cheapest. Each box is only £10 – plus, it comes with free delivery!

BRUU offers eight different types of tea – green, black, white, fruit, herbal, oolong, chai, and rooibos – and with names like ‘Famous Dragon’ and ‘Pedro Bop’, I CANNOT wait to try some more!

As a special little treat, each BRUU box comes with a bonus tea and a secret gift – with mine turning out to be a TRIBE chocolate bar. After some research, I found out that TRIBE was inspired by a 1,000 mile run to fight human trafficking, with their mission being to lead a revolution in performance nutrition by trusting nature. They create mouthwatering, natural, unrefined chocolate completely free from chemicals and preservatives, and boy, did it do this tasting justice!

And so, for this tea and chocolate tasting, I used said TRIBE bar along with a fresh-from-the-oven brownie that my flatmate had made, and brewed the tea in a lightly Pu’erh-seasoned Yixing teapot – and the whole thing came together nicely.

mayfair black

Origin: A blend of Assam and Kenyan black tea produced at over 6500ft above sea level

Ingredients: Blend of flowery broken orange pekoe (FBOP) and broken pekoe #1 (BP1), CTC and orthodox. Safflower petals

Preparation method: 1tsp of leaves per cup, water brewed at 100°C, steeped for 3 minutes

Appearance: Small, balled over black leaves interspersed with beautiful orange and yellow Safflower petals. Looks a little like cookie crumbs. The leaves turn a reddish hue when the water is added and the liquid is a gorgeous sunset-red colour.

Smell: Smells quite malty and rich, almost exactly like it tastes but more subtle

Taste: Malty, earthy, very deep and full-bodied

Aftertaste: Very mellow astringency

Mouthfeel: Quite thin, which surprised me. Very soft mouthfeel.

Overall thoughts: I used the chocolate to enhance the flavours of the tea, and it worked very well. The chocolate doesn’t compete strongly against the tea and instead helps to bring out the more subtle notes.

The tea and chocolate work very well together, as the sweetness of the chocolate adds an extra dimension to the tea that wasn’t present before. One does not overpower the other, they’re both there to bring out the respective sweet and deep flavours of the other.

I drank the tea without milk, as I wanted to really get a grip on the flavour of just the tea. The milk could have improved the tea if I were drinking it by itself, but with the chocolate I think that this extra ingredient would have been overwhelming.

Cheeky digestive

Origin: The pineapples are from Costa Rica, the apples are from Spain, and the pistachios are from Iran. Quite the travelling blend.

Ingredients: Pineapple cubes, apple pieces, apple cubes, sweet blackberry leaves, pistachios, white chocolate chips, marshmallows, natural vanilla flavouring.

Preparation method: 1tsp of leaves per cup, water brewed at 100°C, steeped for about 8 minutes

Appearance: All of the ingredients are visible, coming together to create a creamy-green mix. When hot water is added it turns a very pale gold.

Smell: Very sweet, absolutely divine concoction of sweetness and richness.

Taste: Fruity, nutty, very pleasant. Very soft. It tastes almost exactly like a Digestive biscuit, which is crazy because all of the ingredients are healthy fruit.

Aftertaste:  A little like those white chocolate mice.

Mouthfeel: Relatively thick.

Overall thoughts: I used chocolate to complement the flavour of the tea. The soft flavours of the tea worked well with the slight bitterness of the chocolate, with the choc bringing out the sweetness of the tea. The tea itself is gorgeous, and whilst it might be a little too sweet for drinking all throughout the day, it makes a perfect afternoon treat.

Initially, I brewed this tea for about 10 minutes, but found that a slight bitterness had somehow snuck its way in. After a couple more trials with different brewing times, I found that eight minutes is perfect.

spring beginning

Origin: Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The ash from Kagoshima’s volcanoes has coated the land, helping to produce a soil which is exceptionally rich in minerals

Ingredients: Chinese Sencha green tea, white tea, Pai Mu Tan, mango flakes, pineapple flakes, orange slices, marigold blossoms and freeze-dried strawberry slices

Preparation method: 1tsp of leaves per cup, water brewed at 80°C, steeped for about 1.5 minutes

Appearance: Pale green and yellow dry mix, the liquid becomes a yellow-gold colour.

Smell: Sweet, fresh, quite citrusy

Taste: Fruity, floral, sweet, fresh. I found that the sweetness made my cheeks tingle!

Aftertaste: Light and pleasant

Mouthfeel: Very soft and delicate

Overall thoughts: I used the chocolate to contrast the flavours in this tea, which smelt quite citrusy but didn’t taste too strong. During my tea and chocolate tasting ceremony, one of the guests said that she believed the tea was contrasted too heavily against the chocolate, with the choc overpowering the delicate taste of the tea. Everyone else disagreed, believing that the differences balanced one another out – but this is something that I would like to experiment with further.

Together, the chocolate and tea blend together, creating a very Terry’s Chocolate Orange taste which is absolutely delicious. The floral tea goes well with the bitterness of the chocolate – a sweet choc would be too much.

Mystery tea – Surianalle

I didn’t use the tea in the tasting but wanted to mention it anyway as it was delicious. The BRUU tea box also came with this mystery tea from the town of Munnar in Devikulam, where the estate is actually a former resort for the British Raj Elite.

Surrounded by rolling hills and tea plantations which were established in the late 19th century, the average garden elevation is 5,000ft above sea level – the high elevation creating a magical blend of bright and brisk tea with a soothing aroma and a refreshing taste.

The Surianalle tea (whose name translates to ‘land without the sun’) is strong bodied with a lively briskness which verges on being umami, that earthy, meaty taste that you sometimes get with a good, savoury tea. All in all, it’s pretty delicious.

How do I create my own tea and chocolate pairing?

You want to create your own tasting ceremony? Easy. All you need are:

• A selection of gorgeous teas (from BRUU!)
• A selection of chocolate that is either different or all the same so you can see how the same flavours interact with different teas
• A notebook to work out which teas are going to contrast, enhance, and complement
• A teapot, some hot water, and a whole bunch of enthusiasm!

It’s up to you how you conduct the pairing and how to host each tasting, but at the end of the day, there really aren’t that many rules. The whole idea is that you enjoy yourself and stay open to a range of delicious taste possibilities!

And so, have you guys ever had a tea and chocolate tasting, or want to give it a go? Let me know in the comments below!

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For this tea and chocolate pairing, I used loose leaf tea from my favourite tea brand in the whole world ever, Trident, and chocolate from my favourite vegan chocolate brand ever, Doisy and Dam.

Trident: A book, tea, and coffee shop in Boulder, Colorado that has been in the tea business for an incredible nearly four decades. It actually happens to be the oldest standing cafe in Boulder! What I love about them is that they have the most unique, beautiful teas from small importers and farmers, where they are able to directly support farmers by paying them a sustainable and fair price for their teas. I also happen to have their stickers plastered all over my rollerskating helmet.

Doisy and Dam: They are especially unique as not only do they have delicious chocolate that is free from additives, E-Numbers, and palm oil, but they also have a massive focus on ethics. They strongly believe in fair pay, direct sourcing, and a transparent supply chain, something that is oftentimes under-appreciated. Their packaging is so colourful and preppy and cute, and the chocolate so delicious, that I couldn’t imagine a better chocolate brand to help spice up a classic tea tasting.

It’s easy to run your own tea and chocolate pairing! You are first going to want to choose teas and chocolates that balance each other in the following ways:

Enhance: The flavours of the tea and chocolate will complement each other, and will have similar characteristics. For example, a fruity chocolate and a rooibos tea.

Complement: The tea and the chocolate may not have the same characteristics, but they still go well together. For example, a nutty chocolate and a masala chai.

Contrast: The tea and chocolate will have completely different characteristics, such as a spicy turmeric tea and a bitter black chocolate. You want them to be able to accentuate the different flavours in both, so that both are distinguishable.

The purpose is to bring out the best flavours in both, and see how they interact together.

You will also be using two of your senses for this: the sense of smell and taste. Smell can be SUCH an underestimated sense during tasting sessions, but it’s going to be super important for this.

To begin with, heat a cup with water, swill it around, and then pour the water out. Add in dry tea leaves, swill them around again, and take a big sniff of the tea. You will be able to get a much clearer idea of the tea’s characteristics this way rather than if you were to just smell the dry leaves. Following that, grab your chocolate and give that a big sniff too – see how the scents interact.

Then, you’ll want to take a sip of the tea to warm the tongue and pick out the beverage’s characteristics. Then, take a small bite of the chocolate, rolling it around the mouth and comparing it. You will then want to take a sip of the tea and a bite of the chocolate and hold both in your mouth, seeing how they work together.

Fu Shon Shan

Type: Oolong

Harvest: Spring and Fall ’20

Origin: Taichung, Taiwan

Appearance: Dark green, almost blue leaves that are tightly curled. Opens up into large leaves, with the liquid being a pale green colour.

Smell: Sweet, malty, pea.

Taste: Nutty, sweet, fresh, very similar to genmaicha. Buttery.

Aftertaste: Soft, subtle, malty.

Nuttercups Chocolate

After trying the nutty and fresh Fu Shon Shan, I decided that the perfect complementary pairing would be Doisy and Dam’s Nuttercups. These are delicious little chocolate cups with a creamy hazelnut filling that perfectly balanced the nuttiness of the tea. The chocolate was sweet and slightly salty – absolutely delicious – and complemented the nutty and malty undertones of the tea. They are both quite buttery in taste, creating a full, rich flavour.

Autumn Yiwu Anicent Tree

Harvest: Fall ’19

Origin: Yiwu, Yunnan, China

Type: Sheng Pu’erh

Appearance: Flat dry blackish green leaves, green and light brown full leaves as it brews out. Golden yellow liquid. Also had half a cake unbroken in the bag which was awesome!

Taste: Mellow, almost floral mixed with classic earthiness of pu’erh. Surprisingly sharp aftertaste, pleasant. Brewed too long is astringent and almost sour.

Smell: Rich, earthy, almost floral.

Additional notes: This is hands down the finest pu’erh I have ever had, it was absolutely delicious. It’s not as robust or heavy as normal pu’erhs which I loved – it could easily be drunk all through the day. The quality of the tea is evident as you can see all of the individual, full leaves – I don’t know if I’d only been drinking bad pu’erh before this, but they have all been small, cut up leaves, that create an almost overwhelming flavour. This, by contrast, was incredible.

Goji and Orange Dark Chocolate

The zestiness of this made my cheeks tingle! It was such a delicious chocolate and the perfect pairing for a rich and earthy tea, contrasting one another brilliantly.

The sweetness of the chocolate worked so well with the mellowness of the tea, with both flavours enhanced during the process. The rich and earthy taste of the pu’erh balanced the tanginess of the chocolate perfectly.

Golden Eyebrows

Type: Black

Harvest: 04/01/20

Origin: Huang Gan Mt, Fujian

Appearance: Such cool tea! The leaves look exactly like small, thin, golden eyebrows, it’s so intriguing. The liquid becomes a copper colour.

Smell: Like a sweet, nutty, almost popcorn smell, like floral and malt have intertwined into a warm sweetness.

Taste: Malty sweetness, aftertaste is exactly like a Malteser.

D&D’s Drops

These little buggers had me snacking on them without even noticing – each time we took a break in the tasting, I would accidentally eat a handful or two, so that by the time this pairing came along, there were hardly any left. They’re fiendishly good, and worked perfectly to complement the tea.

Whilst Golden Eyebrows and the Doisy and Dam Drops have two very different flavour profiles, they came together really nicely. The nutty, popcorn taste of the tea blended with the sweetness of the chocolate drops to create something that tasted pretty much like caramelised popcorn – a win-win, in my opinion!

Buddha’s Hand

Type: Oolong

Harvest: 04/28/19

Origin: Wuyishan, Fujian China

Appearance: Dry dark leaves, curled and straight. Surprisingly pale gold liquid.

Smell: So delicious! Toasted, coffee, chocolate, rich.

Taste: Mushroom, dark, deep, richer with longer brewing. Toasted. Unami, so much unami!

Additional notes: It might sound strange, but my favourite thing about this tea – or at least one of them – is that you really need to pay attention to each brewing of this tea, otherwise it over-steeps or under-steeps and ruins the whole thing. It’s ideal for ceremonies and tea meditation due to the mindfulness involved, and as it happens, it’s also perfect for tea and chocolate pairings!

Chocolate Maca, Vanilla, and Cacao Chocolate

Wow. Just… wow. Who knew chocolate could taste like this? An absolutely gorgeous bar made up from the finest ingredients blended to perfection, I knew that I had to find a tea that would be worthy of it. And it so happens, Buddha’s Hand was exactly that.

I decided to pair a tea and chocolate that would contrast each other in a way that perfectly balanced one another, and this pairing is possibly the best example of that. The rich and earthy taste of the tea balanced the lightness of the vanilla in the chocolate, enhancing the cocoa flavours to perfection. The tea was full of unami, and as such, it had to be paired carefully as to not override the taste – and the soft sweetness of the chocolate worked perfectly with it, two distinct flavours blending seamlessly as one.

As the tea gets stronger, it becomes nuttier, which worked really well with the maca in the chocolate!

Fujian Green

Type: Green

Harvest: Spring ’20

Origin: Fujian China

Appearance: So beautiful! Very thin green leaves, some with fuzz, curled into circles. Becomes a pale yellow liquid when brewed.

Smell: Sweet, spinach, biscuit base

Taste: Tastes completely different to smell, with a deep nuttiness almost like oolong. On the second brewing, the leaves were a more delicate nutty taste.

Maple, Toasted Rice, and Pink Salt

The tea and chocolate pairing ended on a high with this maple, toasted rice, and sea salt bar from Doisy and Dam, which was so delicious that instead of initially trying small pieces, I demolished the whole bar in one go. The sweetness of the maple and the saltiness of the, well, salt, along with the toasted rice created the most beautiful chocolate bar ever.

And of course, every great chocolate bar deserves a great tea! I decided to pair it with this Fujian Green due to the fact that they both have sweetness, they both have a nutty taste, and they both have genmaicha qualities. They both have quite delicate undertones, meaning that when paired together, neither are competing to overpower the other. It works together beautifully to create a flavour profile that showcases the best of both worlds.

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And so, have you guys ever tried pairing tea and chocolate? If not, will you be starting off with these two beauties of a brand? Let me know in the comments below!

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Usually with a tea and chocolate pairing session, you would take a sip of tea to warm the tongue before moving onto chocolate – but I find that Montezuma’s was such a high percentage of cocoa that it was actually better to start with the chocolate.  This softens the rich cocoa and enhances all of the flavours.

Tease Tea has a big focus on empowering women, and they create blends to support lifestyle goals. The tea company was started by Sheena Brady who started blending teas out of her tiny condo in Toronto whilst also balancing a full-time job. The business is all about all-natural, ethically sourced teas that are wheat, GMO, and dairy-free. They work with local tea packers who source from the best and most sustainable tea gardens around the world – and you can really taste it in their brews!

Golden Slumbers

Type: Rooibos tisane

Ingredients: Rooibos, cacao, calendula pearls

Brewing: 1tsp, 3-5 mins

Appearance: Bright rooibos with pale yellow calendula flowers, becomes a brown-red liquid

Smell: sweet, Turkish Delight

Taste: Sweet with chocolate undertone, full-bodies with fruity sweetness

Paired with Montezuma’s Like No Udder Orange

Montezuma’s vegan chocolate orange bar is absolutely DIVINE and was the perfect match for this brew. The chocolate is sweet but not overtly so, with a delicious tangy orange lingering taste. This mixed with the rooibos tisane created a delicious balanced brew, enhancing the fruitier flavours along with the chocolate undertone.

The pairing started off strongly with these two, as the rich flavours of both mixed with the fruity flavours, combing a taste that enhanced both beautifully.

Turmeric Tonic

Type: Herbal tisane

Ingredients: ginger, turmeric root, carrot, beetroot, calendula, pineapple pieces

Brewing: 1tsp 3-5 mins

Appearance: So pretty! When dry, its all of the ingredients, coming together in an orange, pink, purple, and red rainbow. The liquid is a very pretty beetroot red.

Smell: Divine! So sweet and fruity. Wet small is purple ice lolly.

Taste: Very sweet, exactly like smell, ice lolly, subtle spice. I ate one of the fruit pieces, and it was like jellied? Lovely.

Paired with Montezuma’s Absolute Black Orange & Cacao Nibs

100% cocoa is a STRONG taste, but when it’s done well, it turns out absolutely incredible – such as the case of Montezuma’s orange and cacao nib chocolate. It’s rich, it’s earthy, it’s dark, and it’s lightened nicely with the burst of orange.

Pairing this chocolate with the turmeric tonic creates a profile that is heavily contrasted, and yet in a way that brings out the best in both. The bitter richness of the chocolate counter-balanced the sweet spiciness of the pineapple, ginger, and carrot of the tea, and the tea brings out the dramatic darkness of the chocolate. It’s brilliant.

Shake it Off

Ingredients: Green tea, ginger, lemongrass

Brewing: 1tsp 2-3 mins

Appearance: Broken dark leaves with dried ginger bites, foggy yellow liquid

Smell: Hay, fresh, lawn cuttings

Taste: Quite subtle, dark hay, wet wood, oak, slightly bitter at the end but that was probably my fault

Aftertaste: Dried dark herbs

Paired with Montezuma’s Absolute Black Almond

This is another chocolate that just HITS you with the 100%, and yet it’s crafted so well that it tastes balanced and rich. The almond is subtle, and yet nutty enough to work well with this green tea.

The slight spice in the tea brings out the earthiness of the dark chocolate, and the choc brings out the sweetness of the green tea. They work together perfectly to complement one another, neither overpowering the other.

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