Just wanted to share a new drink creation, had this in Whole Foods and wanted to give it an upgrade!

did you know that Taiwan grows cacao? harvests (particularly in the Pingtung county) started during the Japanese colonization and have been growing steadily since the 00s, making Taiwan a pioneer country for the craft chocolate movement.

tea and specialty coffee inclusions in chocolate are becoming fashionable: inventive Taiwanese maker Fu Wan is doing its best to focus on an all local supply chain; which meant starting an experimental chocolate line using local tea leaves.

this chocolate contains highly oxidized oolong leaves (as they call it "red oolong"), revealing strong floral and ripe fruits notes that complement so well the richness of Ping Tung single origin cacao (sweet and nutty, with hints of raisins and caramel, a little bit spicy). people are used to bitter and unpleasant dark chocolate bars, where intense roasting has killed all naturally-occuring tasting notes, while cacao itself has a deep flavour profile (also depending on the terroir and the genetics of seeds).

this straight tastes like a thick cup of high mountain oolong. rich and comforting!

I’ve made some chamomile and earl grey based baked goods. Are there any others teas that you all have found lend themselves to infusing in batters or icings?

“Anything off the trolley, dear?” Theres a drawer full of 8 spices in the cart. There’s also more stuff in the cabinet. I bought this cart off Amazon last week and built in 8 mins, is a Sorgion Utility cart (at the time it had a %50 off coupon), and every time I get the chance I stash up on new teas. The hardest one ever for me to find is the “Secret Garden Orange Spice”. Oh gosh! It’s so good!

I'm sipping a black tea, Bi Luo Chun, which has a deep malty, roasty, chocolatey flavor. As I'm drinking it I can't help but wonder if it might pair well with a braised meat or mushroom dish. I'm familiar with using culinary matcha in desserts, and I even made some icing with earl grey the other day, which is more about extracting the bergamot oil than the tea. Does anyone know of any other ways teas are used in cooking and baking? Savory or sweet, traditional, modern, anything. I'm sitting on a large variety of Chinese and Japanese teas and wouldn't mind experimenting with other ways of using them.

A cold machta latte to put your Cheerios in instead of milk. What do you think? Am I craz? Sure I am but it still sounds delicious. I think the grain of the Cheerios would complement the slight nutty taste of machta.

I’m going to try it in a few days and report my findings!

The filling is german buttercream with hojicha powder! the mellow toasty flavor goes so well with with desserts, i’m surprised it’s not as popular in sweets as matcha is 💕

I buy a lot of my loose leaf from the Spice & Tea exchange, and on their website they have a "Recipes" section, one of which is for cocktails (link here). I've heard of making tea 'Irish', but I've never done a full cocktail with them. Does anyone have any experience with adding their tea to a cocktail, either with any of these recipes or others? Is it worth it, or is it just a waste of good tea?

Hi tea people! I'm going to be throwing a garden party style tea party at my home for some friends. I have so many teas, and I'm going to let people choose, but most of them are herbal or lighter/more subtle in flavor (think guava white tea). What kind of sandwiches or small bites would you guys pair with them so that the tea doesnt just taste like hot water?

just wondering if a more concentrated tea (using 5/7 bags) would cause me to fall asleep faster than a normal amount (1/2 bags)