Tea and Biscuits: The Best Pairings

Tea and Biscuits: The Best Pairings

What Are the Best Cookies to Accompany Tea? 5 Pairings for 5 Different Types of Tea

Tea and cookies: a classic combination. Although the tradition of pairing sweets with tea, whether they are cookies or cakes, has a completely European mold and has nothing to do with the ritual of Oriental tea, drinking tea with cookies is a habit of many people who cannot give up a touch of sweetness to balance the astringent and intense taste of tea. But what are the best cookies to accompany tea? Different types of tea require different cookies, and in this article we wanted to offer you 5 special and surprising pairings.

 

Tea Cookies: A Western Tradition

The custom of eating cookies with tea, as well as sweets, is a Western tradition: in the East, tea is consumed alone or to accompany main meals, in a ritual known as tea ceremony. In some countries, dipping cookies in tea is seen as a real faux pas, but let's face it: what could be better than tea with cookies in good company?

The pairing of tea and sweets seems to have a more recent history, although it dates back to the mid-1800s: it is said that Duchess Anne of Bradford, who was often afflicted by weakness and hunger in the afternoon, requested a light meal to accompany her five o'clock tea, unable to wait until dinner. It is attributed to her therefore the tea time tradition of accompanying cookies and cakes with her afternoon tea, a custom that from a noble and aristocratic ritual has come down to the present day, where tea and cookies are an unbeatable combination, a protagonist of the snack but also of breakfast (and for many even dinner!), perfect to start the day with a boost of energy.

Not just a tradition of the United Kingdom: a cup of hot and steaming tea on a winter afternoon, drunk plain or with very little sugar, little milk, accompanied by a tray of different types of cookies, buttery, spiced, and citrusy can be a real delight, and now a proposal of many bars and tea rooms: not surprisingly cookies are considered a mood-boosting food, thanks to the aromatic notes, sweet taste, and inviting aroma, which make them a winning combination with tea: this pairing is so popular that there are even real rankings of cookies based on which one holds up best when dipped in tea!

 

Tea and Cookies, a Winning Combination: Science Says So Too!

Dipping cookies in tea for many is a must that accompanies the tasting of their cup of tea, not only for a snack, but also for breakfast instead of milk or coffee, and there are even many people who drink tea and cookies instead of dinner. Especially if the tea is drunk plain, the pairing with cookies can really enhance its flavors, and make tea time a special moment.

There is even a scientific basis to prove it: a study by the University of Nottingham would have shown how dunking biscuits in tea (Digestive, in this case) improves their taste. A news certainly important for the English, whose daily consumption of biscuits exceeds that of any other European country. The scientist Ian Fisk, author of the study, also demonstrated in a BBC program how his theory is true: he made the program host eat biscuits with a tube inserted into her nose, which allowed Fisk to analyze how many flavors are released when eating a biscuit naturally, and when eaten dipped in tea, demonstrating that a biscuit dipped in tea releases flavors twice as much as a natural one. Tea allows flavors to unfold in the mouth and nose more easily, making biscuits taste better and sweeter. So if you feel guilty consuming tea with biscuits for a calorie issue, console yourself knowing that it is a combination supported by science! 5 Tea and Biscuit Pairings A cup of tea with delicious biscuits is therefore a great snack or breakfast, but we know that the choice of biscuits cannot be random: the types of tea can also be very different from each other, and each tea, with different notes and characteristics, requires its own biscuit, since skillfully combining the two can enhance the flavor notes to the fullest, the fragrance, and provide greater benefits. Let's discover together five tea and biscuit pairings! Earl Grey Tea and Shortbread A classic pairing, incredibly British: both Earl Grey tea and shortbread are part of the traditional English afternoon tea ritual. Earl Grey is a very famous and refined tea, a blend of Chinese and Indian black teas flavored with bergamot essential oil. Earl Grey is a black tea base that can tolerate robust and full flavors, at the same time it is softened and lightened by the sour aroma of bergamot that pairs well with the crumbly texture of shortbread and their intense buttery flavor. Shortbread is also perfect for dipping in Earl Grey, especially if served pure, without sugar or milk. For the real recipe of Scottish shortbread to pair with your Earl Grey, crumbly and thick just right, combine 300 grams of flour, 200 of butter, 100 of sugar and a pinch of salt. Make sure the butter is cold and knead everything. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm and cut the biscuits into rectangles, make the typical holes and bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees. TRY TERZA LUNA EARL GREY

 

Tè Lapsang Souchong and Dark Chocolate Biscuits

The Lapsang Souchong tea is a very particular infusion: it is a very robust Chinese black tea, with an intense smoky flavor that therefore requires a thick biscuit with an equally robust taste, capable of supporting the strong notes of Lapsang. This tea is obtained through a particular drying and smoking process on conifer wood: the infusion will have a coppery, dark but bright color, and its flavor and aroma intensely release the notes of smoke and resin, while maintaining a sweet, full taste. It is a tea that pairs well with milk, and our recommendation is to accompany it with a rich dark chocolate biscuit, perhaps with the addition of hazelnuts, like craquelé biscuits, sugar-coated biscuits with characteristic cracks that reveal the inviting soft and melting interior of chocolate.

 

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Tè Darjeeling and Orange and Cardamom Biscuits

The Darjeeling tea is considered the "Champagne of Teas", and for good reason. It is one of the most widespread afternoon teas, a black tea of Indian origin that gives life to a light infusion, with a light amber color and floral notes. Darjeeling tea has a slightly astringent and musky flavor, and is often compared to the taste of muscat grapes. Our recommendation is to pair its floral notes with the citrusy notes of a spiced orange biscuit: we suggest using cardamom to recall the memory of the origin of this precious tea, a flavor combination for a complex but not overpowering biscuit: for an even richer biscuit, prepare a butter shortcrust pastry and fill it with a spiced orange and cardamom jam.

 

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Chai Tea and Ginger Biscuits

The chai tea, also known as masala chai, is a spiced black tea originating from India. It is prepared by infusing tea leaves with spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, clove, pepper, and ginger, creating a full-bodied, intense, and fragrant infusion. For the chai tea recipe, you can consult our blog article on the subject. To the spicy and pungent notes of Masala chai, we recommend pairing ginger biscuits, or alternatively a cinnamon biscuit, made of simple flavored shortcrust pastry, which complements the spices inside the infusion, for a warming and invigorating combination, sweet but at the same time pungent, ideal for cold winter afternoons.

 

Japanese Green Tea and Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies

The Japanese green teas are generally prized teas, with a fresh and herbaceous taste. If you are a lover of these green teas, such as Gyokuro tea, Sencha or the highly prized Matcha from our e-shop, try a delicate yet delicious pairing with cookies, just like American ones, where white chocolate chips are replaced with white chocolate and raspberries, for a very sweet taste that balances the green tea, to be enjoyed in purity: delicious, fragrant, and rich, prepared with muscovado sugar and dried raspberries. The richness and delicacy of these cookies pair well with the slightly bitter and light flavor of green teas, and will amaze the guests at your tea party.

 

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