#Chocollaboration Ep5: Love Leaf Tea
This #Chocollaboration was particularly special, as we were treated to a preview of products which aren't yet on the market! Love Leaf Tea have been developing a range of tea 'powders' (like Matcha) and we were able to taste and test the whole range. Huge thanks to Mel from Love Leaf Tea for entrusting us with these tea powders.
As you may or may not realise, water does not mix well with chocolate. So when you are adding flavour to chocolate products, you want as much concentration of flavour, with as little liquid, as possible. Hence why chocolatier Jane Williams was very excited to be given the chance to work with these tea powders.
Creative Collaborations
The workshop began with an 'iced tea' tasting, with Watermelon Matcha. A very refreshing introduction to Love Lea Tea's new products. As instructed by Mel, we mixed the tea powder to a paste with a little milk, then blended more milk in to create a delicious frothy concoction. We went for some hot tea tastings too, of course, with oatmilk as well for those with dairy intolerance. The Mango Matcha and Spiced Chai Matcha were delicious, as well as the Ground Egyptian Chamomile and Rooibos Matcha, which were both caffeine free.
Guests listen attentively as Jane Williams gives instructions and inspiration.
After tasting and testing the palate of flavours offered by these wonderful tea powders, Jane demonstrated the main challenge for the evening. This involved making a teacup and saucer out of chocolate! Every visitor that comes to these #Chocollaboration evenings is not expected to have any prior experience in chocolate making, everything is demonstrated in a step by step way, and Jane is always on hand to trouble shoot or guide guests as needed. One of her aims is for each guest to leave with a happy surprise about what they manage to achieve. And as everyone left with an actual teacup made of chocolate, I think this objective was achieved. (Despite the challenges of the chocolate not setting fast enough in the warm weather!).
Once the tea cup was made, the next challenge was to fill it with a mousse infused with any of the tea powders from Love Leaf Tea's new range. We used an egg white base - and then guests could choose from milk, white or dark chocolate to create their chocolate mouse. The vibrancy of some of the colours really came out, with green matcha, purple blueberry, and orange turmeric spices.
The happiest girl in the room!
We had a great night; a unique shared experience which was a great celebration of Chocolate and Tea. Thanks to Mel from Love Leaf Tea - you can find her products here: loveleaftea.com and at food markets and festivals throughout the region.
Future events and ticket availability can be seen here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/
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