Quick and Current

Tea and Chocolate

Goings on

If you missed the

Segment on Tea and

Chocolate for 

Valentine’s Day

it is archived here

Featured Teas

Several New teas arriving

Lomi Lomi Herbal infusion

is a delight for the senses

Taiping Monkey King is

a unique and rare green 

tea with a long leaf style

Sencha Kombucha is a

green tea with kombucha

powder.  Plum like

flavor is simple to make

Fog Tea is a green tea

also known as “Clouds

of Mist” or Wu Lu.  Grown

in misty mountains it makes

a great tea.

Quick and current

February not only contains Valentine’s Day, but is also American Heart Month.   Tea is a great way to tackle both!  Black Teas have been shown to strengthen the cardiovascular system and tea fills the bill in many other ways for Valentine’s Day.  In this edition:

• Souvia Teas can be found in more places like The Java Spa in the Sachi Salon and the Water Mart at Camelback and Miller.  Ask for Souvia Teas at your favorite haunts – we can deliver anywhere in the country!
• The popular Souvia Saturday Forums continue on February 13th at 10am, providing speakers on a variety of general interest topics. They are free and run from 10am-Noon on selected Saturdays.  Next up: Greg Peterson on “Creating your own Urban Farm”
• See below for tea pairing, teas that are arriving and teas that are going away

Tea and Chocolate

Can you imagine a chocolate chip cookie without a glass of milk, a peanut butter sandwich without jelly, vanilla ice cream without hot fudge?  There are certain food combinations that take the taste from just good to simply delicious!

 Wine, for example, is often paired with foods and desserts to enhance the flavor in both. Tea shares many of wine’s complexities and pairing it with food can enhance the taste experience of both. Since February highlights chocolates and sweets as the perfect gift for your Valentine, why not take it to the next level and create tea and chocolate pairings for that romantic Valentine’s dinner that will surprise and delight?

One way to look at tea and chocolate is as friends, where similarity in characteristics enhance the flavor, or as lovers, where contrasting characteristics will complement each other through their differences. Since tea and chocolate share the same flavor profiles, floral qualities and bite from astringency and tannin, they practically invite you to create fun and tasty combinations. While you should always trust your taste buds to find the right combinations, there are some general guidelines that might help you get started.

• White teas have a very delicate flavor and pair well with mild chocolates and fruit. Try a Silver Needle or Bai Mu Tan with chocolate covered strawberries or a white chocolate cheese cake.
• Green teas have vegetal flavors and aromas and pair well with creamier tastes such as berry flavors and milk chocolate. A Japanese Sencha with its savory profile, for example, is a good match for white or milk chocolate.
• Oolongs  are partially oxidized teas, are very complex in flavor. The lightly oxidized, greener oolongs go well with rich sweet desserts like caramel filled pralines, milk or dark chocolate, while the more oxidized oolongs complement the stronger flavors of dark chocolate.
• Black Teas tend to have a stronger flavor, more body and their tannin content matches up well with rich and full flavored dark chocolate, maybe with a hint of berries, citrus or nuts.

We like rich and creamy desserts and, therefore, choose for a perfect Valentine’s dessert would be a Ti Kuan Yin Oolong from China with its slightly toasted notes and a slice of creamy chocolate caramel cake. 

If you are interested in learning more about this topic and would like to sample some creations, sign up for our  “Tea and Dessert Pairing” class on Sunday, March 7^th from 2 until 4 PM.

Lots going on at the store…

Lots happening over the next month or so

• Souvia Saturday forums started last month.  These are presentations of general interest to the community.  No registration necessary, just stop in and learn something new.  Got an idea for a topic or speaker?  Send us a note
• New teas are on the shelves: Fog Tea, Lomi Lomi, Sencha Kombucha, and Taiping Monkey King – check them out!
• The New Class Schedule is posted for the first half of 2010. Next up Herbals for Detox, Tea and Dessert Pairing and Tea 101
• Tea Tuesdays at the Kerr Cultural Center – Music sponsored by Souvia, so there is no charge for refreshments or the programs!   March 9th – “Viola Studio, Students of Nancy Buck”
• The Chinese New Year starts in February and it is the “Year of the Tiger” – We have an instore drawing for a boxed set of some of the top teas from China
• New arrivals in March – Licorice Root and White Cherry
• Leaving us soon – Pumpkin Pie, Nutcracker Suite, Assam Mangalam, Snow Buds Special, Spring Green, Cupids Arrow, Gingerbread House, Ginseng Oolong

Thanks for Reading

Win a Souvia T-shirt for answering the following question – Name two herbals that are good for your heart.  Send your answers to info@souvia.com.  I will draw 4 winners this month…

We hope to see you in the store or online soon.  If you can’t get in remember we ship same day and your tea will arrive quickly!