No teatime treat is complete without tea and biscuits. Whether you’re having some much-needed alone time or a catch-up with friends over a cuppa, biscuits make the moment extra special. While you might naturally reach for your favourite biscuit to accompany your tea, certain biccies are even more delicious when paired with specific teas and vice versa! Just like wine and food, there is a special art to pairing teas and biscuits. At Ringtons, we know a thing or two about how getting this pairing right can elevate your tea experience. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know.
Getting To Know The Flavour Profiles of Teas and Biscuits
Before you can find the perfect pairing, it’s helpful to know more about the flavour profiles of different teas and biscuits. Teas come with different flavour profiles and strengths, from the full, malty and strong notes of English Breakfast, the citrus of Earl Grey, to the light and cleansing of green teas and the fruity notes of specially blended fruit infusions. The same applies to biscuits. You’d be forgiven for thinking a biscuit is just a biscuit, but they have their own flavour profiles. For example, shortbreads are buttery and rich, digestives are nutty and subtly sweet, and ginger biscuits have a fiery kick. Taking note of the flavour profiles can help make your teatime treat even more enjoyable.
Tea and Biscuit Pairings That Work
Whether you love to dunk or are a separate nibbler and slurper, we’ve put together a short guide to the tea and biscuit combinations that complement each other the best:
English Breakfast and Shortbread Biscuits
You just can’t go wrong with a perfectly brewed cup of English Breakfast tea paired with a crumbly and buttery shortbread biscuit. English Breakfast is a strong, bold tea that brings much-needed contrast to the rich, buttery notes of shortbread. While crumbly shortbreads can’t stand up to prolonged dunking, the combination of hot tea against the biscuit enhances their melt-in-the-mouth characteristics.
English Breakfast and Chocolate Biscuits
English Breakfast tea is a classic that works with lots of different types of biscuits, and chocolate varieties are no exception. The robustness of the English breakfast tea contrasts deliciously with the biscuit and the sweet creaminess of the added chocolate, whether that’s in the form of a topping or with the addition of chocolate chips. Not everyone likes to dunk chocolate biscuits as they quickly start to melt, but here at Ringtons, we think that makes them an even more luxurious treat! Browse our range of chocolate biscuits to find your perfect partner.
Earl Grey and Lemon Biscuits
Some people love to add a slice of lemon to their Earl Grey tea to enhance its natural citrus notes. Why not take this a step further by pairing your cup of Earl Grey with a zingy lemon biscuit? Earl Grey and lemon go hand in hand, and citrusy biscuits complement the tea without being too overpowering.
Fruit & Herbal Teas and Ginger Biscuits
Fruit Infusions are a refreshing choice at any time of day. Packed full of interesting flavours like berries and citrus, they work well with spiced biscuits that complement their sweet fruitiness. If it’s zing you’re looking for, then pairing your fruit teas with a ginger biscuit is a great choice.
Green Tea and Oaty Biscuits
The earthy, refreshing notes of green tea pair well with a biscuit that is just as subtle. Oaty and nutty biscuits like our sugar-free Oat Crunch Biscuits are the perfect partner to a cup of green tea, as the light flavour of oats works effortlessly with the cleansing of green tea.
Tips For Finding The Perfect Pairing
When playing around with biscuit and tea pairings, it’s important to consider these three main points:
Tea strength – Bold teas can stand up to rich, decadent biscuits like shortbread and chocolate flavours, whereas lighter teas work best with biscuits that are who prefer subtlety in taste.
Biscuit sweetness – Balancing the biscuit sweetness with your tea is a smart idea. Biscuits that are very sweet can overwhelm lighter teas, so ensure that you always choose a strong-flavoured tea that can hold its own.
Texture – Don’t be afraid of trying biscuits that have different textures. Whether you’re a dunker or not, the texture of your biscuit can completely change the eating and drinking experience at teatime.
Here at Ringtons, we believe that every type of tea and biscuit has a perfect partner. The next time you brew up and reach for the biscuit jar, think about how the flavours and textures work together for an extra special moment.