At melslife, we are always looking for natural food pairings and inexpensive entertainment.  Like wine and cheese, chocolate and coffee pairings, and chocolate and tea pairings go well together.

Most dark chocolates go well with dark roasts, but everyone is different and a lot depends on what you have recently eaten.  You can never be wrong.  Experiment with a variety of chocolates and coffees.

• Brazilian roasts – chocolates with cashews, almonds, or peanuts.  Experiment with dark and light chocolates

• Colombian roasts – milk chocolate, fruity chocolates, chocolate with nuts, chocolates with caramels, and vanilla-flavored chocolates

• Costa Rican roasts – milk chocolate, fruity chocolates and butterscotch-flavored chocolates

• Espresso roasts – try dark chocolates, chocolates with caramel, chocolates with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg

• Ethiopian roasts – try dark chocolates, fruity chocolates, especially lemon-flavored chocolates

• French roasts – try dark chocolates, chocolates with roasted almonds or roasted hazelnuts, any chocolates with caramelized sugar.

• Guatemalan roasts - try dark chocolates, chocolates with caramel, chocolates with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg, any vanilla-flavored chocolates, wine-infused chocolates

• Italian roasts - try dark chocolates, chocolates with caramel, chocolates with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg, chocolate with nuts (almonds, pecans, or walnuts)

• Java roasts – milk, white, or dark chocolates, sweet chocolates, fruity chocolates, cream-filled chocolates

• Kenyan roasts - milk, white, or dark chocolates, sweet chocolates, fruity chocolates, cream-filled chocolates, and wine-infused chocolates

Most green and herbal teas go well with white or milk chocolate while stronger, darker teas like Earl Grey go well with dark chocolates.  There are so many variations of tea, it’s almost impossible to list specific teas with chocolate.  Also, everyone seems to brew or steep their tea differently.  Here’s more of a guideline:

• Fruity chocolates – light teas
• Spiced chocolates – light or dark teas
• Caramel chocolates – dark teas
• Sugary chocolates – dark teas
• Creamed-based chocolates – light or dark teas
• Nut chocolates – dark teas
• Real dark chocolates – dark or fruity teas

Everyone is different.  The fun is in experimenting.  Let us know your favorites.