Tea and chocolate go together like love and marriage, like Cookie Monsters and cookies, like riverbeds and water, like… well, tea and chocolate! White chocolate is different from full-blown chocolate yet also goes well with tea.

Unlike regular chocolate, white chocolate does not include chocolate liquor and cocoa solids. It does include cocoa butter and was supposedly first created (in the 1930s by Swiss chocolatiers) as a way to use up an excess supply of that ingredient. Lesser brands of white chocolate use a cheaper alternative (vegetable fat) instead of cocoa butter. The flavor and texture can’t compare, though, with the good stuff. Other ingredients in white chocolate are milk solids, sugar, soy lecithin, and salt (sounds odd, but a touch of salt actually makes sweet things taste sweeter). In the U.S., for something to be labeled as “white chocolate,” it must contain (by weight) at least 20% cocoa butter, 14% total milk solids, 3.5% milk fat, and no more than 55% sugar or other sweeteners. In Europe the regulations are the same except there’s no limit on the sugar/sweeteners. One of the best things about white chocolate is the much lower amount of caffeine than in regular chocolate, which contains caffeine-rich cocoa solids.

White chocolate is increasingly popular in desserts and has a sort of exotic appeal. You can always have one of these delights with your tea time. It can be part of light, refreshing desserts like whipped mousse and ice cream, or heavier ones like cakes, cupcakes, trifles, cookies, brownies, cheesecakes, muffins, and even fondue. Watch the overindulgence, though, since white chocolate contains about 44% fat.

Teas that are supposed to go well with white chocolate include: Dragonwell, Yunnan, Darjeeling, Sencha, and Oolongs.

A tea with white chocolate added an alternative. One is Night of the Iguana, which I tried awhile back. Spices (ginger, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper) mix with white chocolate and caramel to give this tea a zing befitting its name.

Don’t forget white drinking chocolate, scones with white chocolate and raspberry, and white chocolate candies such as Cadbury’s Buttons. Lots of options so you can have it your way!

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