For Debonair Tea Co co-founder, Louisa, a trip to Canterbury would never be complete without a stop at Fudge Kitchen. So when Sian Holt, Fudge Kitchen's MD, approached us about a tea-infused fudge collaboration it really was a dream come true!
Selecting the perfect teas and infusions to pair with the sweet creaminess of fudge, was just the start for FK's fudge technologists. Developing production methods that enhanced the tea flavours, experimenting with steeping times and volumes of tea, tinkering with additional ingredients to complement the blends and the fudge, was the next set of challenges.
Much brewing, steeping, grinding, selecting and blending later, working their way through Debonair’s incredible offer of over 30 hand-blend teas, the team had honed the search to three. First, our Great Taste Award winning Extreme Earl, a simple blend of organic Ceylon orange Pekoe with a particularly punchy organic bergamot oil. Next, our naturally sweet and gently spicy cardamom heavy Masala Chai, blended with cinnamon, ginger and red peppercorns.
And finally, Persian Chai, a black tea layered with fresh rose petals, which absorb the flavours. As Louisa explains: “To this, we have added cinnamon, ginger and lavender – the rose, fennel and cinnamon combination was the primary flavour we wanted to draw out, like a sweet persian-style dessert, a tea that could pair perfectly with something like baklava.” Or fudge, evidently.
Back in the FK gastro-lab, each tea was infused for a minimum of twelve hours and blended with their hand made, whipping cream based fudge; and the leaves then ground up for a beautiful, subtle flecking of rich flavours. To further bring out the composite tea flavours and spices, their team have picked out the top notes of each and tweaked to the perfect proportions; adding ginger and red peppercorns to the Masala Chai, rosewater, fennel and cinnamon to the Persian Rose and lemon and Bergamot oil to the Earl Grey.