While you may use tea to help you loose weight there are also many other ways to enjoy the drink such as over snacks. Teatime in the West is popular for a mid-day snack and is also a great way for bringing friends and family together. In China and Taiwan there are several kinds of foods that are used with tea to accompany taste as well as prevent the stomach from getting too hungry. It is also important to rinse the palette once in a while with a type of food that has a distinctly different taste and yet can also provide some health benefits. In this article we take a look at what kinds of foods the Chinese use and recommend some alternative options as well.
Charcoal peanuts
Yes, charcoal. Trust us, this sounds much worse than it tastes. A light coating of charcoal is used on this kind of peanut to give it an earthy and toasted-like taste. The Chinese highly speak against not using charcoal for grilling due to the amount of chemicals produced from the smoke. In fact, Chinese doctors have spoken with Taiwan media stating that using charcoal for grilling one meal is akin to smoking a box of cigarettes. However, ingested in small amounts will not lead to such results and there are also reports coming out that this method of charcoal coating used on food may help the body detoxify. All we can tell you is that peanuts tastes surprisingly good when using this. This goes well with all teas but we found since it is earthier tasting that Puer, black and Oolong are most suitable.
Dried mango
Dried mango pieces can be purchased at most grocery stores, with supply coming from places such as Taiwan and the Philippines. We enjoy this with green teas in warmer seasons but do not recommend it for darker teas. Mango is considered a cold fruit in nature and should not be eaten in cold seasons. From a Chinese medical standpoint, women should avoid mango during their periods as it may increase menstrual flow and cramps. Eating too much mango can also cause the body’s internal organs to cramp more due to the fruit’s cold nature.
Dark Chocolate
We love eating dark chocolate, and it just so happens to go great with roasted teas such as dark Oolongs and Puer. Chocolate Puer mixes are in fact are our favorite and we simply enjoy combining any type of chocolate with dark teas to bring out the richness in them. Surprisingly, adding dark chocolate directly into Puer also tastes great and reminds us of an alternative form of hot chocolate. Since Puer is high is polyphenols and increases fat burning, consider your chocolate intake/craving balanced.
Rice crispy bars
These are sweat and light, and go well with pretty much any tea out there. This is a really nice balanced snack that is not necessarily the healthiest but yet seems to be enjoyed from most people, making it a recommended food item on our list.
Chips
We think that potato chips, albeit unhealthy in nature, are a nice salty snack that brings out the flavor in tea. Salty snacks cause people to be thirsty and it makes whatever you drink taste that much better, so this is the most unhealthy alternative we can think of for the tea drinker who does not want anything more healthy to go along with their beverage.
Foods We Avoid with Tea
This is a long list but lets narrow it down to a few. First, ice cream is a terrible thing to have with tea not just because they don’t match in terms of taste but also because switching from cold beverages to hot ones is considered extremely unhealthy from a Chinese medical standpoint.
We also avoid tea with over stimulant foods such as spicy dishes taken at the same time as they can increase one’s heart rate. Tea increases one’s heart rate and if someone has heart issues they may experience over stimulus of this sensation.