Croque-moi Black Tea: The Unexpected Alliance of Black Tea and Cocoa
With Betjeman and Barton, creation is never a matter of chance, but of impetus—a blend of flair, audacity, and passion… and sometimes, all it takes is a handshake, not at the ends of the earth, but in the vibrant heart of Paris, for a bridge to be woven between continents. This is how Croque Moi was born, a black tea with cocoa nibs, the first of its kind, the fruit of intuition and an encounter.
To create this unique liqueur, we chose a Chinese black tea, Keemun, a jewel of the misty mountains of Anhui. Famous for its silky texture and naturally cocoa-like inflections, it expresses itself here in all its depth, almost malty, almost woody. Alongside it, we dared to add cocoa bean husks, to enhance the tasting experience. The infusion is round, smooth, and delicately floral on the finish—like a square of dark chocolate that you bite into with your eyes closed, to better prolong its sweetness.
When Two Passions Meet, Flavors Unite
It was 2016, in the fragrant aisles of the Salon du Chocolat. Amid the heady aromas and lively conversations, Agnès crossed paths with Rob, a cocoa producer based near Honolulu. From this simple but essential encounter, a passionate dialogue was born about volcanic terroirs, the liveliness of the beans, and the infinite subtleties of their aromas—floral, honeyed, smoky. Rob handed her a handful of cocoa husks: raw, elegant, intense. The idea then came to Agnès as obvious: to marry these cocoa fragments with a fine black tea, a first in the world of tea, to create a sophisticated cup, as rich as a great chocolate dessert that one savors with the tip of one's lips. Croque-Moi was coming to life.
Buoyed by the success of this delicious creation, the House would give birth, a few years later, to one of its finest signatures: the range of infusions with cocoa bean bark, called COCAO.
A Tea to Devour, Full of Nuances
Croque-Moi naturally pairs easily with the most indulgent sweets: a dark chocolate fondant cake, a hazelnut financier... But when it arrives at the end of the afternoon, it needs nothing else. Its presence is full, round, enveloping—almost reassuring. When summer sets in, Croque-Moi changes register with lightness. Cold-infused for several hours, it transforms into an iced drink with chocolate accents, sweet and thirst-quenching. Served over ice, enhanced with a dash of almond milk or a fresh mint leaf, it evokes a light and fresh dessert—a subtle pleasure for lovers of true tastes.
