In perhaps one of the most exciting collaborations of this year, T2 and Pana Chocolate have teamed up. The result is a range of tea-inspired chocolate treats in four new flavours: Lemongrass & Ginger, Liquorice & Mint, Berry & Hibiscus and Chai. The new flavours combine T2’s creative teas with Pana Chocolate’s raw, organic chocolate.

“The first time I tasted Pana Chocolate was at a tea event where we were pairing tea with chocolate and forever after, the two were matched in my head,” says T2 tea specialist and developer Michelle McGoff. “T2 like to do tea differently; we like to take a flavour you’re familiar with and turn it on its head. Pana does chocolate differently so it’s a perfect match.”

The process began by selecting teas that both T2 and Pana Chocolate thought would create some exciting and innovative flavour combinations. Pana Barbounis, of Pana Chocolate says, “we drank a lot of gorgeous tea in the early days to discover some incredible flavour combinations.” Some flavours proved to be more difficult to perfect than others.

“During one of the tastings, I brewed up a cup of our Organic Chai so that we could identify what spices we needed to tweak in order to get that perfect chai spice hit,” says Michelle.

What resulted was a tasty marriage of chocolate and tea. “When we started creating the chocolate it was challenging but pleasantly surprising to see how the tea flavours could translate through chocolate,” says Pana.

“It was such an interesting and fun process, nothing like we’ve done before. Some flavours just came together so quickly and others evolved further. Lemongrass & Ginger was a resounding ‘yes’ on first go, and the Liquorice & Mint took a little more time, but when we got there it was amazing.”

When pressed if they had a favourite flavour from this collaboration, both Michelle and Pana were in agreement. “I always have a soft spot for tart flavours, so my pick would be the Berry & Hibiscus. The contrast of the sweet chocolate with the juicy berries and tart hibiscus is my kind of flavour party,” says Michelle. Pana agreed, adding, “I’m so in love with Berry & Hibiscus – I love the colour, it pops and reflects the flavour of a sweet tartness that pops with the cacao.”

The new collaboration will be available in-store at T2 for $8.00.