Girl Scout cookie season is the sort of thing you don't realize you miss until that last Thin Mint is gone. You thought that by squirreling the green box away in the freezer so cleverly you'd make those cookies last until late summer, but boom — it's mid-April, your supply has vanished, your niece/neighbor/coworker's daughter has no more boxes to sell you, and next February seems just so, so far away.
How to pair your Girl Scout Cookies with the perfect cup of tea
The good news: It's Girl Scout cookie season right now! The better news: Since we're all tea lovers around here, we thought that this would be the perfect time to tell you what tea you can pair with those cookies. Either look at what boxes you've already bought and pair accordingly, or (and we think this is super clever), use this list to find your favorite tea and then buy its perfect Girl Scout cookie companion. Here we go:
Thin Mints
Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies go great with tea. We've been known to scarf a sleeve (or two, if you must know) in one sitting because these thin, chocolate-mint crispy delights are addictive. And their flavor is so big we need a tea that won't shrink into the background. We're talking something big and bold and powerful like a cuppa' Organic Assam Breakfast Tea, or a Paisley Organic English Breakfast Tea. Hey, you're a grown-up. We won't tell your mom if you have Thin Mints for breakfast.
Samoas
Oh how we love Samoas Girl Scout Cookies.With temples of coconut, caramel and fudge-covered bliss, your vibe is sweet and sultry. We don't want to overwhelm the flavor of a delicate tea (like a white or a green), so we think we should capitalize on your toothsome ways and pair you up with something fun and fruity, like Alpine Berry Tea. This pairing is most like a chocolate-covered strawberry, and about as irresistible.
Tagalongs
Tagalongs Girl Scout Cookies are dreamy with tea. Peanut butter on the inside, chocolate on the outside? Sign us up. But we think those big, sweet ingredients need to bounce off a bit of a palate cleanser — in other words, something with an astringent bite on the end, like our Organic Darjeeling Tea. A nibble of the cookie, a sip of Darjeeling, a nibble, a sip ... now that's how you make a box of Girl Scout cookies last a long time. Or not.
Do-Si-Dos
Do-Si-Dos Girl Scout Cookies seem so folksy and innocent until you're alone with the box. We did a little research and discovered a popular Chinese dessert: Peanut butter sticky rice balls in green tea. Wait! Don't judge yet until you try a Do-Si-Do with a cuppa your favorite green tea, be it Organic Gen Mai Cha or Organic Tamayokucha Tea. These nutty, rich cookies pair beautifully with the fresh, vegetal mouthfeel of green tea ... especially if you wait a few extra seconds between your bite of cookie and your sip of tea. (Alternate suggestion: try a rich berry tea like our Paisley Organic Tart Berry Tea and pretend you're having a PB&J. Reflect on simpler times.)
Savannah Smiles
With Savannah Smiles Girl Scout Cookies, you lemon lovers have met your match. These light and flakey lemon cookies are named after the birthplace of Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low, and honestly, we think plenty of tea would pair with these little lovelies. But if you're one of those people who can't get enough lemon flavor, we'd really recommend steeping a cuppa' Paisley Organic Tart Meyer Lemon Tea with these. The warm, tart flavor can really benefit from these little sweet cookies. Alternatively, consider these cookies like a squeeze of lemon in your black tea, and go with an Organic Assam Breakfast Tea.
Toffee-tastics
On a whim, we have paired Toffee-tastics Girl Scout Cookies baked with bits of toffee with the utterly British staple, Earl Grey tea, and found them to go hand in hand. That traditional bergamot citrus flavor in our Organic Earl Grey Tea gives this black tea its edge is smoothed out (in a good way) by the deep toffee flavor, and we don't think these cookies would look out of place at high tea.
Trefoils
You say tree-foils, I say treh-foils, let's just brew a pot of tea and enjoy these simple shortbread cookies together. The buttery, rich flavor of Trefoils Girl Scout Cookies works with any tea, in our opinion, but because they're an understated cookie, we see them as the perfect complement to a soft, subtle tea! Pair Trefoils with a white tea like Organic Bai Mu Dan Tea, and you'll be able to savor both of these delicate flavors together.
Enjoy a delicious Girl Scout cookie season, tea lovers. May we recommend you buy more than you think you'll "need", and keep us informed of your own successful pairings. It certainly doesn't hurt that you'll be supporting an organization that formed just over a century ago and has been helping to empower girls and women ever since. Cheers!
