La Merienda Set

Five teas, three alfajores, one very good afternoon

In Latin America, la merienda is the pause between lunch and a late dinner: something sweet, something warm and nowhere you need to be. It’s where alfajores belong.

You’ve just made them with your own hands. Here’s what to drink with each one.

How to brew

  1. Warm your cup with hot water and tip it out.
  2. Use one cotton bag per 250 ml cup.
  3. Pour the water over the bag so the cotton soaks through straight away.
  4. Steep for the time shown, press the bag gently with a spoon, then lift it out. Don’t wring it.
  5. Bite, sip, repeat.

Below boiling: boil the kettle and leave it with the lid open for the minutes shown.


The pairings

1. LA RONDA

Yerba Mate · Clásico de Maicena or Marplatense Alfajor

In Argentina, mate cocido goes around the circle and nobody leaves early. Grassy and gently bitter, it’s exactly what dulce de leche needs. With the Marplatense alfajor, it makes the dark chocolate taste darker and the frutilla brighter.
Brew: let the boiled kettle rest for 5 minutes, to around 75°C. Steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Do NOT boil. Boiling water makes mate harsh.
Add Milk?: Yes. Mate cocido con leche is a breakfast classic across the Río de la Plata. Cow, oat or almond milk; add a splash after lifting out the bag. 
Contains caffeine.


2. DE OLLA

Mild Chai · Marplatense or Clásico de Maicena Alfajor

In Mexico, café de olla simmers slowly in a clay pot with canela and piloncillo until the whole kitchen smells like a Sunday morning. This chai borrows that ritual: gentle, warm, with cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Cinnamon and dark chocolate have been together in Mexico for centuries and with the Alffajor Clásico it tastes like a dulce de leche latte in two bites.
Brew: boiling water, 4 to 5 minutes. Or make it de olla: put the bag in a small pot with half milk and half water, add a little brown sugar or panela if you like, simmer for 4 minutes, then lift it out.
Add Milk?: Yes, and recommended. Cow or oat; oat is the best plant milk here.
Contains caffeine


3. RUBI DE JAMAICA

Hibiscus · Chocolate Blanco or Marplatense Alfajor
Flor de Jamaica in Mexico, sorrel at Christmas in the Caribbean, Hibiscus elsewhere. Deep ruby and tart like cranberry, it’s the only tea bold enough to stand up to white chocolate. With the Marplatense alfajor, its berry notes meet the frutilla halfway.
Brew: boiling water, 5 to 7 minutes. For agua de Jamaica, brew 2 bags in 250 ml, cool and pour over ice.
Add Milk?: no. Its acidity curdles every milk.
Caffeine free.


4. SUSURRO DE GUANABANA

Soursop Green Tea · Clásico de Maicena or Chocolate Blanco Alfajor

A whisper of guanábana, the fruit behind our soursop cake, over light, fresh green tea. Tangy and tropical, it does what guanábana and condensed milk do in a Venezuelan batido: fruit cuts through the dulce de leche and you reach for another bite. With white chocolate, it plays the fresh fruit to the cream.
Brew: let the boiled kettle rest for 4 minutes, to around 80°C. Steep for 3 minutes, no longer, or the green tea turns bitter. Iced: 2 bags in 250 ml for 3 minutes, cool, then pour over ice with a slice of lime.
Add Milk?: No. Green tea and fruit don’t take it.
Contains caffeine.


5. CARNAVAL DORADO

Golden Tropical (mango, papaya, pineapple, apple) · Chocolate Blanco or Clásico de Maicena Alfajor

Carnival in a cup. Tropical fruit with white chocolate is a pairing every Caribbean pastry shop knows. With the coconut rim of the Clásico, pineapple turns it into a piña colada in two bites. Drink it unsweetened; the alfajor brings the sugar.
Brew: boiling water, 6 to 8 minutes, so the fruit has time to open. Excellent iced: 2 bags in 250 ml, cool, then pour over ice.
Add Milk?: not hot. Iced, add a splash of coconut milk for a piña colada twist and drink straight away.
Caffeine free. [Contains sulphites, if the supplier spec says so.]


Your pairings at a glance

  • Clásico de Maicena: La Ronda, De Olla,Susurro de Guanábana, Carnaval Dorado
  • Marplatense con Frutilla: De Olla, La Ronda, Rubí de Jamaica
  • Chocolate Blanco: Rubí de Jamaica, Carnaval Dorado, Susurro de Guanábana


Keeping your Alfajores and Tea

Alfajores keep best in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 7 days. Store the tea sealed, away from light and heat and enjoy it by the best before date on each pack.


Hecho con cariño

Margot & Montañez is named after my grandmother Margot from Caracas, who baked by feel, to make people happy and always her own way. I’ve carried her recipes across five countries. Now some of them are in your kitchen too.

Gracias for baking with me.
Jen x
South American indulgence, redefined.

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