When Chinese tea meets Italian gelato

Zhang Haiyang, winner of 2014 China Gelato Championship.

Not many people can resist the allure of a creamy gelato in all its Italian flare. But picture the resulting flavours when gelato runs into traditional Chinese tea culture.

When Italian gelato meets Chinese tea. The unique flavor won high recognition from the world's top ice cream masters in a recent China Gelato Championship. The honor came as a surprise to the winner herself, as she's only eight month into this sweet industry.

"It was tea season in China during the Championship. So I thought why not incorporate the tea culture into my work. Though gelato comes from Italy, it blends quite well with the flavor of tea." Zhang Haiyang, winner of 2014 China Gelato Championship, said.

Techniques can be learned in short time but a perfect gelato needs more than a recipe.

These are the food materials Haiyang played around with to concoct a new flavor. As we can see there are many Chinese elements, including some traditional ingredients that are used in Chinese medicine. There are also nuts. Some worked out while others didn't. Each creative flavor is based on many tries and a little luck.

The great tastes come from natural ingredients. Careful work is also what matters to a perfect gelato: weighing, measuring, stirring, tasting, then over to the machine.

"Unlike ice cream, gelato is denser because not as much air is whipped into the mixture. It is a work of great cooperation of human craftsmanship and the machine." Zhang said.

After eight to ten minutes, out comes the temptation.

The texture is very soft, you just can't resist another scoop.

As a gelato champion, Zhang will visit Bologna in Italy early next year, a place where food is an art form, and where gelato was born. She says she'll be mixing more Chinese elements to her products and exchange ideas with those who share her passion.