Just like wine, tea is particularly suitable for certain foods yet combining tea and dishes is not new. The art of pairing tea with food exists for millennia in the East, but it's a novel thing in the West and opens a whole new world as tea is not limited to breakfast or afternoon tea, biscuits and scones.
Much like fine wine, there exists a tea match for every variety of food (or many matches). There are two aspects to consider before exploring them:
- When you think tea and food, do not consider tea as a beverage to enjoy only with your palate, but a feast for the senses, allowing to explore the possibilities and dynamics between the looks, the flavours and the aromas of the tea and the dishes you serve.
- Taste wise, tea will not only balance your food but even lift or enhance it, adding a dimension to both and enhancing the dining experience exactly like wine, but in a different way.
This introduction to tea and food pairing will start with the general profile of the main tea types and which foods pair well with them.
Tea pairing guide
The rules
Applying the 4 P's to decode the art of combining each type of tea with certain types of food.
Black tea
Green tea
Oolong
Now, you know enough to start exploring the tea and food combination and impress your friends!
In a next post, we will talk about tea pairing with 3 revered teas (oolong, pu-erh and white tea) that will take your tea knowledge to the next level. So, be sure to come back read our tips and share the love of tea.