Tea time and food pairings

After water, tea is the most common beverage in the world and is drunk at any time of the day. It’s hard to talk about “tea time”, when any occasion can really be the right moment to try new pairings with either sweet or savory foods. Tea is perfect during meals because it “cleanses” the palate and exalts the flavor of the foods.

Exactly like wine, tea can accompany any food and can intensify the flavor of certain dishes, if properly paired. In restaurants, the idea of serving tea paired with the menu is no longer so uncommon. In fact, many chefs, in collaboration with tea sommeliers, are exploring new sensory and taste horizons.

HOW DOES TEA PAIR WITH FOOD? 

The objective of pairing is to offer a sensory experience in which various levels of taste and aroma can be perceived, exalting both the flavor of the dish and that of the tea.

Remember that there are no strict rules regarding tea and food pairings, only guidelines.

ADOPT THE PRINCIPLE “FROM LIGHT TO DARK AND FROM MILD TO STRONG”

It’s best to begin with more delicate and subtle teas (for example white or green teas) and to gradually increase the intensity and persistence with stronger and more full bodied teas (for example Assam, Kenya, or Pu’Er). 

To make another analogy with wine, green, white, yellow, and low-oxidation Oolong teas correspond to white wines and pair well with light dishes.

High-oxidation Oolong teas and oxidized or fermented black teas, which are warmer and have spiced, malted, or earthy notes, can be compared to red wines and therefore pair well with more flavorful foods.

The first approach to pairing consists in paying attention to taste, but it’s also important to analyze the consistency and tactile sensations felt in the mouth. We know that foods can feel soft or crunchy, but tea also elicits feelings on the palate: it can be astringent and refreshing, light and velvety, full-bodied and enveloping…

Furthermore, it’s important to pair the “weight” of the food with the body and consistency of the tea.

For example, a delicate fish like sole goes well with a mild tea such as a white tea, a Mao Jian, or even a Ceylon High Grown tea. Meanwhile, an oily fish like salmon, requires a fuller tea, such as a Sencha or a Keemun.

The delicate balance created by tea and food pairings is achieved by adhering to the principle of likeness, like citrusy notes with citrus fruits, or of contrast, like sweet with acidic. 

It’s important to keep an open mind, experiment, and choose pairings in which no element is overwhelmed. In fact, a pairing is successful when the intensity of the flavors in the food and in the tea are balanced and each element exalts the flavor of the next, without becoming overly dominant or, on the contrary, getting smothered. 

Contrasting pairings are hard to find, but they’re definitely the most extravagant and most successful. The tea must create opposing sensations to those of the food: if the food is oily and greasy, the tea must be fresh and slightly astringent. Likewise, a very sweet food must be softened by a stronger, fuller, and more bitter tea. 

In other cases, however, it’s preferable to pair tea with food according to similarity. For example, sugar, honey, or the creams in certain desserts are often reinforced with sweet teas that have fruity or floral notes. 

Furthermore, as a general rule, remember that when a tea is used as an ingredient in the preparation of a dish, it’s recommended to serve this tea, even hot, as an accompaniment.

To sum up, when we base our choices on the principle of contrast or likeness, we must always ask ourselves:

• Is the priority the tea or the food?
• Which intensities and flavors within the tea and food must be paired? 
• Are there any individual characteristics in the tea or in the food that we wish to exalt? 

Or, on the contrary, that we wish to cover slightly?

WHAT FLAVORS DO WE FIND IN TEA?

Flavor is a combination of tastes and smells that are produced by aromatic compounds. 

More than 600 aromatic molecules are present in tea. For example, in pan-fried green tea we find floral, toasted, and nutty notes (in particular notes of chestnut); in steamed green tea notes of sea water and cooked vegetables emerge (in particular spinach); in white tea notes of hay, honey, bread crust, and butter are prominent; in yellow tea notes of walnut stand out; in Oolong tea the aromas of magnolia, lily of the valley, honey, dried fruit, cocoa, and sweet spices are most prominent; in oxidized black tea the scents of molasses, malt, caramel, and fruit compote are present; and finally, in fermented tea intense notes of damp earth, mushrooms, and woods are strongest.

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON PAIRINGS?

White tea is subtler and more delicate and, because of these characteristics, it’s better to enjoy it alone. At the most, it can be paired with light foods, like steamed vegetables, white fish fillets, or panna cotta.

Green teas can be very different from one another: those with a more vegetal flavor can accompany shellfish, sushi, rice, and steamed vegetables.

Green teas with strong toasted or smokey notes provide a nice balance to fried or spicy foods, eggs, cheeses, and potatoes.

Fruitier or more floral green teas pair well with green salads, fruit salads, white meats, and blue cheeses.

Yellow teas, with a toastier and less grassy aroma than green teas, exalt the flavor of raw oysters and shrimp and of pastries made with walnuts or hazelnuts.

Oolong teas are true “wild cards”, but we must distinguish between low and high oxidation because they’re very different from one another.

Low oxidation Oolong teas accompany scallops, lobster, shrimp, and fruit salad magnificently. High oxidation Oolong teas can stand up to important dishes, like those made with grilled meat or fish. They’re also excellent with salmon, smoked meats, cured meats (for example bresaola), and flavorful cheeses. When they feature intense fruity notes, they’re exquisite with sweets, fruits, and caramelized desserts.

Black oxidized teas offer intense malted, toasted, fruity, woody, and balsamic aromas. Due to their structure, they’re recommended to support rich and flavorful foods, like lasagna, stuffed pasta, spicy dishes, roasts, wild game, and eggs. 

Fermented black teas and, in particular, Pu’Er go excellently with aged cheeses, mushrooms, and braised meats. Nevertheless, thanks to their digestive properties, it would be better to drink them after particularly abundant meals.

THE PAIRING OF TEA AND CHOCOLATE

I’ll never stop repeating and emphasizing that tea is capable of accompanying every course, from appetizers to dessert. Regardless, one of the most popular pairings among those who approach the world of tea pairing is that of tea and chocolate.

Always keeping in mind the principles of contrast or likeness, and, above all, the importance of pairing the consistency of the chocolate with the body of the tea, prepare yourself for a heavenly experience. 

The tea must not wash away the chocolate and the chocolate must not cover, but rather exalt the tea.

What’s the process? Simple: always “from light to dark and from mild to strong”.

First taste each tea by itself, starting with white teas and working your way to fermented black teas. Try to memorize the aromatic notes and the tactile sensations in your mouth. 

Then proceed in the same way tasting small pieces of selected chocolates: white, milk, dark, spiced, with citrus, with red fruits, with hazelnut, with caramel… 

Subsequently, you can taste each tea with each chocolate, looking for the best combinations. 

A simple, but effective piece of advice: with white or milk chocolate, taste the tea first. Its heat will allow the chocolate to melt evenly and more quickly in your mouth. 

Meanwhile, with dark chocolates or those with a high percentage of cacao, taste the chocolate first and then the tea. This order will further exalt all of the aromatic nuances of the cacao.

IS PAIRING AN ART OR A SCIENCE?

Behind our relationship with food and beverages, there’s the science which studies how our brains actively create the sensation of flavor upon receiving sensory stimuli.

“Neurogastronomy” involves not only the five senses, but also emotions and memory. 

In other words, there’s the memory of past sensations, of emotions (pleasant and unpleasant) connected to what we like and don’t like, the sense of gratification. These components are the “pillars” of our taste experience, of our search for the perfect pairing, and of our food habits. 

When we think of a dish and of a tea, and of their possible pairing, the areas in our brains which involve memory and emotion are already activated, as well as the expectation of re-encountering a specific flavor.

This conditioning can disappoint us, when the flavor doesn’t meet our expectations, or on the contrary, can make us feel pleasantly rewarded and satisfied.

Despite the scientific foundation and the criteria which were previously mentioned for finding the right combination, let’s always remember that there are no set rules, and that food and tea pairings are often dictated by personal taste. 

Use your intuition, be creative and, above all, have fun!