Much like wine pairing the art of tea pairing allows a sensory journey between the flavours and aromas that we find in both food and tea. The right combination will see the tea highlighted as well as balance the flavours in your food. Tea has its own distinctive scents which are vital to your experience or perception of the flavours that follow.
The best tea and food combinations
We have explored a few of our favourite teas and our favourite foods to go with them!
A delicate White Tea should be paired with fresh and light tasting food, think watermelon, cucumber, corn, peach, apricot, asparagus, scallops or dishes such as cucumber and watermelon skewers.
Green Tea is more suited to savoury dishes, it goes exceptionally well with fish and asian flavours. Personally we think it’s best enjoyed with smoked salmon pate fromFishwives Smokehouse.
Full flavoured black teas
Our Crafted Tea Flowers pair well with food that has round and buttery characteristics, think of your traditional high tea style cucumber sandwiches, scones with fresh cream, and a traditionalVictoria Sponge cake sandwiched together with jam and cream. If you’re looking for an excuse to indulge yourself, invite your friends round for afternoon tea and really make the most of the experience!
Thieves’ Teais full of flavour and has a story to match so when it comes to food pairing it needs something equally robust and rich, decadent chocolate cakes or some of our festive favourites such as minced pie, stollen or Christmas cake go well for those with a sweet tooth. It also pairs well with spicy foods if you’re looking for something a little more savoury. We’d recommend picking up your favourite fresh bake fromMa Boulangerie to enjoy with your favourite cuppa at home.
Fire Chai suits something robust, rich or spicy. It’s a delicious contrast to a chocolate brownie and really highlights a spicy samosa, Mexican chilli or Sri Lankan curry. It’s a great winter warmer as autumn sets in too.
Perfect palate cleanser
A beautiful Lemongrass Tisane is very versatile; it could be a great palate cleanser or a nice caffeine free option to round out a meal. The fresh citrus notes of lemongrass mean it complements fresh, sharp, refreshing, citrus salads and herbs such as basil, mint, etc.
Professional tea tasting
Food pairing with tea is fast growing in popularity to the point that there are now tea-sommeliers! Much like a wine sommelier it involves a vast amount of knowledge and intense training to really comprehend the different blends and flavours.
Modelled on the aroma wheel used for wine the International Tea Masters Association has developed anaroma wheel for tea. Starting points for evaluating tea are aromatics such as spicy, earthy and floral.
At Picker’s Pocket we entrust our growers at the source of our tea to develop the best flavours from terroir, with decades of experience and a collaborative approach to growing ethical tea and sharing ideas we know our tea is in the safest of hands.
