Tea is the most loved and second most consumed beverage around the world. There might be hardly any house that does not have it on the kitchen shelf. Also, we cannot imagine any occasions, meetings and parties without tea. It is the only beverage that starts our morning, energies our evening and enhances the flavour of dishes paired with it.
Pairing food and tea are a perfect match that can enhance the savour of both and make your meals enjoyable. But have you ever thought that which food can go well with which types of teas? Because many foods taste more with some teas than others, here is a blog about some foods that are good to go with tea. You can’t imagine how a tea paired with certain foods can take its taste to a different level.
How to pair food with tea?
The food and tea pairing concept evolved in western countries, but now in India, some have started accepting this new trend.
You may hear about the pairing of wine with some food items; this is common to see in restaurants’ menus. They make these combinations very carefully as per the flavour of wine and food items. They are meant to make your meal delicious and give you an ecstatic feel which is impossible without pairing with wine.
Similarly, this technique applies to teas. Not every tea can pair well with every food because teas have a diverse taste: some are delicate, whereas others are strong. So there should be a perfect match of tea and food.
Have you remembered the most common pairing of black tea with fried snacks and finger foods like sandwiches and bread toast? But what about the desserts, and other meals and teas: oolong, white, green, herbal and matcha?
Let’s dive into the answer to this question and know more about food and tea pairing.
The right food and tea pairing
Green tea
Green tea is light in flavour. Combining it with the wrong food can spoil your food enjoyment, so the right pairing matters. Generally, green teas go well with vegetarian food. Vegetarian dishes like steamed veggies, vegetable sushi, salad, noodles and rice taste delightful along with green tea.
Heavy food like red meat or cheese cannot be combined with green tea. But if you love seafood, it goes perfectly with vegetal green tea.
Can you enjoy your favourite desserts with green tea?
The answer is yes. You can have your rich chocolate cake with the same green tea; the grassy flavour will enrich the taste of the chocolate cake.
The food pairing also changes with different flavourings of tea; the fruity green tea enriches the taste of sandwiches and fruit salad. You can even have this with pastries having mild sweetness. Smoky green tea can ruin the taste of desserts but do wonders with pizza. Next time try this option with your favourite light pizza.
Black tea
A strong flavour and aroma come to our minds when we think about black tea. Some of you may have this tea twice or thrice during the day. With its awesome taste, black tea also injects energy into you. While it tastes best on its own, it is a good match for almost all meals and snacks.
The flavour of black teas that originated in India is malty and earthy. Sometimes it is combined with some other flavours. But you can pair this black tea with your breakfast dishes like eggs and chocolate cake. Also, this tea can enrich your meals: curries, meat, heavy pasta, smoky and spicy dishes, and potato curry. However, it is slightly bitter.
White Tea
White tea is the least consumed type of tea. It looks flowery but expensive than other teas.
Gentle and delicate in taste, white tea compliments the light dishes. You must not drink it with heavy food. For vegetarians, white tea can enhance the taste of vegetable salads but not of the fruit salad.
It is also best to pair whitefish with white tea.
Although this gentle tea is sweet in itself, you can even try it with desserts. Do not serve it with too sweet desserts, however.
Oolong tea
Oolong tea comes in varieties; it can be gentle like white tea or robust like black tea. It happens because of its different levels of oxidization.
You can serve your evening snacks and desserts with light oolong tea because it is mildly sweet with a floral touch. Adversely, use strong or dark oolong tea for rich meals. Red meat cooked rare or smoky and fish like salmon perfectly paired with it.
Next time when you consume these dishes, try them with strong oolong tea instead of wine. I can guarantee this pairing is unforgettable.
Dark oolong paired well with pancakes, fried or smoked veggies, and pastries.
Chai black tea
It is a traditional black tea prepared with milk, sugar, and many Indian spices. The addition of spices turns this black tea into masala chai (spiced black tea).
The Morning breakfast of Indians’ seems incomplete without chai tea. You will be amazed to experience how this tea makes richer the flavour of each dish. Especially with fried snacks and sandwiches, it pairs amazingly. You can even have it with rice, vegetable pulao, cookies, fries, and Indian parathas.
Bread butter, bread jam, desserts like cake and chocolate can also be enjoyed with chai tea for breakfast. All in all, it is so difficult to mention all food that pairs well with chai tea because the list is endless.
Give this tea and food combination a try!
All these teas paired with the given foods will make your eating more pleasant. Along with taste-enhancing, tea is a good option for your health.
So I would say give this healthy option a try and enjoy!
