Have you ever wondered what snacks to pair with tea for the ideal flavour combination? When company is coming, you don’t want to throw just any old thing you have lying around the kitchen on a plate! The art of tea pairing is worth learning so that you can select the right tea with meals and choose what goes well with tea during snack time.
Tea is Not Always the Choice of Beverage to pair with Food…
The foods that pair with beer and wine are quite well known. With beer, many bars serve savoury foods like salted nuts, chips, and sausages. Wine and cheese are also a well-known pairing, but it’s not so obvious what goes with tea.
But that’s All About to Change with JusTea’s “What Goes Well with Tea” Guide
If you’re itching to know what snacks to pair with tea, you’re in the right place! Keep reading to learn about different tea pairings, including black tea pairing, what green tea goes well with, the best tea to pair with honey, and more!
Tea Pairings with Different Teas
When it comes to creating a tea pairing menu, the possibilities are endless. Tea has an incredibly diverse flavour profile, especially when you consider black tea, green tea, herbal tea, and purple tea! Here are some of our favourite food and tea pairings.
Black Tea Pairings
The stronger flavours of black teas mean they won’t get overpowered by most foods. This makes them a great accompaniment with rich foods like red meats and cheesy or creamy pasta dishes like lasagne. Next time you are cooking roast beef or lamb, brew some black tea and observe how the flavours of the meat are enhanced by the robustness of the tea. Black tea is also the most common tea pairing with breakfast. And no black tea food list would be complete without mentioning all the delicious sweets of an afternoon high tea: shortbread, scones, pastries, jam-filled cookies - if it’s made with flour and sugar, you can bet that black tea is a perfect pair.
Green Tea Goes Well With…
Green tea is not just the healthiest tea to drink, it also enhances the flavours of lighter foods. The earthy and sometimes nutty flavour of green tea goes very well with salads, rice, mild curries, poultry, and vegetarian dishes. So, the next time you are having a vegetarian meal with plenty of greens, you know what tea pairing to use!
Herbal Teas Go Well With…
Herbal teas are some of the best teas for health and made from dried flowers, spices, and herbs. The best tea pairings for these depends on the flavour. Flowery and fruity herbal teas like jasmine, chamomile, and lavender pair well with deserts and meals that have a citrus or tart flavour profile. Earthy flavoured herbal tea goes well with mild dishes like soups and stews.
Purple Tea Goes Well With…
The sweet and woodsy flavour of purple tea (a Kenyan tea that JusTea offers) makes it a good companion for desserts and light meals such as white fish or vegetable dishes. This tea pairing ensures that the delicate flavours of the purple tea are not overpowered by the food.
Delicious Tea Pairing Menu Ideas to Try Next Time you Have Guests
We’ve covered what goes well with tea in general. Now let’s look at some snacks to pair with tea the next time you’ve got company so that you’ve got a tea pairing menu to draw from!
Cheese and Tea Pairings
Black tea pairing with cheese may be new to you, but the astringency of black tea can mellow the salty flavour of hard cheeses for a more pronounced flavour. When it comes to cheese and tea pairings for soft cheeses, however, green tea goes well with the subtle nutty and fruity notes of some soft cheeses such as brie.
Tea and Chocolate Pairing
Tea and chocolate pairing is a no-brainer. Who doesn’t love feeling chocolate melt in their mouth after a sip of hot, delicious tea? The best tea to drink with chocolate depends on the type of chocolate. Mint and spearmint teas are a wonderful herbal tea to balance strong and bitter dark chocolates. For milk chocolate, any tea that goes well with milk is a great tea pairing. Black teas like English Breakfast or Earl Grey are perfect with a milk chocolate treat.
Tea with Meals
While the thought of tea with meals might be strange if you’re not used to it, many cultures (particularly in Asia) regularly include tea as a part of breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Simply follow the food and tea pairing suggestions provided above and enjoy!
Best Tea to Pair with Honey
The best tea to pair with honey is whatever your preferred brew is- though honey is particularly complementary to herbal tea and black tea. Whatever tea you choose, remember to steep it and let it cool down a bit before adding the honey to make sure all the healthy benefits of the honey stay intact.
Don’t forget Iced Tea!
Although tea is usually served hot, everyone loves a refreshing iced tea on a hot summer day. Any tea can be brewed cold or brewed normally and then cooled down with ice. Now that you know what snack to pair with tea, you can enjoy the iced version of any tea you like with the perfect tea pairing.
Now you know that the answer to the tea pairing question “what goes with tea?” is anything, depending on the food and the tea!