There is hardly anything more pleasurable than enjoying a perfectly paired drink and bite to eat.
You might be drinking a delectably cold white wine with a perfectly cooked fish course.
Or you might have looked into the best food pairings for green tea and be sipping on an iced sencha and snacking on a plate of sliced Italian peaches.
Whatever combination of drink and food you are enjoying, you can experience a whole new world of flavors by finding the right nibbles to pair with your beverage.
Many of us are familiar with the idea of food pairing. For example, you might know that you enjoy having a cookie with your milky black tea or a cinnamon bun with your morning filter coffee.
But you can enhance your relationship with your palate much further than this.
By paying attention to the flavor profiles of the specific variety of tea leaves you are using and selecting foods that match your tea’s taste, mouthfeel, body, and texture, you can create a truly unique dining and drinking experience.
What goes well with white tea?
White tea pairs well with white cheeses, such as chevre, le chevrot, and taleggio. It tastes delectable with white fish and lightly sauteed seafood. It is also a great complement to fresh fruit like melon, figs, and grapes. For dessert, pair white tea with almond tortes, shortbread, and panna cotta.
White tea is an exceptionally light and aromatic tea. Its flavors can be so subtle that people sometimes wonder how to make white tea taste better, and many tea drinkers like to add a squeeze of lemon or honey to it to give it a stronger taste.
Like all teas, white tea is made using the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. To make white tea, the leaves (and, for some varieties, the buds) of the plant are harvested before they have completely unfurled.
Because white tea leaves are so young, white tea has a delicate and subtle flavor. It, therefore, has to be consumed alongside foods that won’t overpower it.
What pairs well with Silver Needle white tea?
Silver Needle is made of fat, fuzzy tea buds. It has a slightly sweet aftertaste and notes of honey and tangerine.
Silver Needle has a delicate flavor profile and so should be enjoyed with foods that will not overpower its subtle, fruity notes.
Try pairing Silver Needle with a cucumber salad with a lemon-based dressing. Silver Needle also pairs well with poached or sauteed white fish.
When creating a cheeseboard to enjoy with a Silver Needle white tea, you might include green grapes, tangerine wedges, crispy rye crackers, almonds, honey, camembert, and a French chevre.
What pairs well with Nepal White?
Nepal white is an aromatic, fruity tea. It has notes of melon and a sweet, well-rounded taste.
Nepal White pairs well with young, thinly sliced prosciutto, young goat cheese, and even with blue cheese.
Molded soft cheeses, such as Gorgonzola, provide a gorgeous balance to Nepal White’s sweet, fruity taste.
Nepal White pairs well with melon, grapes, and walnuts. It is also the perfect drink to have alongside panna cotta for dessert.
Food Pairings for White Peony white tea
White Peony, also known as Bai Mu Dan, has a stronger flavor than Silver Needle. It has a smooth body and a mellow, fruity flavor.
The delicate honeyed notes of White Peony tea pair delightfully with the tart, earthy flavors of soft goat cheese. White Peony also complements the vegetal notes of seafood, like oysters and clams.
White Peony pairs nicely with a lighter pesto pasta and with olives.
You can serve White Peony with a dessert of fresh, sliced fruit, or else opt for poached apricots or peaches. White Peony tastes great with raw nuts, such as walnuts, almonds, and pine nuts.
You can also drink White Peony with a citrus fruit sorbet.
Food that matches Gongmei (Tribute Eyebrow)
Gongmei white tea is made using only tea leaves and no buds. Eyebrow teas get their name from the fact that their leaves have been rolled into crescent shapes.
As a result, Gongmei has a stronger flavor than other white teas. It has a vegetal aroma that almost resembles green tea. However, it retains the fruity sweetness that is characteristic of white tea.
Because Gongmei has a stronger taste and a richer mouthfeel than other white teas, it can be paired with foods that have bolder flavors.
You can enjoy an iced Gongmei with grilled fish, lobster, or shrimp.
Serve steaming mugs of Gongmei as a dessert tea with citrus shortbread. You can also serve it with grilled peaches and apricots. Gongmei also tastes great with panna cotta.
Serve it iced, paired with sliced melon and prosciutto drizzled with honey for a summertime Aperitivo.
What to serve with Shou Mei (Long Life Eyebrow)?
Shou Mei has a honeyed, tangy, floral taste. It has woody, earthy notes and tastes great when combined with darker fruits, such as cherries.
Enjoy white tea with grilled white fish, sauteed vegetables, and cucumber or wakame salad. You can even pair Shou Mei’s rich liquor with a light, lemon chicken filet.
Create a cheeseboard to enjoy with Shou Mei by bringing together red grapes, walnuts, honey, gorgonzola, chevre, goat brie, and taleggio.
The yeasty taste of goat cheese and taleggio pairs perfectly with the hearty flavor palate of Shou Mei white tea.
Fujian New Craft (DaiBaiCha)
The Fujian region of China has a long history of growing tea. Fujian is one of the regions in the world best known for tea production.
Fujian New Craft makes a dark brew. Like Shou Mei, it has a rich liquor and a slightly more vegetal taste than other, lighter white teas.
New Craft tea has notes of raisins and dried apricots.
A cheeseboard made to accompany a New Craft tea might feature fresh figs, apricots, and red grapes.
New Craft pairs nicely with musty Spanish goat cheeses like Garrotxa and Queso de Murcia, or with moist English Ticklemore. You might also want to include walnuts and, if you are feeling bold, a rhubarb compote.
Try having Fujian New Craft with nutty, honeyed Greek baklava for a delicious treat. You can also try Fujian New Craft as a complement to a light and delicate sponge cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
You can also serve New Craft alongside slices of almond and vanilla torte.