Culinary Explorations With Tea

The world of tea is vast. When it comes to tea pairings, there is no shortage of match making to explore - a pot of tea can complement and enhance any dish from savory to sweet.

There are innumerable types of tea (all coming from the one and only tea plant Camellia sinensis) and there are even more ways to enjoy tea! Tea is ancient, yet ever evolving. Just as there is no ‘right’ way to drink tea, there is no one way to create pairings.

Tea has had a place at tables all around the world for centuries from large cultural gatherings to households. Sometimes there are practical reasons: Oolong and Pu-erh teas are known to aid in digestion. Other times there are traditional reasons: pure Matcha is enjoyed alongside sweets during Japanese Tea Ceremonies. In some places, Black teas are swirled with yak butter to create a meal on its own.

Here is a quick guide to inspire your own tea pairings:

Black Tea: Strong and astringent black teas pair well with heartier meals and rich savory foods. Sweeter and delicate black teas are delightful with chocolate desserts.

Green Tea: Fresh and vegetal Japanese greens often pair well with lighter foods like salads, steamed vegetables, or lightly seasoned meats. Japanese teas are known for their ‘umami’ quality, one of the five basic categories of human taste. Stronger Chinese greens such as Gunpowder would pair well with curry dishes.

White Tea: These light and delicate teas range in flavour from floral to herbaceous and inspire pairs with sweet and creamy desserts or lighter dishes such as salads or fish.

Puerh Tea: Traditionally enjoyed with strong flavours, spicy and oily foods. Puerh is the only tea that uses microbial fermentation to process and age the leaf and has a very deeply earthy flavour.

Oolong Tea: There are many types of Oolong tea. Depending how the leaves are oxidized Oolongs can be delicate, lush, fruity and floral or they can be strong, rich and toasty. A lighter Ti Kwan Yin Oolong would pair well with lighter foods, going nicely with fruits. Darker Da Hong Pao Oolongs would pair well with rich and even dry meals, for example charcuterie.

Much like anything, creating the perfect pairing asks for experience and experimentation and relies on individual preference and intuition.

All around the world teas and tisanes are an important part of simple everyday rituals and seasonal celebrations as well. Another way to invite tea to your table is to infuse tea into holiday cooking and baking. Here is a favourite recipe from when we provided Tearoom table service at Westholme: a delightful cake baked with tea, to pair with tea! Any strong tea would do to substitute Ceylon in this cake. Nilgiri would make a nice replacement. An Assam or a higher oxidized Oolong would work as well.

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Apple Ceylon Cake Recipe

Recipe Courtesy Westholme Tea Company

Ingredients

1¼ cup (300ml) water 3 tbsp loose-leaf pure Ceylon tea leaves 1 cup unsweeted applesauce 2 tbsp + 1 tsp bourbon or brandy 2 ¼ cups (divided) granulated sugar 1 cup cold unsalted butter 2 eggs 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp ground ginger ½ tsp fine salt 1¼ cup thinly sliced and peeled, tart apple (ex. Granny Smith)

Ingredients (Topping)

5 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 5 pieces 1/3 (packed) light brown sugar 1 tsp ground ginger ¾ cup coarsely chopped lightly toasted pecans

Method (Cake)

Preheat oven to 325ºF/163ºC/Gas 4. Bring water to a boil and pour over Ceylon tea leaves in a medium bowl. Steep, covered, for 4 - 5 minutes. Strain and discard the leaves - there should be 1 cup of liquid. Stir in applesauce and bourbon or brandy and set aside. Grease a 10x2 inch (25x5cm) springform or standard cake pan. Sprinkle the inside of the pan with 2 tablespoons of sugar and shake gently to coat the surface evenly. In large mixing bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed. Add the remaining sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and continue to mix, one at a time, until smooth. In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Add 1/3 of this mixture into the butter mixture and beat until just incorporated. Add ½ of the applesauce mixture, beat until just incorporated. Continue these steps, alternating dry and wet ingredients, ending with dry, then mix until better is smooth. Gently stir in the apples and spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Lightly smooth the surface. Put aside and prepare pecans. Makes a 10-inch cake.

Method (Topping)

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high heat to beat butter until soft. Add brown sugar and ginger, beat until smooth. Add pecans, beat until just incorporated. Crumble this mixture over the prepared batter in the cake pan, distributing evenly. Bake until the surface is firm, and a test pick comes out clean but moist, about 80 - 90 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.