White tea’s flavor has been described as mild, very gentle, subtle, and even silky in a few instances. With this kind of description, finding a food pairing that goes perfectly with it might prove challenging, but It doesn’t have to be. Here are a few rules that can guide you:
1. Don’t pair it with strong dishes
The whole reason for pairing foods with tea is to enhance the taste of both the dish and the tea. Strong dishes tend to overwhelm the natural taste of the tea making it almost unnoticeable. This will be a shame as you’ll be missing out on exotic flavors that when paired with the right foods will leave you full and happy.
2. Only pair it with lightly flavored dishes.
The only way to know when you have found the perfect food-tea pairing is when the taste and strength of the dish nicely compliment the taste of the tea. With this in mind, only foods that have delicate flavors go well with white tea.
3. Look for Cuisines eaten in areas where Tea is produced
Taking a look at what is eaten in areas where White Tea is produced will save you a lot of time. One can argue that the people who produce it have consumed it for long enough for them to know what works and what doesn’t. Just for fun: China, Kenya, India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam are the leading producers in the world.
Okay, we have laid out the rules to be followed when choosing pairings, what foods do we pair them with?
1. Vegetable Salads
Tea has been paired with sweet scones, cakes, and cookies since time immemorial. Most of the people that are avid tea drinkers were first introduced to tea under these circumstances. Who says we have to stick to the norm? Due to shifts in mentality, people are considering healthier versions of commonplace practices, and tea parties have not been left behind.
Here are some Delicious Tea Party Salads that you can make for your next tea party:
a. Tomato Hummus Salad
This is one of the simplest salads you are ever going to make. Pair this with the right tea and you and your friends are going to have an afternoon to remember. Here is the process:
1. Choose a big ripe tomato
2. Slice it into thick slices
3. Arrange three slices on each plate
4. Sprinkle the slices with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Top it with a generous serving of hummus
This would go well with sugarless scones and a cup of Assam Tea that is available at our online tea and coffee shop.
b. Pasta Salad with Orange Dressing
This salad includes a lot of vegetables which means that it can be served as a dish in itself, or as a side dish. It can be used as a base too so feel free to swap in any vegetables you have on hand. Here is a simple process:
1. Prepare egg noodles, drain and set in a large bowl.
2. Combine sesame oil, orange zest, vinegar, and salt in a small bowl and whisk properly.
3. Pour this over the noodles and toss them to coat
4. Now add all the vegetables you like and gently toss again.
This should be served cool with a cup of our Kenya Matcha Tea that can be found as loose leaf tea on our Online tea and coffee shop.
2. Dessert
This might come as a surprise to you, but wine is not the only beverage that is paired classically with desserts. Most of the principles for these pairings are the same.
Pairings are still done based on the strength of flavor. This must be done with the utmost care to prevent the subtle flavor of the tea from being overpowered. Here are a few desserts that pair well with it:
a. Sponge Cakes
Sponge cakes work perfectly as a pairing. This is because they do not offer a lot of flavors to begin with. This pairing might further help the sponge cake taste much better than it does. When paired with the perfect tea, this somewhat bland food becomes very enjoyable.
b. Flaky and Mild Desserts
For this pairing to work, you need to look for light desserts that do not depend on rich flavors. A good example of this is puff pastry where most of the time the layer of pastry is very thin.
A good deal of experimentation and research is required here so get ready for some trial and error. Besides half of the fun of food pairing comes from experimenting.
c. Fruit Desserts
Fruit desserts are a good go-to in this case as fruit tends to be light and isn’t that sweet. A good place to start would be using peaches. As simple as a few slices with go perfectly with your cup of tea.
Another good instance would be a fruit galette which is a tart that has a thin crust. With this, you are at a lower risk of overpowering your tea as the galette isn’t too sweet.
3. Cheese
This will come as a decent surprise to many, but yes you should pair cheese with tea. If you can pair cheese with honey or walnuts then you can pair it with tea, right? White teas should always be paired with cheeses that are fresh and light, both on the tongue and in texture.
Good examples that you can try at home are:
1. Burrata
2. Mozzarella
3. Ricotta (especially this one)
This combination can be taken sweet, by adding honey or savory with Maldon. The Cheeses enhance the subtle sweetness of the tea, while the flavor of the tea rounds out that of the cheese.
Food pairings are supposed to be fun, and this shouldn’t be any different. There will be a feeling that pairing it with a salad might look boring but trust me, prepare your tea bags and choose one of the salads and you’ll be surprised at the response you will get. Happy pairings!
Gourmets Food 