Most people are aware of pairing wine with food, including desserts. But did you know that you can do the same thing with tea?
Like wine, tea has an interesting and complex flavor profile. The right tea and dessert pairings will enhance the flavors of your tea as well as your food. The Tea Experience NY held two webinars on pairing tea with chocolate and pairing tea with cheese.
The idea is to match the strength of your tea with your food while looking for complementary or contrasting flavor profiles.
For example, black tea tends to be robust, so it can be served with rich meals. White tea, on the other hand, is very mild. It doesn’t pair well with many foods at all. And, if you serve white tea with a dish that is too rich, you’ll barely be able to taste the tea at all.
Thankfully, pairing tea with dessert isn’t as tricky as it sounds.
Below is a list of tea and dessert combinations for reference.
Delicious Tea and Dessert Pairings
- White Tea
- Flaky and Mild Desserts
- Sponge Cakes
- Fruit Desserts
- Green Tea
- Matcha Green Tea with Vanilla Ice Cream
- Sweet and delicate desserts like croissants
- Dark Chocolate
- Oolong Tea
- Macarons
- Fruity desserts like pies
- Black Tea
- Lemon cake
- Berry pie
- Shortbread cookies
- Gingerbread
- Crème Brulee
- Sugar cookies
- Chocolate pastries
- Chai Tea
- Pound Cake
- Brownies
- Desserts with cinnamon or apple
- Plain Cheesecake
- Custard
- Herbal and Floral Teas
- Brownies
- Lavender Tea with Shortbread
- Peppermint and Chocolate
Gather your tea and accessories and make sure you are stocked up with your favorite teas for the holidays.
Happy Sipping!
Leslie