assessing teas and pairing them with food

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This is an example of what a tea assessment wheel would look like, which is used to evaluate the flavours.

-Astringency (mouth drying effect)

-Body (viscosity, is it light like water or viscous like oil)

-Texture (is it thick like velvet or light and thin like water)

-Pungency (does it bite or irritate your mouth)

-Complexity (does it have a simple or complex flavour)

-Length (how long does the flavour remain in your mouth)

-Sweet (honey, natural, sugar)

-Salty (salt, seaweed)

-Bitter (kale, coffee beans, dark chocolate)

-Umami (smoked salmon, marmite, ripe tomatoes)

Different stages of drinking tea:

-Attack (the first identified flavour)

-Middle (the flavour descriptors after the attack)

-Aftertaste (the flavours that remain after drinking the tea)

Tasting tea:

-Smell the tea first, to get a sense of the aromas

-Slurp when you taste the tea, this allows you to taste the tea properly and identify all flavours

When buying teabags, there are certain things that should be considered:

- Material: the paper teabags can affect the flavour of the teas, whereas silky teabags are completely neutral and won’t affect the taste

- Size and shape: the flatly shaped teabags which are more commonly used will not allow the tea leaves to expand properly, therefore preventing the full flavour of the tea from being released, whereas pyramid shaped teabags allow the tea leaves to expand more and release more flavour

- Grade of the tea: if the tea grade is “fannings” or “dust” then the teabags are filled with the small tea particles leftover from tea production, and therefore will not provide as much flavour as a teabag that is filled with actual leaves

-Darjeeling – earthy, slightly floral with some sweetness, light intensity, used in Fortmason tea (mixed with Chinese tea and orange blossom), Darjeeling FTGFOP, Coronation Blend and other Darjeeling teas

-Assam – bold, malty flavour, strong intensity, used in Royal Blend, Queen Anne (both mixed with Ceylon), Wedding Breakfast, Irish Breakfast (both mixed with Kenyan tea), Chai tea and Assam TFGOP

-Ceylon – warm honey notes, light intensity, used in Afternoon blend, as well as Royal Blend and Queen Anne (both mixed with Assam) 

-Chinese black teas – mild smokiness and sweet notes, light intensity, used in Fortmason(mixed with Darjeeling and orange blossom), lapsang souchong, Earl Grey (and its varieties, all are mixed with Italian bergamot) and general Chinese black teas

-African black teas – like Assam but with some earthy notes as well, used in Kenyan teas and Rwanda teas

General pairing notes:

-Fish dishes – generally pair well with green teas, especially Japanese green teas due to their grassy, vegetal notes

-Red meats – a strong black tea is generally recommended, especially an Assam or African tea, these can also pair well with Japanese green teas

-White meats and poultry – generally pair well with a slightly earthy tea like Darjeeling, or a smoky tea like lapsang souchong or Smoky Earl Grey

-Smoked foods – these pair well with smoky teas like lapsang souchong or Smoky Earl Grey, even just a Chinese black tea as these are generally slightly smoky

-Pastries and fruits – these typically pair well with a light and sweet tea, such as a Ceylon tea (like Afternoon blend), as well as herbal infusions, every herbal infusion on our DJTS menu pairs exceptionally well with desserts

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-When enjoying an afternoon tea, it is usually recommended to start with a strong or smoky tea for the sandwiches, go for a lighter tea for the scones and finish with an infusion due to these pairing