Last week when I was in Boston for the Tea Expo I took a class with the renowned tea sommelier Cynthia Gold. I was intrigued that the pairing was tea and cheese as I have paired tea with most food items- but never cheese (at least intentionally). The concept is the same as wine and cheese pairing- with the exception of regional pairings, you cannot pair tea and cheese regionally. For example, you would possibly pair a creamy, high fat-content cheese with a bold, dry wine to cleanse the palate (I know there are more complexities to wine & cheese ...this is just one example) so following the same idea you would pair a triple cream cheese with a bold pu-erh. I was amazed how well the tea and cheese complimented each other and how utterly delicious the selections were.
Try it at home:
* Try salty cheese with sweet tea - Stilton Blue Cheese with Lychee Congou
* Try a soft, creamy cheese with a mild green tea - Chevre with Sencha
* Try a nutty cheese with an earthy, bold tea- Comte Cheese with Ceylon
* Try an intense cheese with a smokey tea- Gorgonzola with Lapsang
3 comments:
I read this earlier and decided to try it with a piece of salty blue cheese I had in the frig and some lapsang souchang I bought a few months ago. It really works and it tasted really good. I am shocked. I am going to try another one tomorrow. ahh..a good excuse to buy more tea and cheese.
So glad you enjoyed it!
The Puer tea is also going to cut that fat in the richest of cheeses so it doesn't hit your body like it would without the tea. It'll block absorption and get it out of your system. --Teaternity
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