When it comes pairing food with teas, there is a short traditional Chinese saying: pairing sweet with Green tea, citreous with Bleak tea, and salty with Oolong tea. Today, pairing food and tea is not as simple as it was a century ago, when it was primarily a matter of choosing between Black, Green, and Oolong teas.
When what you are drinking melds with what you are eating, something magical takes place in your mouth. Like wine, tea, with various flavors and aroma, pairs different food and cuisine. A perfect pairing or “marriage” will create unforgettable experience! Though food pairing is not science, individuals with their own feelings and opinions, there are some suggestions for your reference:
In general, tea is good with afternoon tea, breakfast/brunch, Chinese food, and Dim Sum
BLACK TEA, with or without milk, to accompany everything from breakfast to pastries and desserts, to heavier meats and even spicier foods
Keemun Black Tea: cherries, fruit salad made with melon, pasta with tomato sauce, strongly flavored food
Ceylon Black Tea: breakfast, cucumber, fruit desserts, pasta, pecan pie, and sandwiches
Assam Black Tea: bacon, beef, duck, game, lamb, red meat, Mexican food, mushrooms, orange, pastries, raw pears salmon, spicy food and steak, especially well with creamy desserts
Golden Monkey: chocolate desserts
CHINESE GREEN TEA: Asian Food, cheese, chicken, chocolate, creamy dishes, fish, fresh fruit, cooked pears, poultry, rice, salad, sashimi, seafood, shellfish, spicy food, sushi, Japanese style sweets, and tuna
OOLONG TEA, which can accompany lighter to heavier foods, depending on the specific tea
Generally, paired with apricots, beef, blackberries, chicken, chocolate, desserts, digestif, fresh fruit, ginger, grilled food, peaches, pecan pie, plums, spicy food
Bao Zhong Tea: scallops, lobster, and cooked pears
Ali Shan Oolong: apples
Jade Oolong: chicken, seafood, and fruit
Tie Guan Yin: desserts
Plum Oolong: meat, pork, poultry, and seafood
Darker Oolong: duck, grilled meat
Greenish Oolong: fish, lobster, scallops, seafood, shellfish
Pu-erh: chicken, chocolate, cinnamon, dim sum, duck, fatty or oily food, fried food, meat, stir-fried dishes, and strawberries
HERBAL TEAS, such as chamomile and mint, which make nice digestives when sipped after meals
HOJICHA, a roasted Japanese green tea, is a good tea to start with because it is very flexible with food and works with almost everything.