We love experimenting with interesting cheese pairings. This month, we’ve been working our way through some brilliant teas from our friends at Teasup. It may sound surprising, but tea works very well with cheese. It shares many characteristics with wine such as tannins and terroir. Here are some of the pairings we’ve been enjoying, but we encourage you to get creative and try your own combinations too.
First Flush Darjeeling & Somerset Brie
Teasup’s First Flush Darjeeling tea is produced in the misty foothills of the snow-capped Himalayas. Known as a ‘tea connoisseur’s treasure’, here it is delicate, gentle and aromatic so works well with subtle cheeses like Brie. We paired it with Somerset Brie, which is mild with grassy flavours and gentle notes of mushroom, along with our Charcoal & Rye sourdough crispbreads.
Learn how to brew the perfect cup of Darjeeling.
Mao Jian Green Tea & Berkswell
Mao Jian refers to “fur tip”, and this spring crop from the Hunan province in China produces an exquisitely delicate, silky and refreshing green tea, which cuts through the high fat content of cheese well. We paired it with Berkswel. A raw sheep’s-milk cheese made in the West Midlands and our Original sourdough crispbreads. The tea echoes its savoury notes and brings out the cheese’s mellow sweetness.
Learn how to brew the perfect cup of Mao Jian.
Earl Grey & Soft Goat’s Cheese
Teasup’s Earl Grey combines black tea from the Glendale Estate in South India with a premium, natural bergamot essential oil. It is best enjoyed without milk and is pretty versatile when it comes to cheese pairing. We enjoyed it with a soft goat’s cheese, the lemony notes of which echoed the bergamot in the tea nicely, and our Charcoal & Rye sourdough crispbreads.
Learn how to brew the perfect cup of Earl Grey.
Malawian Smoked Guava & Quicke’s Oak-smoked Cheddar
This smoky tea is from Malawi’s highest elevation tea garden, located at the southern end of the escarpments thrown up by Africa’s Great Rift Valley. Beautifully scented with the smoke of guava wood, the higher tannins in this tea work well with bold cheeses. It’s also a natural accompaniment to smoked cheeses and we paired it with Quicke’s Oak-smoked Cheddar and our Original sourdough crispbreads.
Learn how to brew the perfect cup of Malawian Smoked Guava.
