Tea Pairing 101: Black Tea and Finger Sandwiches

Do you know the origins of afternoon tea? The most popular story involves the Duchess of Bedford, aka Anna Maria Russell. One day, the Duchess was so hungry in the seven-plus hours between lunch and dinner that she ordered a chamber service of tea and snacks. She fell in love with her idea and subsequently invited her friends to join her. I mention this story for two reasons. The first reason is that black tea is the most popular tea paired with afternoon tea and we paired our tea sandwiches with black tea. The second reason is that our pairing was set in Jee's apartment almost recreating Duchess of Bedford's afternoon tea ritual in her private chambers with friends. We only had the crustless finger sandwiches and not the scones and sweets.

A quick refresher on Tea Pairing 101: it's a fun and nerdy collaboration between me, Jee of Oh, How Civilized, and Sara of Tea Happiness. This is the fourth edition of Tea Pairing 101. Read my take on our White Tea, Green Tea, and Oolong Tea pairings. Each post has links to Sara's and Jee's points of view.

THE VENUE

Jee hosted us in her Greenwich Village apartment with a south-facing, courtyard view. Now I know the source of the fantastic light in her photographs!

THE TEAS

Our black tea selection included a Lapsang Souchong, a Nepalese black tea, and a Darjeeling.

• Joseph Wesley Tea Lapsang Souchong Black Tea No. 07
• Happy Earth Tea Himalayan Supreme Nepal Summer 2017 Second Flush Jun Chiyabari
• Harney & Sons Turzum Second Flush Darjeeling [no longer listed but here's the Seeyok SF Darjeeling]

Although we were not comparing the teas to each other we did use professional tasting cups. Three grams of each tea was steeped for three minutes using temperature prescribed by the tea company. The Lapsang Souchong was infused in 195F water, the Second Flush Himalayan Supreme in 200F, and the Darjeeling in 212F. (Harney & Sons listed 212F for black teas on its tin.) We took notes on th dry and infused leaves and the liquor.

Lapsang Souchong

• Dry leaf: long, dark, slightly twisted; malt and fruit scents
• Infused leaves: chocolate brown and dark green in color; mostly whole leaves; cocoa and fruit scents
• Liquor: amber color; smooth, creamy, liquid chocolate; lingering flavors that stick to the top of the palate

Second Flush Himalayan Supreme

• Dry leaf: beautiful, multi-colored leaves of dark and chocolate brown and lots of silver and gray-green buds
• Infused leaves: the uniformly copper colored leaves smelled like a Darjeeling
• Liquor: orange amber color; thick body with a hairy texture, stone fruit, muscatel, astringent tail note

Turzum Second Flush Darjeeling

• Dry leaf: chopped, black and dark and chocolate brown leaves; chocolate and fruit scents
• Infused leaves: slightly floral scent
• Liquor: copper liquor was bitter but with a tail note of red fruit; the cooled liquor was more enjoyable

THE FINGER SANDWICHES

We sourced our finger sandwiches from Bosie Tea Parlor. From their Tea Sandwich Platter menu, we selected three vegetarian and one meat sandwich.

• Farmer's Egg Salad - flavored with thyme and served on whole wheat
• Cucumber - cream cheese and dill on white bread
• Chicken Breast - chicken salad with raisin and curried mayonnaise on multigrain
• Cheddar Cheese - Branson pickle on whole wheat

THE TEA PAIRINGS

We paired each tea with three of the four sandwiches. I am a vegetarian so did not eat the chicken. Jee and Sara ate all but the cucumber sandwich.

Lapsang Souchong + Sandwiches

Farmer's Egg Salad: a rich and herbaceous sandwich; the tea rounded out the thyme
Cucumber: the thinly sliced cucumbers were fresh and crisp; the tea brought out the bitterness of the cucumber skin
Cheddar Cheese: a delicious sandwich on its own; the tea brought out the nuttiness of the cheddar

Second Flush Himalayan Supreme + Tea Sandwiches

Farmer's Egg Salad: the creaminess of the sandwich cut the astringency of this tea
Cucumber: this tea also brought out the bitterness in the cucumber skin
Cheddar Cheese: the tea brought out the fruit notes in the pickle and the nuttiness in the cheese

Turzum Second Flush Darjeeling + Tea Sandwiches

Farmer's Egg Salad: the flavors of this sandwich were lost with this tea
Cucumber: the cream cheese mellowed the bitter quality of this tea
Cheddar Cheese: the cooled liquor with more noticeable fruit notes complemented the fruity notes in the pickle

THE TAKEAWAY

I'll tell you my favorite tea, sandwich, then my favorite pairing.

Favorite Tea

I have always liked Joseph Wesley's Lapsang Souchong. It was my favorite of the black teas we served. I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed the Second Flush Himalayan Supreme from Happy Earth Tea. Recently I've had the pleasure of drinking 2017 Summer Himalayan Shiiba and 2017 Autumn Himalayan Orange both from the Jun Chiyabari Tea Garden. I had a second session with the Turzum Second Flush Darjeeling using 195F. This tea improved at a lower temperature. Please don't use boiling water with your second flush Darjeeling.

Favorite Sandwich

My favorite sandwich was the Cheddar Cheese with the Farmer's Egg Salad a very close second. I recommend this egg salad sandwich to egg salad sandwich loves out there.

Favorite Black Tea + Sandwich

Last but not least, my best in pairing: Lapsang Souchong + Cheddar Cheese. The very close second, as you may have guessed, includes the Farmer's Egg Salad paired with the Second Flush Himalayan Supreme.

Thank you to the tea companies who provided us with black teas for this pairing: Joseph Wesley Tea, Happy Earth Tea, and Harney & Sons. As always, thank you to my tea buds Jee and Sara. Read their black tea pairing notes at Oh, How Civilized and Tea Happiness.

P.S. I am a tea student at the International Tea Education Institute. Use NOTESONTEA10 when you register for any course.

Tea Pairing 101: Oolong Tea and Fruit

There is something about drinking oolong tea that feels luxurious so it was fitting that our Tea Pairing  101: Oolong Tea edition took place in an elegant penthouse apartment in SoHo. This pairing series is a collaborative among me (Notes on Tea), Jee (Oh, How Civilized), and Sara (Tea Happiness). Oolong is the third tea type we have explored. See my write-ups of White Tea and Green Tea pairings. Oolong has the widest range of tea styles among the six major tea categories. Oxidation level is a primary contributor to  the breadth within the oolong tea class. The range varies depending on the source but I have seen 10-70% and 8-85% oxidation. Within this range are two subcategories of oolong: green oolong (less oxidized, closer to green tea) and dark oolong (more oxidized, closer to black tea). Roasting oolong is an add-on process. A dark oolong can be unroasted or roasted. Now on the to pairings!

THE VENUE

The two-level penthouse at 286 Spring Street was the location for our oolong tea pairing. My favorite features of the apartment is the high level of access to natural lighting indoors and the staggering amount of outdoor space with skyline and river views. Here is an excerpt from the listing:

The penthouse at 286 Spring street is the expertly executed vision of an iconic 1920s industrial loft conversion in Hudson Square. Sprawled among 4,729 square feet of indoor living space, and 2,735 of outdoor terrace space, this two level apartment is one of five full-floor apartments in a boutique doorman building. Spectacular light shines from all directions, with open south and west facing views allowing for terrace views of the Freedom Tower and glimpses of the Hudson River.

The 286 Spring Street, PH apartment is listed with Compass and is being represented by Elizabeth Schwartz.

THE TEAS

The oolongs we chose varied by country and oxidation level. The Tillerman Tea Wenshan Bao Zhong Spring 2017 (top) is the greenest oolong and the only one from Taiwan, specifically Pinglin in New Taipei City. The T Shop NY Tie Guan Yin (middle) is a roasted, dark oolong.  The Seven Cups Xiao Hong Pao (Little Red Robe) Spring 2017 (bottom) is a wuyi oolong from Fujian Province produced from cultivar No. 204 (Xiao Hong Pao). We paired each tea with slices of Asian pear, persimmon, plum. We purchased all the fruit. We also served honeycomb with the fruit which was sourced from Andrew's Honey at the Union Square Greenmarket.

THE TEA PAIRINGS

We infused 3 grams of each tea for 2 minutes in professional tasting sets. Water temperature by vendor specification. In the case of the Xiao Hong Pao we infused the tea at two different temperatures but here I only report on the hotter steep.

Wenshan Bao Zhong

This green oolong is composed of inch-long, twisted leaves in shades of olive and forest green. The fragrance of the dry leaves was flowery which was pronounced in the infused leaves. A vegetal note was also present in the infused leaves. The yellow liquor was also floral and vegetal. The medium-bodied tea had a buttery texture.

This many-flavored oolong was topped off with the tart skin of the plum and complemented by its sweet flesh. The mild-flavored pear allowed the tea to shine. The persimmon & tea combination was exponentially sweet.

Tie Guan Yin

The tightly rolled, dark leaves of this tie guan yin smelled of fresh walnut and dried cherry. The infused leaves struck us as smelling like kukicha with twiggy, roasted, and chicory aromas. The amber liquor had a smooth mouthfeel with notes of chocolate and chicory.

The plum and pear were not successful partners with this oolong. On the other hand, the persimmon's sweetness rounded out the roasted edge of this tie guan yin.

Xiao Hong Pao

Variably-sized, dark, twisted leaves bursted with a myriad of aromas: chocolate, sweet, roast, and cream. The infused leaves did not fully unfurl. Their bouquet was sweet and fruity with scents of roasted winter squashes. The copper red liquor was full-bodied with very roasted notes and noticeable bitterness. (This tea steeped at 200F was very smooth.)

Despite the robustness of the liquor, the pear managed to cleanse the palate of all flavor. The persimmon's beautiful sweetness was an advantage here as it tamed the bitterness. The plum also performed well.

THE TAKEAWAY

I didn't mention the honeycomb in the pairing notes because the tea and fruit were the main characters. However, honey-soaked fruit worked well with all the oolongs! If you are not prepared to let your fruit mellow in honeycomb, I recommend persimmon (we used Fuyu but a very ripe Hachiya would be very good) with darker oolongs as well as with oolongs that are roasted. A refreshing combination is pear (we used Asian) & green oolong. I think a creamy-fleshed pear such as an Anjou would complement greener oolongs. Don't forget to read Tea Pairing 101: Oolong Tea by Jee and Tea Pairing 101: Oolong Tea and Fruit by Sara. With the just-arrived cooler weather, we are ready to tackle black tea in the next edition of Tea Pairing 101.

Thank you to our partners who made this tasting possible:
Venue: Elizabeth Schwartz of Compass
Tea Companies: Tillerman Tea, T Shop NY, and Seven Cups

Curious about our studies? We are enrolled in the tea sommelier course at the International Tea Education Institute. Use NOTESONTEA10 when you register for any course.

P.S. Craving more tea pairings? Read White Tea and French Cheese and Green Tea and Mochi.

Tea Pairing 101: Green Tea and Mochi

The Tea Pairing 101 collaborative is back. Jee, Sara, I are enrolled in a tea sommelier course with International Tea Education Institute (ITEI) and we created Tea Pairing 101 to practice and to share what we are learning. The first installation in the series was a white tea and cheese pairing. Today I will share our green tea and mochi pairing. If green tea has the longest history, why was white tea pairing our first segment? We are using a sequential approach based on two factors: the amount of processing Camellis sinensis undergoes after plucking to become a specific type of tea and the level of oxidation. White tea is the least processed tea; there are two steps to make a white tea are withering and drying. Green  tea is the least oxidized tea; the oxidase enzyme is purposefully "killed" early on in the tea making process by pan firing (Chinese process) or steaming (Japanese tradition).

THE VENUE

Lie Sangbong provided their skylit Blank Space art gallery for our tasting. On exhibit at the time of our pairing were portraitures by Dutch artist Nemo Jantzen.

THE TEAS & MOCHI

The green teas we infused are classic tea styles in their respective countries. I list them here in the order we tasted them which was based on the recommended water temperature for steeping.

• Sencha (Hosen) courtesy of Ippodo Tea
• Long Jing (Organic Superfine) c/o Tea Vivre
• Woojeon (Hadong) c/o Tea Dealers

Mochi Rin provided three types of kofuku (or bite-sized mochi).

• Strawberry with rose mochi: fresh strawberry / white bean paste / mochi skin tasted with rose water / black summer truffle and a rose petal
• Fresh fig and pistachio mochi: fresh fig / pistachio paste / mochi skin tasted with black mission fig balsamico
• Black warabi (bracken) mochi: adzuki bean paste / black warabi (bracken) skin / cinnamon kinako (roasted soybean powder)

NOTES ON THE TEAS

We infused 3 grams of leaf of each tea in a professional cup for 3 minutes using the vendor's suggested water temperature. Three grams produced a robust cup of tea in each case.

Sencha

The dry leaves of this Hosen Sencha smelled deliciously and simultaneously savory, sweet, creamy, and malty. The leaves were flat and needle shaped and dark green in color with lighter green highlights. The shiny, yellow-green liquor was cloudy in appearance (as to be expected). The thick, full-bodied liquid was tasted of steamed asparagus.

Long Jing

Typical of Long Jing, long, flat yellow-green leaves smelled sweet and nutty. The infused leaves shared a consistent smell with the dry ones. The pale gold liquid was shiny. Using a 3 gram weight the liquor veered towards a walnut skin bitterness. (I prepared this tea at home using the short, multiple steeps method with a gaiwan. This Dragonwell exhibited an almost refreshing liquor with roundly savory notes complemented by a mild sweetness, overall roasted (not charcoal) nuttiness, and a slightly drying finish.)

Woojeon

The wiry leaves of this Korean tea were many shades of green and smelled equal parts fresh, grassy, and of grains. The infused leaves exuded nuts. The yellow-orange liquor was medium-bodied with nutty and roasted flavors but a lingering sweetness on the lips.

WHAT'S THE BEST MOCHI FOR GREEN TEA?

The fig mochi was the best in pairing for each green tea.

Pairing fig and Sencha led to the realization that fig seeds are very flavorful. The Dragonwell was sweeter paired with the fig and the tea enhanced the dark sweetness of the fruit. The Woojeon-fig duo introduced the so-called "third flavor." Together, the pairing was earthy, in a good way. My second favorite mochi was the strawberry and it paired best with the Woojeon.

THE TAKEAWAY

Experimentation is important in tea and food pairing. Before this tasting, I would have been inclined to select something with savory notes to pair with green tea. The best of the pairing was fig, a deeply sweet fruit. Don't discard your savory preferences when thinking about green tea, though. Consider mixing sweet and savory/salty foods, for example a plate of fig and prosciutto, as an accompaniment to your cup of green tea. If you don't like either, look to what's in season right now. Peaches are peaking now, and baked peaches, I like the simplicity of a galette, have a similar depth of sweetness to fig.

As always, thank you to my collaborators Jee and Sara. Read their tea stories at Oh, How Civilized and at Tea Happiness.

P.S. For a digestible reference about tea, check out Tony Gebely's excellent summary of tea types, styles, and processing. Are you interested in enrolling in a tea course with ITEI? Use the NOTESONTEA10 discount code when you register.

Tea Pairing 101: White Tea and French Cheese

I subconsciously donned a white blouse for our photo shoot of white teas paired with cheeses at the French Cheese Board in SoHo. When my collaborators arrived, I noticed that one also wore a white top while the other had styled her outfit with a gorgeous tea leaf necklace. Jee of Oh, How Civilized was the mastermind behind this pairing indulgence and Sara of Tea Happiness secured the venue. Before I detail the pairing event, I would like to thank the French Cheese Board for the space and the delicious cheeses as well as In Pursuit of Tea, Royal Tea New York, and Silver Needle Tea Co. for the teas. You all made this educational, flavorful, and fun experience possible.

THE IDEA

Jee, Sara, and I are enrolled in a tea sommelier course with the International Tea Education Institute. In addition to learning about the history of tea history, cultivation, and preparation we've also been introduced to pairing teas with food. Tea Pairing 101 is our approach to practicing and reinforcing our formal tea education.

THE SETUP

The tea and cheese pairing was a multi-step process beginning with selecting three cheeses to pair with our three teas. The teas we had to pair were Silver Needle courtesy of Silver Needle Tea Co., Nepal White courtesy of Royal Tea NY, and Midnight White courtesy of In Pursuit of Tea. We drank the teas in the order just presented. The cheeses we chose were Beaufort, Brillat-Savarin, and Blue de Chèvre. After choosing the cheeses, we set the table. With her keen aesthetic sensibility, Jee was the artistic director. After setting the table we photographed it, then infused each tea using professional tasting cups, and then tasted each tea with each of the three cheeses. Each of took turns infusing and pouring the teas.

NOTES ON THE TEAS

Three grams* of each tea were steeped in a four-ounce capacity professional cupping set using 185F - 195F degree water for three minutes. Each tea was formally assessed on its own and again paired with each cheese.

Silver Needle - Silver Needle Tea Co.

Dry Leaf: the uniformly sized buds were silver, grey green, and hairy; the un-infused tea smelled sweet, grassy (hay), and fruity (melon)

First Steep: the liquor was pale yellow, shiny, and translucent; both the smell and taste of the liquor were consistent with the smell of the dry leaves -- sweet, grassy, and fruity

Nepal White - Royal Tea New York

Dry Leaf: overall the leaves presented as army camouflage generously sprinkled with silver buds; the tea had a more intense smell than the Silver Needle, the distinguishing characteristic was a muscatel fragrance

First Steep (second session): a Darjeeling in disguise with herbal, sweet, and muscatel notes

Midnight White (Yunnan) - In Pursuit of Tea

Dry Leaf: curious black leaves with hairy undersides and light gold hairy buds without a discernible scent (the infused leaves smelled earthy and sweet)

First steep (second session): The amber liquor smelled sweet and white peppery; the taste was sweet (honey) and deeply fruity (dried cherries and prunes)

*In the first sessions with Nepal White and Midnight White we used two grams on my suggestion. The liquors was better for using three grams!

NOTES ON THE CHEESES

The following characteristics of each cheese were provided by the French Cheese Board.

Beaufort
Firm, buttery, and supple cow's milk cheese with fruit, salty, and floral notes

Brillat-Savarin
Creamy, dense, and damp cow's milk cheese with salty and tangy notes and an earthy (mushroom) aftertaste

Blue de Chèvre
Soft, round goat's milk cheese with moldy notes

NOTES ON THE PAIRINGS

My personal pairing preferences were:

• Silver Needle + Beaufort (runner up: Brillat-Savarin)
• Nepal White + Beaufort (runner up: Brillat-Savarin)
• Midnight White + Brillat-Savarin (runner up: Beaufort)

Jee and Sara preferred the Midnight White + Blue de Chèvre. I wasn't opposed to this pairing; it certainly wasn't as contrarian as the Silver Needle + Blue de Chèvre.

THE TAKEAWAY

The Beaufort is a versatile cheese and paired with all three French cheeses we selected but especially with the Silver Needle and Nepal White. The broad flavor profile of the Beaufort complemented the dominant notes in the each of the teas. If you prefer a softer cheese, then the Brillat-Savarin is a strong candidate. This creamy cheese would also pair well with a Japanese green tea.

The Blue de Chèvre, while lovely on its own, overwhelmed these white teas. The pairing with the Silver Needle was antagonistic. I did not detect moldy notes in the Blue de Chèvre, rather, it was saltier than the other two cheeses. I wouldn't mind pairing it with oceanic Japanese green teas or a shou puer. A straight goat cheese, either soft or firm, might have paired better with the white teas.

Read Jee's Tea Pairing 101
Read Sara's Tea Pairing 101

We plan to develop a pairing for each tea type; with white tea accomplished we turn our focus to green tea. Watch this space!

P.S. Are you interested in taking a tea course with the International Tea Education Institute? Check out all the ITEI courses and use the NOTESONTEA10 discount code when you register.