Try a Tea-and-Food Pairing

It had been predicted for years, but now tea is truly becoming The New Coffee. Tea bars, salons and even restaurants are opening all over the country. And what still does not really work with coffee seems to be happening with tea: tea-and-food pairings.

Recently, for example, a restaurant opened in Amsterdam with no wine list but a tea list. Mauresque by Jalil Bekkour serves Moorish dishes selected to accompany teas by tea sommelier Mariëlla Erkens. So instead of a wine pairing, you can opt for a tea pairing.

Why tea?

Mariëlla Erkens: “Tea puts the dish even more in the spotlight, without this coming at the expense of the tea itself. The drink also enhances the aromas of a dish and can create a different mouthfeel.”

The warmth of tea adds a great deal to a dish.

With Moorish dishes, you might quickly think of herb and spice infusions.
Erkens: “No herbs, please! Pure, real tea, preferably of high quality. You can work with slightly less, as long as it is brewed properly. And provided it is not flavoured tea. Then it becomes potpourri.”

Hot or cold?

Erkens: “The warmth of tea adds a great deal to a dish. Together with oxygen, it brings out aromas and allows the flavours to come together better in the mouth. But I also use cold tea occasionally. Especially with ice cream. You really do not want hot tea with that. Pure, though. There are already so many wonderful aromas in the tea and in the dish itself.”

You really do not want hot tea with ice cream. Cold tea, yes.

Favourite tea-and-food pairing at Mauresque?

Erkens: “Ribeye with Assam Molkalbari tea; lamb with Himalayan tippy black; octopus with golden Yunnan; salmon with tieguanyin and Korean green tea. I cannot choose. It depends on my mood.”

Finally: Why is it working with tea now?

Erkens: “Many millennials are very focused on healthy living and drinking less alcohol, which is why they are switching to tea. It is a shame, by the way, that tea is still so strongly associated with health. For me, it is primarily about the taste.”

Mauresque, Van Der Palmkade 16 Amsterdam.

Text: Marjan Ippel
Image: Mariëlla Erkens