Gastronomy
With savory or sweet dishes, tea is an ideal companion to all types of cuisine, especially French cuisine, and a gastronomic alternative to wine.
Like wine, it is a beverage with rich and complex aromatic notes, with its terroirs, its great vintages, and its vintages that can accompany an entire meal without any complex. Like the great chateaux or wine estates, there are gardens or tea estates with an international reputation producing wines bought by collectors at incredible prices.
I discovered tea sommellerie in the 2000's, notably when I met the culinary photographer Jean-François Mallet (Simplissime) and wrote our bookThés et Mets : Subtiles alliances. Our experience of matching 50 teas with 500 dishes has highlighted fusion matches, where dishes and teas have common aromatic notes, and complementary matches where teas and dishes have different aromatic registers that complement each other.
So dare to pair your dishes, cheeses and of course desserts with teas and herbal teas served fresh, at room temperature or hot. This is one of the major advantages of tea or herbal tea: being able to play with the temperature of preparation and service!
