Matcha cheesecake and shiso icecream with Smith Teamaker Astoriamaro ‘Digesteaf’

It might seem perverse to pick a tea pairing as my match of the week after four days in wine country and one of the leading beer cities of the US but this combination was so unexpected and so brilliant I had to single it out.

It was at the end of a six course ‘konnichiwa’ dinner, one of the high profile collaborations between Portland’s home grown talent and chefs from elsewhere in the states and Tokyo at Feast Portland, the city’s annual food festival.

This dish was devised by Justin Woodward of Castagna and was a delicious pale green mess of matcha-flavoured cheesecake and ice-cold shiso ice-cream, something you would have thought would defeat practically any beverage but the ‘digesteaf’ - a deep, complex, floral infusion of cascara (the dried outer skins of coffee berries), rose petals, bourbon vanilla and various other botanicals* - complemented it beautifully.

The infusion which was devised in collaboration with Portland barware specialists Bull in China was diluted then shaken over ice with fresh lemon juice, a strip of lemon peel and a little sugar syrup and topped up with a dash of tonic water.

Obviously it would be impossible to replicate exactly without the Astoriamaro but it certainly opened my eyes to the possibility of pairing infusions with desserts. If you want to try it for yourself you can buy it online direct from Smith Teamaker but be quick as it's a limited edition release!

There’s a fascinating account of how the blend came together here.

* the full list is cascara, chicory root, orange peel, honeybush, rose petals, blackberry leaf, sarsaparilla root, cassia, bourbon vanilla bean and osmanthus.

Lemon and poppy seed cake with Tippy Yunan tea with ginger root

There’s an improbably good tea shop and café near where I live which is as good as any I’ve been to. I say improbable not because it’s in Bristol but because it’s in a far-from-smart shopping parade in one of the less cultish areas of the city. It also has a brilliantly clever name - ATTIC - which stands for All The Tea In China.

They have a great range of teas but also some great kit to serve them in. A glass infuser (see right and here on their website) which opens up once placed on top of a co-ordinated glass mug and lets the strained tea in.

They chalk the specials up on the blackboard - the one I tried was called Autumn Glow, a blend of Tippy Yunnan black tea and dried ginger root, a spicy, fragrant brew that went brilliantly well with a wedge of lemon and poppy seed cake I’d been unable to resist. Thank goodness we’re moving to the other side of town otherwise I'd be in there all the time though I suspect we’ll find reasons to get back over there. Like buying all our friends and relatives tea-infusers for Christmas.

They also offer a mail order service for those of you who live even further away and will apparently start supplying other tea shops and cafs shortly with a range of their teas called 'One leaf, many lives'. Look out for them.

Sushi and Genmaicha (Japanese green tea with roasted rice)

To the incomprehension of my husband who can’t see the point in raw fish, I adore sushi and try to eat it at least once a week - usually with one of my daughters who are both big sushi fans.

Normally I accompany it with green tea but I’ve just discovered this totally addictive organic roasted rice tea called Genmaicha made by Clearspring which matches even better - the faint sesame nuttiness of the rice offsetting the slight fattiness of the fish and the delicate sweetness of the rice.

It needs to be served cooler than we typically drink tea in Britain but don’t let it steep or you’ll lose its delicate flavours. I make it double the strength and then take out the teabags after a minute and let the tea cool for about 10 minutes.

Another good pairing, which I enjoyed at the weekend with daughter no. 2, is a crisp Japanese lager such as Kirin which also pairs brilliantly with tempura. Beer and batter being great bedfellows.