Match of the week

Pear and chai cake and green jasmine tea

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on October 1 2012 at 07:10

I’ve been rediscovering tea pairing with food lately and this was a standout match at my local self-styled modern tearoom Lahloo Pantry in Bristol. It was a simple pound cake topped with spicy pears* cooked in chai syrup with the company's own green jasmine tea.

I keep struggling with green tea which I feel I ought to like more (so healthy!) and have up to now found jasmine tea just a little too cloyingly scented but this particular combination of the two is brilliant. The green tea balances the sometimes overwhelming aroma and taste of the jasmine. The sweetness of the jasmine offsets the slight bitterness of the tea though if you brew it at the correct temperature (around 70° I seem to recall) it shouldn’t be bitter anyway.

Brewing at that temperature makes it a warm rather than a hot drink which actually suits food better. The reason this pairing worked was that the cake wasn't too sweet and the touch of spice in the pears made a lovely contrast. I can imagine drinking it with a mildly spiced chicken salad and other gently spiced savoury Asian dishes too.

* Kate Gover who runs Lahloo says they might blog the recipe soon. I'll link to it if they do!

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