5 Unexpected Tea & Cheese Pairings

There are few things as pleasant in this world as a nice cup of tea or some delectable French cheese. Both tea and cheese play a large role in my gustatory life, each giving me their comforts. Tea is like a mother, always there for me to pick me up and warm me, sometimes with a bitter aftertaste of tough love. Cheese is more like an old paramour, a friend with benefits: not a constant delight, but, through the years, a regular and dependable one. One whose passion never fades.

With tea and cheese being so different from each other, I had never even fathomed pairing the two together. With tea I usually enjoy a dry cookie or some other form of light sweet. With cheese I usually enjoy a dry cracker or some other form of light bread. Yet earlier this month, I attended an event at the French Cheese Board in Manhattan, where French cheeses were expertly paired with teas by Bellocq Tea Atelier.

While the melanging of the two seems incongruous, they complement each other in an unexpected way. Isn’t it great when your mom likes your paramour? Perhaps with mother tea’s approval, it’s time to make this casual relationship more official.

When foods are paired together, they bring out different flavors in each other, but they also bring out different personas of the eater. Each pairing vividly creates a character on the palate. Thus, each pairing has been named with an archetype.

The Monk

Cheese: Raclette
Tea: Aged White Peony

A cow’s milk cheese from the Savoie region, the Raclette has a semi-soft texture that tempers the forest flavors of the tea. This pairing brings out a deep feeling of peace, nature, and tranquility.

The Courtesan

Cheese: Brillat-Savarin
Tea: Kikuya