Tea and Food Pairings for Summer
Summer is here and it’s time for lighter foods that don’t weigh us down in the heat.
There’s also no bottled substitute quite like a freshly cold-brewed tea. It’s cost-effective, creates less waste, and when you make it you know EXACTLY the quality of tea that is going into your beverage. For all your summer food pairings, I’d strongly suggest you skip the sugar-y drinks and brew tea in the laziest way possible: COLDBREW STYLE! See Quick-start Cold Brew Tea Instructions. Sun-brewed tea is also fun, but more on that later…
Enjoy the tea hot or cold. In general, I prefer complementing hot tea with a cold food and a cold tea with hot food. As always, serve as you wish! Use these suggestions, simply as a launch off point for the next time you meal plan and want to skip all the calories of alcohol or simply enjoy a freshly brewed tea.
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5 Artisanal Tea and Food pairings to try this summer:
Classic Lemon Black Tea + Beyond Burger
Burger and iced tea: what a classic. Keep things light by trying a beyond burger patty or a veggie patty. Cold brew some black tea, add your choice of simple syrup (or liquified sweetener) to sweeten if desired. Garnish with your choice of citrus wheel and maybe even some fresh herbs.
Skip the red meat for easier summer digestion and opt for beyond burger or a veggie burger.
Make cold brew tea then garnish with lemon, lime and/or herbs.
2. Bai Mu Dan or other white tea + Goat Cheese and Fig Bread
The floral notes of tea will be refreshing for this bread that is often served in France as an appetizer with white wine. Here we can replace the white wine concept with this White Peony tea iced. When I’ve made this bread in the past I’ve used a bit of bacon to make it more of a light meal than an appetizer. The bread works with other type of dried fruits and soft cheeses. Have fun!
Fig and Goat Cheese “Cake” bread is pretty quick and simple. No yeast or rising required. I don’t even love to bake.
Bai Mu Dan, or White Peony tea, actually helps quench thirst and is perfect on a summer hike or picnic.
Bai Mu Dan is a beautiful white tea from China consisting of large leaves, some twigs and buds.
Photo: Rishi Tea
3. Medium to Dark Roasted Oolong + Couscous Mint, Dates and Almonds Salad
To make this sweet and nutty salad gluten free, I would substitute the couscous with quinoa and buckwheat.
Photo: Plantd.co
Try any roasted oolong as the fruity and nutty flavors will complement this type of salad well!
This is a dark roasted ball-rolled oolong. You might be able to double brew this tea if it hasn’t unfurled completely in the fridge brewing process all the way.
Photo: Rishi Tea
4. Blueberry Rooibos + Grilled Basil Chicken and Peaches
Peaches, yum. Basil & chicken, yum. Need I say more?
Photo: Traegergrills.com
Assemble your own Blueberry Rooibos tea with rooibos tea and fresh blueberries or get it premixed!
Photo: Thousandcaminos.com
5. Sencha + Mushroom Walnut Edamame Pasta
The vegetal and savory grassy notes of a sencha will round out the buttery-ness in the nutty noodles while maintaining an overall light summer experience that’s light and nourishing. Green tea always helps me with digestion. Take a moment and order some edamame noodles right now. You won’t regret it. They are so quick on the stove too eliminating heat in your kitchen. Enjoy!
Edamame noodles are MY NEW FAVORITE NOODLES. They are packed with protein and so chewy and so delicious. I have to order them online because it’s tough to find sometimes. Shitake mushrooms are incredible and this walnut twist makes this meal protein packed, flavorful and light. So yum.
Photo: TheKitchenGirl.com
Iced sencha presented in a chic way.
Photo: Hibiki-an.com
Yuzu Sencha is incredible if you haven’t tried this. The subtle citrus herb notes from yuzu makes sencha so exciting and extra refreshing.
Photo: Itoen.com
BONUS TIP for your iced tea: For some extra flavor excitement, garnish your teas with a slice of lemon, cucumber or a sprig of mint. Leaving the tea as is works beautifully as well.
Final Thoughts…
Summer is about lighter foods as our digestion becomes slower. Although it’s the perfect time to start cold brewing your teas, I’m one of those people who drink hot tea all year round. Ironically, hot liquids in the summer can help your body cool down as it raises your body temperature to encourage your body to its perspiration point resulting in the release of heat from your body. Do what you think works well for your tastes and preferences.
It also couldn’t hurt to stick with lighter foods to maintain a beach ready physique—if you know what I mean! Being active and staying fit also helps our bodies regulate temperature better. I don’t know about you, but generally I tend to put on some weight for winter and tend to take some off during the summers if not from just sweating a whole bunch.
I hope you enjoy making some nice food pairings for your loved ones and friends this summer.
Please drop me a line with how things went, what you liked and another other related questions or comments. I’d love to hear from you!
Stay cool and drink more tea!
MinTea Xoo