Tea and food

A Christmas log straight out of Wonderland

11 October 2019
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The Christmas logs designed by our leading pastry chefs are eagerly anticipated. We always look forward to the moment when the log is revealed, and we can admire its form and flavour. There is no limit on the imagination.

I’d like to present the Christmas log by Bryan Esposito, Head Pastry Chef at the Hôtel du Collectionneur in Paris. He was inspired by tea, and not just any tea either – No. 25 Black Tea by Palais des Thés. This exquisite creation has more than a touch of Alice’s Wonderland about it.  A teapot to enjoy with family or friends and appreciate its gastronomic delights.

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The right infusion temperature

4 October 2019
The right infusion temperature

When you’re travelling, you sometimes have to boil water to purify it. For tea, that’s obviously not ideal, especially as some teas need to be infused at 50°, 70° or 80°C. Here is a simple method to reach the correct water temperature for your tea (this will be marked on the packaging of any decent tea merchant). When your water has boiled, pour it into a recipient. The water temperature will drop by 9°C. Then pour it into another; it will drop by 9°C again.  And so on.

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Frédéric Bau, pastry chef and chocolatier, founder of the Valrhona School

27 September 2019
Frédéric Bau, pastry chef and chocolatier, founder of the Valrhona School

Drinking and tasting tea with people who specialise in a different product is fascinating. Whether your work revolves around tea, chocolate, olive oil, wine or any other fine ingredient, the tasting techniques are the same. But the experience differs in that each substance has its own range of aromas, textures and flavours. We’re like musicians who play different parts but all share a love of music.

I was lucky enough to receive a visit from Frédéric Bau. Frédéric is one of the great pastry chefs, as well as the founder of the Valrhona School and the Creative Director of Valrhona. Together, we tasted eight premium teas, infused at room temperature.

It was a wonderful opportunity to share our impressions and talk about our passions.

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All my favourite teas

20 September 2019
All my favourite teas

I’m often asked what my favourite tea is, and the question always makes me nervous. Each time I have to think about what to say. Someone who doesn’t know much about tea might say they like a certain type of tea, and someone else might name a different type. But when you have the incredible and very special opportunity to taste the best teas in the world throughout the year, like a top sommelier drinking wine, how is it possible to name just one?

When you’ve tasted so many teas of each type, they become part of you. You get to know them from every angle, you discover their unique characteristics, their point of equilibrium, their harmony. You’re the best placed to appreciate them. This applies whether it’s a lightly oxidised Taiwanese Oolong, a First-Flush Darjeeling, an Oriental Beauty, a Japanese Ichibancha, a new-season Chinese green tea, a hand-rolled Nepalese tea, a black Chinese tea such as a Qimen or a Yunnan, a Rock tea or a Phoenix tea, a dark tea from China, Africa or elsewhere, a Mao Cha plucked from hundred-year-old trees or a Gao Shan Cha, to name just a few. You’re the best placed to appreciate them and the worst placed to pick just one.

So if you meet me, please be kind and don’t ask me to name my favourite tea. Instead, ask me what I love about this tea, or that tea, ask me about the feelings they evoke. Talk to me about the great variety of sensory and emotional responses instead of restricting me to a few.

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Tea you can eat

13 September 2019
Tea you can eat

Tea isn’t only drunk, it can be eaten too. In Myanmar, for example, lahpet, or lahpet thoke, is a national dish. It’s a salad made from fermented tea leaves to which are added vegetables, fruit, meat or dried shrimps, for example, as well as spices. It’s delicious!

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The aromas of tea

30 August 2019
The aromas of tea

Smell is probably the richest sense in terms of tasting. Food and drink have a smell, or rather a number of smells, which we perceive while tasting, especially if we practise retronasal olfaction by breathing air out through the nose while the substance is in the mouth. In the case of tea, there are many aromas. As we’ve done since childhood with naming colours (red, blue, yellow, etc.), we can categorise aromas too: vegetal, fruity, floral, marine, spicy, woody, undergrowth, buttery/milky, mineral, burnt, animal, and so on.

So the next time you drink tea, ask yourself whether its dominant aromas are floral, fruity, animal or marine, etc. Happy tastings!

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The textures of tea

23 August 2019
The textures of tea

Touch is one of our senses, and it plays a part in tea-drinking. In the mouth, we notice the temperature of the liquid, and also its texture, thanks to our sense of touch. A tea can create the impression of being oily or dry. Some Japanese teas or Taiwanese oolongs, for example, give the impression that the liquid in the mouth is almost creamy in texture. On the other hand, many teas create a sensation of dryness, which we call astringency. Astringency gives a tea its long finish in the mouth. There is no one ideal texture. It’s all about the balance between a tea’s aromas, flavours and texture.

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Flavours of tea

16 August 2019
Flavours of tea

When we eat or drink something, we pay attention to its appearance and colour, of course, but once it is in our mouth, we consider the flavour, texture and aroma.

There are five flavours, or taste elements: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and a fifth, lesser known taste, called umami. Tea does not naturally have a salty flavour, but all the other taste elements are present. A tea can have several flavours. Just as an orange is both sweet and sour, a pu erh can be both sweet and umami.

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Tasting tea outdoors

17 May 2019
Tasting tea outdoors

A visit to a tea plantation always includes a tasting. This one took place in the dedicated tasting room, with light coming in from outside. Sometimes though, tastings can take place outdoors if the factory is too small, or doesn’t have the right equipment. With a bit of luck you can enjoy magnificent scenery while swirling the liquor around in your mouth. Here, in Pathivara (Nepal), a lovely stone table is used for tastings.  

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Eggs with tea

19 April 2019
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If you’ve never cooked with tea, here’s a simple recipe to get you started: marbled eggs. It’s Easter, but we’re not talking chocolate. Instead, we’re using real eggs, so we’re sticking to the theme all the same. And of course, you can still use them for an Easter egg hunt for added fun!

Hard-boil your eggs, then place them in cold water. Gently crack the shell by tapping the egg lightly on all sides. Next, place the eggs into simmering water for 20 minutes along with 15g of Pu Erh Impérial (per 300 ml water), a stick of cinnamon, a tablespoon of soya sauce, two star anise and a pinch of salt. Then leave to cool. They can be kept, unpeeled, in the fridge for up to 48 hours.

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