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                                                                                                                          In addition to Chinese cuisines, tea is also a good   point  is  to  consider  how  to  pair  them  or  make  them
                                                                                                                      matching  option  in  the  global  culinary  realm.  The   coherent, instead of forcibly screwing them together.
                                                                                                                      Guangzhou-based Rêver restaurant adds cold brew tea   “After all, people who like to drink tea may have subtle
                                                                                                                      to pair with fused French cuisine. The cold brewing can   differences  in  tastes  and  requirements  of  the  meal.
                                                                                                                      highlight the tea flavor and aroma, while reducing the   Especially,  many  tea  people  prefer  vegetarian  meals,
                                                                                                                      bitterness. The meals with cheese are especially suit-  perhaps  with  a  sharper  sense  of  taste  and  higher  re-
                                                                                                                      able for old Liubao dark tea or Fuzhuan brick tea. As   quirements of Zen and Chinese aesthetics. The fusion
                                                                                                                      both  are  fermented  products,  the  tea  and  the  cheese   of tea and meal should be a lifestyle, the expression of
                                                                                                                      are  rich  while  extending  in  different  directions.  The   living  habits,  and  not  just  a  game  of  taste.  I  think  it
                                                                                                                      non-mainstream “Stone Milk” rock tea is an oolong tea   might be a bit limited, if it just focuses on the combi-
                                                                                                                      with a strong milky flavor. Served with Italian maca-  nation of food.”
                                                                                                                      roons, it can stimulate the richness of milk flavor and   Many baristas or sommeliers who have just start-
                                                                                                                      subtly brings the grainy, astringent aftertaste.   ed  drinking  tea  will  also  habitually  follow  the  flavor
                                                                                                                          Not only are fine dining restaurants keen on tea   wheel. Daqing has been a barista for nearly a decade,
                                                                                                                      pairing, tea brands are also exploring the fusion of tea   and got hooked on tea just in the past year or two. She
                                                                                                                      and meals. Via cooperation with hotels and fine dining   was initially attracted by the layers of the flavors and
                                                                                                                      restaurants, Hou Tea introduces high-quality tea into   styles. “I never have the same flavor again, even though
                                                                                                                      the  catering  sector,  realizing  the  presentation  and   it’s  the  same  tea  brewed  by  the  same  person.”  The
                                                                                                                      dissemination  of  tea.  This  mode  is  based  on  brand   variations  of  traditional  tea  are  more  subtle  and  nu-
                                                                                                                      qualities and user groups, and in a sense is more like   anced  than  coffee  and  wine,  making  it  really  hard  to
                                                                                                                      a business fusion.                             make a definitive fixed pairing blend. Now, she won’t
                                                                                                                          The  brand  Yuan  Gu  chooses  a  more  humanistic   get  caught  up  in  the  flavor,  but  perceives  the  atmo-
                                                                                                                      fusion. They combine selective vegetarian ingredients   sphere on the tea table, the mood of the drinker. While
                                                                                                                      with tea to create a new-style Chinese tea. With appro-  drinking tea, the feeling of the moment is eternal.
                                                                                                                      priate tea and wine, the natural flavors of the four-sea-  On the summer solstice, the Chengdu-based Five
                                                                                                                      son ingredients can show the change of time and the   Willows Tea Space under Mountain held a lotus-themed
                                                                                                                      beauty of handmade cuisine.                    tea party, where two Oriental Beauty teas from differ-
                                                                                                                          Tea is a huge system, so is Chinese food, making   ent  regions  were  shared.  They  used  the  same  tea  to
                                                                                                                      both of them unsuitable for quantitative assessment. It   make iced jelly and pastries decorated with lotus leaves
                                                                                                                      is  not  possible  now  to  understand  their  flavors  and   and flowers, linking the taste and the vision. Drinking
                                                                                                                      apply a formula for precise matching.          tea in depth inevitably goes beyond the tea pot. Every-
                                                                                                                          With rich experience in tea, Ling Yin has hosted   thing we do at the tea party is an expression of the vast
                                                                                                                      tea banquets. She believes that tea and meals can main-  world; echoing each other and blending together is an
                                                                                                                      tain a certain degree of purity in the tea pairing. The   important part of oriental implication.


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