Oolong and Food

[bi lew chun]

I just brewed the last of my FLT Traditional Alishan, which Victoria had sent me a while back. I didn't have enough for a proper steep, but I figured a light cup of tea before bed would do me just fine. The result was decent but understandably not very flavorful. Then I decided I was hungry, so I nuked some sticky rice + sweet egg stuff that my Lao friend's mother made. Now the tea tastes MUCH better, since it has some tastes to play against in my mouth.

I wonder sometimes, often while I'm doing a tasting for a blog post, if I'm doing tea (oolong specifically) a disservice by not consuming it with complementary foods. Perhaps I should eat sticky rice + egg stuff with every tea I intend to post tasting notes on.

[Herb_Master]

I have had the same experience with some lacklustre Shui Xian. With some spicy food it suddenly became a much more enjoyable drink.

[gingkoseto]

Most of the time I like to have my tea alone. But oolong (especially Taiwan oolong) and (homemade) cheesecake is my favorite combo

Also cheaper shui xian is a traditional restaurant tea (along with cheaper puerh and cheaper chrysanthemum), especially in Cantonese restaurants. I like any of them when having a meal. But for more fragrant and more expensive teas, I would rather have them some time after a meal.