Clipper Teas uncovers the nation's more surprising tea combinations…and what food you should really be pairing your tea with
Want to get the best out of your fish and chips? Then pair it with a cup of black tea, says a leading tea expert.
Tea Sommelier Angela Pryce has revealed which tea types go best with some of the nation’s favourite meals – suggesting that English Breakfast goes brilliantly with roast beef.
She advised lemon drizzle cake can be harmoniously matched with an Earl Grey as their citrus characters complement one another, while green tea is combined well with spicy foods because of its refreshing and cleansing texture.
This comes as a survey of 2,000 tea drinkers, commissioned by Clipper, delved into tea habits across the UK, finding as many as one in five would have a brew with quintessentially British meals like sausage and mash or a jacket potato – and a third love a cuppa with their fish and chips.
The research also discovered Brits more surprising food pairings, finding one in 10 would drink an Earl Grey with a curry and a quarter would accompany one with a pasty!
For adventurous Brits looking for new tea pairings, Angela went on to say green tea with lemon infusions can add flavour to smoked salmon, while Rooibos is best served with cashew nut or coconut-based food.
It’s fantastic to see Brits more interesting tea combinations – there really are so many great ways to pair tea with food. Camomile can be enjoyed any time of day or night, as it is naturally caffeine free. This will work best paired with lighter foods – an egg custard tart sprinkled with a dusting of nutmeg would work a treat. For a playful combination, try a gingernut biscuit with a peppermint herbal infusion. The fiery heat of the biscuit works in absolute contrast to the pure coolness of the mint - tongue tingling magic.
Breakfast came out on top as the most popular meal to have with a cup of tea, with 56 per cent also having a cuppa with their lunch and 63 per cent with dinner.
And when choosing tea, taste was seen as the most important factor according to 87 per cent of UK tea drinkers – with one in six adding that having a cup of tea is the highlight of their day.
We’re a nation of tea lovers and foodies, and we love exploring how tea can be paired with our favourite meals (Roast Beef and English Breakfast? Yes please), as well as the dishes people are already enjoying with their daily brew. It’s clear that great tasting tea complements any meal and is the number one factor for people when choosing the perfect blend. There are so many tea varieties with distinctive tasting notes and aromas – a delicious cuppa can really make it better.
The survey, carried out via OnePoll, also saw English Breakfast crowned the most popular tea flavour, followed by Earl Grey, green tea and a peppermint infusion.
And two thirds agree tea is the most comforting drink with a further 60 per cent admitting a brew was able to get them through the winter blues!
This comes following the recent launch of Clipper Teas latest consumer campaign, which saw it challenge people to ‘Make it Better’ and not settle – especially when it comes to tea (whatever you’re pairing it with!).
As a winner of over 60 Great Taste Awards in the last 20 years, and the number one Organic and Fairtrade tea brand in the UK, Clipper offers the perfect blend of delicious, natural and fair teas that taste great and do good for people and planet.
Clipper is a different kind of tea company and a pioneer in ethical, sustainable tea production since 1984. B Corp certified, Clipper targets conscious consumers who care about what they put into their bodies and the impact this has on the world around them – a consumer tribe the brand refers to as Generation Tea.
In 1994, it became the UK’s first Fairtrade tea company. Today, it is the world’s largest Fairtrade tea brand, supporting 114,000 producers and their families around the world. In the last 25 years, Clipper has paid over £4m in Fairtrade premiums, ensuring its tea workers always get a fair deal and supporting them to use sustainable farming methods.
Part of the Ecotone UK family, Clipper’s tea factory in Beaminster produces over 1 billion tea bags a year, which are sold in over 50 countries worldwide. Committed to organic and ethical sourcing, Clipper only ever uses natural ingredients and processes to make the finest quality hot beverages.
In 2018, Clipper became the first tea company to make all its heat-sealed tea bags unbleached, non-GM and fully-biodegradable. Clipper’s factory is carbon neutral, uses renewable energy sources and 98% of factory waste is recycled.
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