According tea(s) to tobacco(s)

[noseflute]

Hello all,
Are there some tea lovers here ? I mean people who love teas as we love tobaccos, who drink different teas (have a 'rotation'), and even write tea reviews ?
I do not write tea reviews, but I drink a lot of tea, lots of teas. I always have around 20 teas in my rotation, and I pick one according to the moment, my mood, etc., as I do with the blends I stuff my pipe with. I even cellar teas (Pu Ehr). Most of the time, when I have the opportunity to drink tea (when I work at my office), it's also the right moment to light a good pipe. So, most of the time, I consume tobacco and tea together.
My question is about how to accord a blend with a tea. I choose very intuitively, trying to avoid "rivalries". For instance, one would naturally think that with a smoky latakia blend, the best would be a smoked tea (Lapsang or Terry souchong ...). That's what I call a rivalry. The conflict would not occur from 2 different tastes, but come from a fake resemblance, one partly masking the very specificities of the other.
There are other concerns to impact the game. For instance, I would never drink a green tea (like a Gyokuro or a Tamaryokucha) in the evening, in the fear of insomnias.
So, for me, the chosen tea should complement the tobacco, and not fight with it. One has to help the other to give its best. Also, a tea can clean the tongue between the puffs, and help keeping the taste freshness of the tobacco.
My opinion is that, with an english blend, an oxydized oolong do the best, while heavier latakias match with more 'blue' oolongs, like a Tye Guan Yin or a Dung Ding, or with green Japanese teas.

I like oriental blends (like McClelland series, e.g. Classic Samsun) with a white tea (Silver needles or Bai Mu Dan)

I sometimes associate VA with Pu Erh, but I would not do with a VaPer. For a VaPer, I prefer a Darjeeling or a Kuki Hoji Cha.
Do you take care in the Tea-Tobacco association ?

What are your best matching couples ?
Have a nice Sunday,
Antoine

 

[Chasing Embers]

Burley-Coffee (can't find a tea for it)

Virginas-Earl Grey

Orientals-Oolong

Latakias-Chai

 

[matchstickman]

Used to be a real heavy coffee drinker until it started to mess with my stomach. But needing my caffeine, tea and water are pretty much all I drink now. I do like a nice loose leaf green tea. Uptons is my favorite place to get tea from, I'm currently drinking some of their gunpowder green that is just a treat. I also like the commercial bagged teas because A.) I'm not picky and B.) I'm broke as all hell. I'll even drink the plain Lipton black tea if I have to, which I've had to on numerous different occasions. At night I sip a nice chamomile or peppermint because of said stomach issues, and I also like a nice hearty English or Irish breakfast tea as well.

 

[troyniss]

I drink tea every day while at work, but sadly can't smoke my pipe there.
16 teas in my rotation, from Rooibos to Jasmine Pearl and everything in between.

I paired Dunhill Flake with a Jeju Tangerine tea (I live in South Korea) and it was so fitting with the citrus nuances and light flavor and aroma.
If I was going to pair teas with tobacco:
English- Earl Grey full 4 minute steep or an old growth tree Vietnamese black. Anything strong.

Oriental- Imperial white or roasted Long Jing (Dragonwell). Possibly a Jasmine Pearl as well.

Virginia- Rooibos/Honeybush, perhaps a minute short steeped Morrocan Mint or Anxi Ben Shan green varietal Oolong. Even a 2 minute steeped Earl Grey for the bergamot tones.

Dark Fired-A lighter black first flush darjeeling or an unsweetened iced Chai.
Wasn't a fan of Pu'er/Pu-Erh tea. Very dark and tasted like dirt and smelled like fish. I work with a Chinese girl who grew up with the stuff so it wasn't put to waste. I guess you could say it wasn't my "cup of tea." I watched a documentary about Chinese tea and apparently that stuff is really expensive, some people who have been aging the cakes for over 50 years up to 100 years.
There may be some merit in having opposites-- for example a straight flake VA (DHF, FVF) with a dark and heavy black tea, that way you can taste the light and heavy.

I did however pair Ashton Gold Rush with a heavily sweetened Morrocan Mint. Both tobacco and tea are relatively sweet and they were perfect together.
I suppose tea and tobacco pairing are like pipe and tobacco pairing. Some shapes work well and some don't. I'd expect the same for teas as well as any coffee or alcohol.

 

[noseflute]

Thanks to you all for the answers!
@troyniss : Nice combinations! I'll try your Dark fired / Dj First Flush!

I see that you also accord Oriental blends with white tea, and i'll try them with roasted long jing (when I get some)
Regarding Pu Ehr, yes, some are priced as gold... I have rather correct conditions in one of my cellars, so I've been aging several stacks of PuEhr discs for many years.
I agree with you regarding the "opposites".
Best wishes
Antoine

 

[irishearl]

Am a tea fan, but don't look to pair tea and tobacco per se, though when I drink tea I'm smoking a pipe too. Am strictly a black tea drinker, either Keemun, Yunan or blends of Indian and African black teas. Lately, it's been the blends I drink, such as Irish or Scottish breakfast blends. Even find Darjeelings alone too weak for me. Like my teas pretty stout.

 

[badbeard]

For you Lat heads out there, try a bowl of Gaslight with some Lapsang Souchong. Always kills my craving for the smokey stuff.

 

[npod]

@noseflute or anyone with knowledge.
I know nothing of tea. However, I have essentially stopped drinking alcohol recently. I LOVE the idea of tea. However, I know nothing about tea. I would like to learn.
Can you please post a list of 5-10 must try teas. Kind of like the name your top five blends posts.

 

[irishearl]

Neal, I'll give you my current top 3, all black tea blends, Scottish Breakfast Blend, Irish Breakfast Blend, and Windsor Castle Blend from http://www.thespicemerchant.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi They're all loose tea blends. I prefer loose tea over tea bags though the Yorkshire Gold tea bags I recently picked up from this store are nice-very strong blend. If you like tea with some strength, you'll want to stick with black teas.

 

[troyniss]

Neal,
MY favorite tea brand comes from The Tao of Tea and their website is

https://taooftea.com/
My favorite teas to date are:
Earl Grey- Black tea with an infusion of Italian bergamot.

Dragonwell- roasted green. A bit darker than most greens but has a great nutty earthy essence.

Hibiscus Ginger- tangy and sweet. This reminds me of a sour red wine with a tinge of spice from the ginger. Great iced too and helps lower blood pressure (scientifically proven!)

Gunpowder Green- a staple in any tea arsenal. Bold and has a moderate amount of caffeine for a green tea.

Imperial White - I like this toward the ends of the day as it contains very little caffeine. Very fragrant and vegetal taste.
If you're interested in tea, it's worth noting that you won't know what you like until you try it. Kind of like pipe smoking. Try a few blends out, perhaps get a sampler pack if available and dive in. I recommend loose leaf teas over sachets as you can adjust the strength according to your preference-- but of course that also has to do with the duration of steeping too. Sachets are convenient and usually have the correct amount of tea in it for 1-2 infusions and takes the guesswork out of measuring. I still use both kinds but loose leaf is preferred, and also makes preparing tea fun.
Also, don't drink tea, usually a strong black, on an empty stomach. It's not the caffeine that makes certain people sick, it's the tannins (tannic acid) in the tea. For me at least, if I drink a cup of tea without eating first, I feel very sick and have headed to the toilet a few times in the past. However, YMMV.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I don't live teas like tobacco but I usually drink one per day. Got some loose varieties from Davids Tea. Kind of like women, like them all, some better than others. Bought a cheap plastic thing with a filter in the bottom. Put lose tea in, pour boiling water over it, let it steep and set it on a cup. That releases the brewed tea through the filter and out the bottom. That may make a tea purist shudder, don't know. But it seems to work and is quick and easy to clean up.

 

[noseflute]

npod : well... you know, teas are a full universe as tobacco can be.
first of all, there are "straight teas" and aromatics. I personnally do not know and am not attracted with aromatics. Anyway, some aromatics can be of good quality, like Earl grey (bergamot) or Jasmine teas.
There are several families of teas, which are mainly related to the way they are processed (there are also different cultivars though).
we generally state that there are

- black teas (because they look dark) : like darjeeling, assam etc.

- green teas (they are not oxidized) : like sencha (and almost any japanese teas) or gunpowder (chinese),

- "blue" teas : oolongs lightly fermented (from Taiwan and some from China mainland)
to these 3 big families, have been added white, yellow, red teas...
I mostly know Japanese and chinese teas, indian too. But I cannot say much about Turkish, African, etc...
If you want to taste very different teas, in order to feel the possible 'bandwidth', you may try :
- one Sencha (green tea from Japan). Or better (but more expensive) : a "Gyokuro"

- one lightly oxidized Oolong (like "Tie Guan Yin" or "Dung Ding", very floral)

- one darjeeling first flush (black tea, but... rather near green tea)

- one "Pu Erh" tea (very special... very dark, tastes like humus. I love that, some don't)

- one white tea ("silver needles" for instance. Very light, very subtle)
I think with those five, you would have 5 really different experiences, and be able then to discover deeper where you feel it.
In any case : be very careful with temperature and infusion time : they may ruin your tea if not right.

(they generally are written down on the bag, else the tea-seller would tell you).
Welcome in the Tea World!

 

[noseflute]

hoosierpipeguy : it should work with black teas and oolongs. With other ones, "boiling water" should kill them
badbeard : hahaha! And don't you have smoky BBQ ribs with them ?

 

[glaswegian]

I think the tobacco taste overwhelms most of all teas. I personally always drink british style tea.

Strong black tea with milk and sugar. Works well with every style of tobacco. If I would drink some chai

I would pair it with Orientalblends with a hint of Latakia.

 

[jamban]

I love tea. My favourites are aged raw pu erh, Wu Yi rock tea, and liu bao. Even better are these from old or ancient trees, or wild trees. As far as pairing goes, i find raw pu erh and virginias harmonise well. Rock tea and oolongs with latakia blends. Glad to see that there are others out there with a passion for real tea and tobacco.

 

[npod]

THANK YOU! All.
This is fun. I have something new to explore. I appreciate all the nuggets of information.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Thanks insecure.

 

[jamban]

If anyone wants to talk tea, i am happy to do so any time. I find many similarities between drinking tea and smoking pipe tobacco, especially if you are brewing tea the traditional way with a small tea pot.

 

[troyniss]

I'll double agree with 'just pouring boiling water and let it steep' ruins the tea.
Not all teas require the water to be boiling.
I know for instance that most green teas and whites are between 175-195F , the lowest I've seen is 165F.

However black teas are usually around 195F and up, but also this depends on the blend.
You'll often find that if you let any tea steep too long, even with correct temperature, it increases the astringency which ultimately makes it too bitter to drink, but hey, some people dig that sorta thing.
If you want your tea to be stronger, don't just think you can steep it longer-- actually you should add more tea, if not double it if you so choose and continue to steep at its normal time.
I think noseflute hit the nail on the head with the varieties you should try first.
Just like tobaccos, a lot of vendors sell blends that are considered a dessert tea, or aromatic in the tobacco world. These usually contain but not limited to: dehydrated fruit, nuts, natural or artificial flavoring, sweet herbs of various kinds, etc. These are generally really sweet and don't require anything else. I recommend staying away from these and get a straight tea or lightly infused tea.
Earl Grey and Jasmine teas are probably middle of the road; they don't contain very much 'essence'.

Like a casing, Earl Grey is basically an English breakfast infused with Italian bergamot.

Any jasmine tea is infused with jasmine flowers. Not directly applied to the tea itself, but kept in the same room as the jasmine flowers, and during a certain time, the flowers open up and release their 'scent' and the tea soaks it up.

Other than that there is nothing really added to them, so I think you could probably try these later on.

 

[irishearl]

Getting into tea can be somewhat analogous to the pipe hobby. As with piping where a big part of the enjoyment of the smoke is the enjoyment of the smoking conveyance-the pipe-so, too a big part of my enjoyment of tea is the vessel it's poured into. Have slowed down in my collecting of tea pots some time ago but managed to accumulate a dozen, most with matching cups. Western, Japanese and Chinese styles.