Tea & Food Pairing
Explore how tea pairs with food across cultures and regional cooking. Understand balance, contrast, and how to bring tea and food combinations together with skill and imagination.
Outline
This unit explores how tea can complement or contrast with a wide range of food categories and styles. Learn to build pairings that elevate flavour, cleanse the palate, and create memorable experiences.
This offers a practical guide to pairing tea with food. You’ll learn how astringency, sweetness, umami and acidity interact – and how to use those qualities to pair tea with everything from roast meats to delicate desserts. You’ll explore classic cultural pairings and experiment with imaginative new combinations drawing on traditions from China, Japan, India, the UK and beyond.
You’ll find out how and why the different tea types (green, oolong, black, white) can each enhance a specific food-type in a different way. Herbals are also introduced to broaden the pairing experience and give caffeine-free alternatives. Sample exercises and menus help you apply this pairing logic in real-world settings.
On completion
At the end of this unit, you’ll complete a multiple-choice quiz.
Qualification
Once passed, you’ll receive an OCN London digital badge to demonstrate your understanding of Tea and Food Pairing.
This is a core unit in the Tea Sommelier Award
Snapshot
- Self-guided study online
- £175
Other units in Tea Sommelier Award
In order to achieve the Tea Sommelier Award you must complete all four core units, one optional unit and Final Project. Some of the other units are below.
An exploration of the research on the science behind tea’s health claims. Learn how the evidence stacks up about the effects of tea compounds on heart health and metabolism – without the hype or half-truths.
- Self-guided study online
Matcha is a power-packed, powdered tea that has spread from its Zen roots and reverential status in Japan to fast-moving cafés around the world. Discover the background – from cultivation and processing to modern creative preparation.
- 1 hour live Q&A
- Self-guided study online
Get inside the rituals, service, business and design of a successful afternoon tea. From scones to strategy, explore how this tradition evolved and how to make it work today.
- 1 hour live Q&A
- Self-guided study online
