How to Pair Tea and Cheese

Any time I see something combined with tea, I feel like my life reaches a new level of completion. It happened when I found Steep’d, a series of wines infused with teas, and when I found tea-infused chocolates. So when I discovered TeaHive cheese, you can imagine how excited I was. TeaHive is a cheddar-style cow’s milk cheese from Beehive Cheese. The rind is rubbed with black tea and bergamot, then the entire package is matured for eight months. When you cut into it, you get both the citrusy floral notes of earl grey and the joy of a sweet, creamy cheddar. Sadly, my local cheese shop no longer stocks it. So while I wait for my online orders to arrive, I’ve been getting a bit more creative about cheese and tea pairings. The next time you sit down with a steamy cuppa, don’t be afraid to grab a slice of cheese. As a Certified Tea Specialist who also adores cheese, these are my favorites to pair.

Green Tea and Chevre

The grassy quality of green tea can also make it taste a little bitter, so counteract that aspect with a creamy cheese that also has a bit of a grassiness to it. Goat cheese is perfect for this—the creaminess tames any bitter notes from the tea and the underlying earthiness of the chèvre pulls out the more delicate grass flavors and aromas.

Black Tea and Blue Cheese

You can take a cue from TeaHive and pair black tea with a cheddar, but a mild blue cheese will tackle the robust astringency in many black teas with just as powerful a punch. Staying mild is important, though; if your blue cheese is too strong, it can make the bold flavors in black tea a little too overwhelming on your palate.

White Tea and Burrata

White tea is minimally processed, so pair that with something equally light in texture and taste—that way neither will overpower the other. A burrata, mozzarella on the outside and a soft stracciatella and cream interior, is a great pairing. The milkiness will tame any unruly flavors in both the cheese and tea, while allowing more delicate notes to seep through.

Pu’erh Tea and Aged Gouda

Pu’erh is a fermented tea and often has a pretty strong smoky or earthy flavor. You’ll want to pick a cheese that isn’t drowned out by the flavor profile of the tea. So try something sharp that cuts through it, like an aged gouda. Not only will you have the flavors of both cheese and tea shining through, but the nuttiness of each will complement one another.

For Herbal Tea, It Depends

Finding a cheese to pair with herbal tea can be pretty difficult. Depending on the type of herbal tea, you’ll want to find something that shares similar qualities but doesn’t sour the taste. Think about the herbs in your tea and what they’d normally be paired with, then choose a tea that reflects that. So mint tea, for example, would go especially well with mascarpone or cream cheese, an ingredient that’s often featured in desserts made with mint.