Tea and coffee in fine dining? Chef shares beverage pairing rules, Indian dishes to go with, and brew types

Hindustan Times

13 hours ago

Swirling wine at a posh dining table alongside an equally fine gourmet meal has long been the vision of fine dining. Enter tea and coffee, your everyday beverages that have now stepped into the fine dining scene. Whether they will wobble wine's long-standing reign over high-end dining remains to be seen. But even beyond fine dining, tea and coffee bring a familiar touch to the table and your palate, even for everyday meals.
In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Chef Sagar Sarkar, Corporate Head Chef, Bellona Hospitality, shared how tea and coffee are rising as beverage options for fine dining.
Talking about the rapid surge in popularity, he elaborated, 'On the contemporary fine dining platform, tea and coffee are fast becoming modern pairing alternatives that wine once enjoyed. From New York to New Delhi, iconic chefs and sommeliers are crafting non-alcoholic pairing menus featuring these scented beverages back to health-aware consumers, cultural traditions, and increased emphasis on responsible use.'
But before we head on to explore the nitty-gritty of tea and coffee pairing, let's address the elephant in the room with this popularity- whether tea or coffee might replace the most popular beverage, wine, in fine dining pairings.
The chef, however, assured that wine is here to stay and clarified, addressing the cultural nuances. Sagar said, "Though not substituting for wine, tea and coffee have become suitable pairing partners at fine dining. They bring flavour interest, temperature contrast, and cultural interest, particularly in cultures where alcohol would not be served with the meal. Their addition demonstrates an intention to move towards inclusive meals that every palate can enjoy. But the tea and coffee combination is more than a craze, it's a new culinary experience. Whether at a high-end restaurant or at home with your own dinner party, these modest beverages are revealing new flavour bases for experience."
Chef Sagar Sarkar shared a detailed guide, covering all the essentials, from the rules of beverage pairing and Indian foods to pair with, to the ideal brew types for each pairing:
Similar to wine, tea and coffee pairings are based on a number of fundamental principles:
Balance flavour to reach harmony (delicate desserts with floral jasmine tea), or contrast to reach sophistication (sweet pastries with bitter coffee).
No sommelier is necessary to perform this at home. Begin by determining your dish's prevailing flavours, then pair with the coffee or tea that complements or counterbalances them. Here are a few hot Indian pairings:
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