Today my mom purchased some taiyaki (fish shaped cakes with sweet red bean inside) from a popular local shop. I ate the taiyaki with tama-ryokucha (spherical green tea) from Ureshino city, Saga that is produced using the steaming method.
:: Today’s recipe ::
Tea leaves 6g
Water 200ml
Temperature About 80℃ (175℉)
Steeping time 1 minute
Today’s combination of taiyaki and green tea tasted very nice.
I recently read a special feature about Japanese tea in a magazine. The article mentioned some ideas to pair food with tea; having a similar or contrasting flavor. For example, when you eat rice balls, a tea that’s sweet matches the sweetness of rice.
Today’s tea has a refreshing bitterness and also a slight roasted aroma. The bitterness contrasts with the sweetness of the red beans and the nice roasted flavor complements the crust of the taiyaki. That’s why I think this combination is particularly tasty. 🤔 It appears that there are many other combinations and I would like to learn many more! The most important thing is that they are flavors that work well the palate. If so, I’m sure any pairing would be fine. ☺️
I wish you all a nice tea time and happy experimenting with different pairings!
