Soft Cheese and Tea Pairings

Soft cheeses, with their delicate textures and buttery flavors, call for equally refined tea pairings that enhance their richness without overwhelming their subtlety. Let’s explore the perfect infusions to complement these melt-in-your-mouth delights.

Rocamadour PDO & Kabuse Sencha

Small but mighty, Rocamadour is a soft cheese from the Southwest of France. It is made from raw unpasteurized goat’s milk and might remind you of a camembert. As it ages, it becomes softer (you can see mine wasn’t so young in the picture) and the flavour intensifies. An unusual combination, the strong umami flavour of Kabuse Sencha cuts and balances out the acidity of an aged Rocamadour. The Kabuse’s rich body also complements the intense creaminess of the cheese for an indulgent pairing.

Chaource PDO & Sencha of the Earth

With a soft and smooth texture, Chaource is made from whole milk from Aube region in the East of France. This is the only cow’s milk cheese with a lactic curd and bloomy rind that has this tall cylindrical form. This is due to the shape of the mould used when draining the curd. Made from zairai leaves (seed grown), Sencha of the Earth is a high quality unshaded spring tea with an expert balance of umami and astringency, highlited by notes of hay and chamomile. The two products offer a smooth texture and boost each other, creating a bold and rewarding duo.

Petit Pouligny Saint-Pierre PDO & Sencha of the Brightness

Recognizable by its ivory white colour and pyramid shape, Petit Pouligny Saint-Pierre comes from the Berry region in Centre-Val-de-Loire and is France’s oldest goat cheese PDO. It has a creamy and melty texture with lactic, mushroom and fresh hazelnut notes. With its vegetal character and medium body, Sencha of the Brightness, a shaded summer sencha, accentuates the goat and woodland flavours of this cheese for a fresh and sharp tasting experience.

Délice des Deux Sèvres & Natural Needle Oolong

Originating from the Poitou-Charentes region in France, Delice des Deux Sèvres is an oval-shaped goat’s cheese with a grey ashy rind. It is also assistant manager Katrina’s favourite cheese. Natural Needle Oolong has dark green leaves but a characteristic orange coloured liquor. This fragrant and slightly bitter tea delights with intial hints of umami and a jasmine aftertaste, which pair delightfully with the soft lactic and tart goat flavours of the cheese . Brew this delicate oolong lightly to extract only the sweeter notes, or at high temperatures for a stronger brew!

Saint-Félicien & Hojicha Gold

An extremely soft cheese made from cow’s milk, Saint-Félicien comes from Rhône-Alpes region and is sold directly in brown ceramic molds (like in the picture below). With such a melty body, you could eat Saint-Félicien with a spoon or easily spread it on some bread for a savoury snack. To accompany this unusual cheese, you can brew an equally unusual tea: Hojicha Gold, which is made from high quality sencha (instead of bancha) that is then roasted after processing. Make sure to brew this hojicha for only a few seconds as it can become quite bitter if it is overbrewed. When brewed ideally, its fragrant and roasted character shines through, to juxtapose perfectly with the cheese’s rich and buttery flavours.

Livarot PDO & Fern Shoot Wakoucha

Livarot is a soft cheese with a washed rind from Normandy, recognizable by its light orange colour and 3 to 5 stripes of natural reeds which gave it its “colonel” nickname. These are used to avoid the cheese sagging. Made from Normande breed of cow (or cow cultivar if you’re too deep in tea knowledge). Beware! This cheese has a strong smell as George discovered during the office’s Christmas party. To pair with this intense cheese, we need a tea whose flavour will not be dimmed. A rare Japanese black tea, Fern Shoot Wakoucha has just the character to match Livarot cheese. The animal and hay traits of Livarot are artfully counterbalanced by the chocolate, honey and cinnamon notes of the Fern Shoot Wakoucha.

Have you heard about Cheese Knights? While this might sound like a joke, there are very real associations called “Confrérie des Chevaliers” or in english “Brotherhood of the Knights” for specific cheeses whose aim is to eat and share the love for them. They promote the producers by hosting events throughout different cities. They are very very fashionable and each confrérie has their own specific uniform and saying. Examples of cheeses represented by a brotherhood include Gruyère PDO, Saint-Nectaire PDO, Petit Pouligny Saint-Pierre PDO. This phenomenon of food related brotherhoods is not unique to cheese and also includes wines, truffles, etc.

Now that you know all about French cheeses and Japanese teas, impress your friends at your next tea event by bringing the wonderful gift of cheese!

I want to say a huge thank you for cheese supply to Eliott who gifted most of the cheeses and without who this blog would not have been possible. Thank you for tasting notes and photography support to George, Moe, Katrina (AM #8), Mac (AM #5), Marilena, and Marcello (AM #7), and for lovely tea and cheese sharing moments to Sara (#152), Alayna (#186), CC (#183), Beatrice (#182), Mia, Eva (#188), Joshua (#187), Hiro-san and Akky-san.

– Alix (assistant manager #6)