Virtually everything that you have read learned and experienced in the past about wine pairings will apply to your tea pairings as well. The only true differences are that you have the added dimension of heat for your tea, which can play an important role in mouth feel (think about how warmth impacts soft cheeses or chocolate on your palette), and you do not have acidity in your teas, which can play an important role in wine pairings. Tannins and astringency can play a very parallel role to wine’s acidity when pairing.
In the wine world, pairing by origin (if it grows together it goes together!) is a guideline that is heavily depended on. This can be used with tea, but would be far too limiting since this would limit the ingredients and styles of cuisine that we can pair against. The ideal scenario is to taste and determine pairings for yourself!
Mouth feel and texture are very important. Does the tea feel full-bodied or rich on the palette, or is it lighter and cleaner? What are the tannin levels? Similarly, does the food feel, rich, light or in-between? What are the intensity of the flavors in your tea and food? Are they sharp, hot and pungent, or are they soft, subtle and delicate?
