The Art of Pairing: Why Sparkling Tea Has Earned its Place at the World’s Best Tables

At more than 120 Michelin-starred restaurants across 25 countries, something quietly remarkable is happening at the table. Guests are being poured a drink that would have been almost unheard of in fine dining a decade ago: single origin sparkling tea, served chilled in a champagne tulip and treated with the same reverence as anything else on the list.

This is no passing trend. Behind every pour lies a conviction that has guided winemakers, cheesemakers and chefs for generations: that the finest things at the table begin with a singular ingredient, grown somewhere specific and treated with patience and respect.

A Story of Terroir

Ask any sommelier what makes a great bottle, and the conversation turns quickly to terroir: the soil, the altitude, the climate and the human traditions that shape what ends up in the glass. Tea tells exactly the same story. A leaf grown in the misty Himalayan foothills of Darjeeling tastes nothing like one from the mountains of Fujian or the highlands of Shizuoka, and each region carries its own harvest calendar and centuries-old craft.

At Saicho, this is the starting point for everything. Each of our four expressions is made from a hand-selected, single origin tea, chosen because it captures something distinctive about where it comes from. Our Darjeeling is a summer flush black tea from the Himalayan foothills, prized for the muscatel character and gentle tannin that have made the region famous among tea lovers. Our Jasmine begins in Fuding in Fujian province, where spring-picked green tea is scented with summer jasmine flowers, while our Osmanthus layers autumn-harvested Tie Guan Yin oolong with fresh osmanthus blossoms in traditional bamboo baskets, a scenting technique refined over centuries. And our Hojicha is a roasted sencha from Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan, trading grassy freshness for warm notes of hazelnut, roasted chestnut and delicate smoke.

No two of these teas could ever be mistaken for one another, and that diversity is precisely what makes tea such a rewarding companion at the table. There is an expression for every course and every occasion.

Unlocking the Aromatics

The character of a great tea lives in a fine balance. A gentle bitterness is part of its charm, the pleasant grip that makes tea so satisfying alongside food, but it should sit in harmony with the aromatics. Brew too hot or too fast and that balance collapses: the perfume is scorched away and only harshness remains.

This is why every Saicho expression is cold brewed for a full 24 hours in pristine Shropshire spring water. Cold brewing is slow by design. Over the course of a day, the water gently coaxes out the tea’s most delicate aromas, the florals, the stone fruit, the toasted notes, while leaving harshness behind. The result is a drink of extraordinary clarity and complexity, which we then gently sparkle.

The bubbles are not decoration. They carry the aromas to the nose and refresh the palate between bites. And they do something harder to measure: bubbles signal occasion. The rise of the sparkle in the glass, the first toast of the evening. Saicho is crafted for those moments, made to honour the gathering and keep it flowing.

The Art of Pairing

It is one thing for a drink to taste pleasant on its own; it is another for it to hold its shape next to a langoustine dressed in yuzu or a slow-roasted piece of Iberico pork. This is where sparkling tea has proven itself. Through our Art of Pairing collaborations with Michelin-starred chefs and leading sommeliers, our teas have been matched across entire tasting menus, each expression chosen for a course the way a considered flight would be built. At BiBi in Mayfair, Chef Chet Sharma paired Jasmine’s soft florals with Orkney scallop, the tea drawing out the shellfish’s natural sweetness, while Hojicha’s toasted depth met the char of his Lahori chicken. At Tresind Studio in Dubai, the world’s first three Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, Chef Himanshu Saini matched Darjeeling’s wood spice to his signature crab ghee roast baked in cinnamon bark, its gentle, dry tannin balancing the warmth of the dish. And in Hong Kong, from Feuille to NOI, the series continues to show that there is a Saicho for every kitchen.

What began as an experiment in a handful of kitchens has become a fixture at some of the most celebrated restaurants in the world, not as a concession, but as a considered choice made on flavour alone.

Pairing Suggestions For Your Own Table

The good news is that none of this requires a tasting menu. The same thinking works beautifully at home, whether the occasion is a milestone dinner, a long Sunday lunch or a Friday evening with friends.

Jasmine. Apple, lychee and vanilla wrapped in white flower fragrance. Pour it with spicy salads, creamy desserts or elderflower jellies, anywhere a little floral lift is welcome.

Hojicha. Nori seaweed, roasted hazelnut and delicate smoke with earthy depth. A beautiful match for sushi and mushroom dishes, where its savoury character finds its mirror.

Darjeeling. Mandarin, ginger and wood spice with elegant muscatel notes. Its gentle grip makes it perfect alongside grilled meats and roasted vegetables, resetting the palate between bites.

Osmanthus. Honeyed apricot, custard apple and mountain cucumber. Pairs beautifully with roasted duck, and just as happily with a crisp garden salad.

Make it a moment. Whichever you pour, chill well, serve in a champagne tulip and add a little ceremony. Half the pleasure of a fine tea is in the nose; the other half is in the company, because a bottle opened at the table is an invitation to slow down, share and linger.

Bringing People Together

For centuries, tea and gastronomy developed side by side on opposite ends of the world: Europe refining its language of terroir and craftsmanship, Asia perfecting the art of the leaf. Saicho was founded by husband-and-wife team Charlie and Natalie Winkworth-Smith to bring those traditions together in a single glass: Charlie rooted in Britain’s culture of craft and innovation, Natalie raised in Hong Kong, where tea flows through daily life. What they share is a belief that the best moments happen when people gather around a table with something special to pour.

That, in the end, is what the art of pairing is really about. Not rules, but connection: food, drink and stories coming together to make a meal memorable.

If you are curious to taste what that means in practice, we would love to pour for you at Drinks with Benefits in New York this September, where our full collection of single origin sparkling teas will be available to try alongside thoughtfully paired food. Come and discover why the world’s best tables have made room for tea, and why yours should too.

Saicho is the world’s finest sparkling tea. Celebration, redefined. Founded by husband-and-wife team Charlie and Natalie Winkworth-Smith, each expression is made from hand-selected, single origin tea, cold brewed for 24 hours in pristine Shropshire spring water and gently sparkled. Discover the collection at saichodrinks.com.