Mooncake and tea pairings

Still worrying about what to buy for your father or that really old school fifth aunt from your fiancée’s family?

Fret not because teapasar is here with the best mooncake and tea combo recommendations that will get you those illustrious nods of approval this mid-autumn festival!

Lotus Seed Mooncake

Starting with the most luxurious and one of the popular must-haves in Singapore we have the white lotus seed mooncake which originated from the Canton region. Known for the labour intensive production process, high quality lotus seed paste is often silky smooth and light to taste with a floral aroma that matches perfectly with the traditional golden brown baked pastry.

Pair with: Oolong or raw pu’er

By complementing the floral fragrance of the mooncake with the toasty notes of oolong and grassy aroma of pu’er, the palate is not overwhelmed with flavours and refreshed with every alternate bite and sip; easily allowing one(us) to gobble up the mooncake in one sitting while chatting up a storm with relatives.

Recommendations:

• Light of Tea series – Abundance trio from Jing Sheng Yu, SGD 72.00
• Yue Zhong Gui Oolong Tea from Parchmen & Co., SGD 17.00

Red Bean Mooncake

On top of the natural sweetness, red bean mooncakes have a more earthy and savoury taste profile. Regardless of the pastry that envelops this delicious red bean filling, it is reminiscent of so many childhood snacks and desserts we grew up with, making it a very versatile and familiar flavour of mooncake to work with.

Pair with: Oolong, white tea and Japanese green tea

For those gifting to more traditional Chinese families, we recommend oolong and white tea as the fruity flavour in both teas will cut through any cloying sweetness while beautifully matching the nutty taste of the red bean filling. However, for the less conservative, try Japanese green teas instead to lift the fragrance of red bean with the deeper and more robust flavours of teas like sencha or matcha. There is a reason why Japanese desserts often match red bean and green teas together after all.

Recommendations:

• Premium Alishan Jin Xuan Oolong Tea 高山阿里山金宣茶 from Full Leaf MY, SGD 34.00
• White tea Nespresso compatible tea capsules from Teaory, SGD 30.00
• “Midori”- Exclusive and Rare Japanese Sencha from Chill Tea Tokyo, SGD 67.80

Snow Skin Mooncakes

In spite of the delicate flavours of the mochi like skin, the drastically different flavours of the fillings for snow skin mooncakes makes this a really challenging match to make. With a wide and ever expanding range that includes dessert inspired custards, strong flavours like durian and coffee or even alcoholic infusions and trendy bubble tea creations, the snow skin mooncake demands a match that is more subtle and refreshing.

Pair with: Fruity iced tea

Instead of the usual hot teas, try iced teas that have a low caffeine level such as zesty fruit teas or tisanes. Serving as a less jarring match to the coolness of snow skin mooncakes, we recommend chilled fruit flavoured red and black teas that can stand up to more unusual flavours of mooncake filings; a sure fire way to guarantee an excellent gastronomic experience for your gift recipients.

Recommendations:

• Evening Calm from Tily Tea, SGD 16.90
• Fruit Basket from Tea Depot, SGD 20.00

Mooncakes with Salted Egg Yolks

More commonly seen in baked mooncakes, the addition of salted egg yolks helps to balance out the cloying sweetness of the filling, giving it an additional fragrance that is satisfyingly savoury. However, this makes the mooncakes even more heaty than it already is, especially if the filling is something like taro or chocolate.

Pair with: Herbal tea

To counter the effects, go with a light, cooling herbal tea like chrysanthemum which will not overpower the taste of the mooncake in any way. In the event that you are gifting this combination to a family with children, you can advice them to steep the tea with goji berries or add in some honey before serving to mellow out the herbal flavour and match the sweetness of the mooncakes.

Recommendations:

• Premium Snow Chrysanthemum from Tea Cottage, SGD 19.90
• Cooling Yellow from Juan Tea, SGD 6.50

If you are still unsure of what to purchase even after reading through all of this, why don’t you consider our EV Series Mooncake Gift Set?

Launched by the I’mable Collective, this Gift Set is brought to you by Metta Café, MINDS, and teapasar. This collaboration sees Metta Café and MINDS combining their expertise in baking with teapasar’s quality tea set and tea leaves which are packed by persons with disabilities.

More than just a box of mooncakes, each Gift Set you purchase goes a long way in enabling lives and building a more inclusive society.

For purchases of 3 or more boxes, you can even use the coupon code “EV10OFF” for 10% off. Click here to purchase and find out more!