The complex art of gourmet tea blending and tea-food pairing

You might think a company calling itself Gryphon Tea and specializing in high-end blends would be some uppity European tea house or at least be based in North America. Well you can put those thoughts aside along with your bitter, homogeneous tea bags. Gryphon Tea has its roots in Lim Lam Thye Pte Ltd, which started as a tea trading company in Fujian, China, more than 50 years ago and is now headquartered in Singapore. We catch up with Lim Tian Wee, fourth generation owner of Lim Lam Thye and the man behind Gryphon Tea Company. 

CNNGo: Has it always been your childhood dream to be involved in the family’s tea business?

Lim Tian Wee: Coming from a family of tea merchants who have been in the business since the 1970s, I spent most of my school holidays working in the business, from packaging tea for a daily wage of $5 to working in the warehouse and making deliveries. As a child, I never thought I would launch my own brand of teas one day. After graduation, I actually worked for two different multinational companies before I decided it was time to return to the family’s business. This was when Gryphon Tea Company was born, and I have never looked back since.

The select range from Gryphon Tea.

CNNGo: So, if you hadn't followed the family business, what do you think you'd be doing now?

Lim: As a master tea blender now, I love taking inspirations from familiar tastes and scents and blending them into teas that I can enjoy with friends and family. Therefore, I think I would definitely have become a chef/restaurateur if I had not pursued my passion for tea. I love food and above all I enjoy cooking for others if given the chance.

CNNGo: Gryphon Tea isn't on your typical supermarket shelves. Any reason not to make it more accessible?

Lim: Gryphon Tea can actually be found on retail shelves of selected supermarkets and fine food stores. However, given our gourmet status, we prefer working with foodservice customers and retailing our teas through them. Most of our foodservice customers immediately recognise the value and quality of our teas when they see/taste them. They ultimately become our ambassadors, so retailing our products through them makes perfect sense as they educate the consumers on our behalf.

CNNGo: What on earth's a tea degustation menu?

Lim: A tea degustation menu is a relatively new concept but it has since been very well received by tea drinkers who appreciate the subtle difference between dahong pao (literally translated to "Big Red Robe" in Chinese), a tea grown only in Wuyi Mountains and a regular full-bodied Oolong. We conduct regular training sessions with our customers to impart tea and tea pairing knowledge. As a rule of thumb, tea pairing should encompass harmony and balance in bringing out the best of both the food and tea when enjoyed together. 

CNNGo: What are your favorite teas from Gryphon?

Lim: My current favourite tea is the White Gingerlily. It is one of the latest collection from the Artisan Selection and it embodies the spirit of Gryphon Tea Company as an Asian tea company that offers unique Asian tea flavors.

CNNGo: But isn't a tea just a tea? What makes the White Gingerlily or any other tea different from the rest?

Lim: A tea is never ‘just a tea’ when it comes to any of the Gryphon Tea’s blends. Both white tea collections (White Gingerlily, Nymph of the Nile) in the Artisan Tea Selection get their inspirations from food. Ingredients that are commonly available in Asian kitchens are now available as part of the tea blends. We use ingredients such as sweet basil, galangal (blue ginger), lily bulbs, lotus leaves and eucalyptus to create a tea unique to the identity of Gryphon Tea.

CNNGo: If you were tasked to create a tea blend for CNNGo, what would it be and how would it taste?

Lim: Given that there is a strong Asian focus, I would use a Chinese keemun black tea with Chinese kumquat fruit, Japanese cherry blossom with a dash of cinnamon. The result would be a complex medium-bodied tea, that has hints of caramel and smoke with powdery floral top notes, complemented with fruity sweet undertones of cinnamon and citrus. 

Tian Wee's tips for pairing gourmet teas

When you're having a typical Chinese meal, what's the best way to match different foods and flavors? Tian Wee demystifies the selection process with these handy tips.

• For aperitifs, choose a light-bodied floral tea such as chrysanthemum unsweetened or eight treasures tea to whet the appetite.
• For steamed dishes, I would recommend tea with some light fresh green notes with hint of walnuts and apricots, and peaches. Some of my favorites would be shizouka sencha, xi hu long jin (Westlake dragonwell), or silver needle (a rare white tea).
• For red meats, I would recommend an eight-year-old vintage pu-erh, full-bodied oolong, wuyi keemum. My favorite would have to be a rare Oolong tea from Darjeeling which will go very well with braised wagyu meat. This tea is served exclusively at the Capella Singapore.