By K. A. Laity
"I prefer a nice cup of tea to sex." - Boy George
What could need less thought than your tea and biscuit? Kettle on, package open, insert in mouth. Well, Fox's Biscuits wants you to reconsider everything and to get you to approach tea and biscuit combinations as if you were pairing wine with your dinner. I had my doubts, but I have to say I was won over.
Pearl Lowe hosted the tea party to launch Fox's new Biscuit and Tea Tasting guide, adding a touch of her particular style to the event, but it was the surprise appearance of notorious tea lover Boy George that really brought the point home: some people are just fanatical about tea. And why not? There's no indulgence quite as comforting as a big tea party. Add a little Buck Fizz if anyone feels like they're being deprived somehow.
All it takes is meeting Simon Pope, Fox's biscuit designer and tester, the man who eats over 7000 biscuits a year (no, his job is not available, I asked already). Simon knows all the things about biscuits you never thought to ask as you shovel another one into your mouth. Does a crispy dough match better with this filling or does a cakey one? How much lemon goes into the curd and how much into the cream? Is the ginger ground or pressed? Paired with Simon was Tim Clifton, former Director of the United Kingdom Tea Council, and now apparently freelance tea connoisseur. Tim knows when the leaves were harvested and where, how they were picked and how many leaves there are in the average tea bag. Okay, I lied about the last one, but I bet he would.
And they were right: the biscuits tasted better when paired with the right tea. Simon described to us the process of creating the delicate Viennese Biscuits and Tim gave us some early spring harvest Darjeeling and it was exquisite. While most folks were eager for the cream filled biscuits, I have to say my favourite combination was the crisp golden Ginger Biscuits with an aromatic Chai. The heavenly fragrance of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and whatnot really did enhance the snap of the biscuit.
While I'm not sure B-n-T will ever quite replace the G-n-T, it deserves more respect than that stumbling, half-awake, autopilot pour first thing in the morning. Make it instead your afternoon meditation. Take your time, pair your tea with just the right biscuit and wave away your co-workers with, "Please, it's medicinal."
Image via sankarshan's Flickr