While drinking tea with whisky is customary across China and Japan, the British have also been enjoying this great combination for centuries.
Now a collection of teas designed to complement exceptional whiskies is arriving in Hong Kong with the launch of Benjamin & Blum at Lane Crawford.
In celebration of the Lunar New Year, Benjamin & Blum will be featured in Lane Crawford’s ‘Gold Pop’ product display, alongside several additional bespoke brands. Each product included will be distinctly golden in color, celebrating the most alluring and auspicious shade of the Chinese New Year.
This exquisite collection ofrare brewed teas from Benjamin & Blum, bottled in gold-decorated decanters and created to complement the very finest whiskies, is now available in Lane Crawford stores in Hong Kong, and is the first in a range of artisanal delicacies that complement fine wines and rare spirits.
Inspired by the royal tradition of pairing whisky with tea to create a long-lasting harmonious beverage, London-based Benjamin & Blum sought out the perfect rare teas to complement ultra-premium whiskies.
An exceptional whisky needs an exceptional tea to create a harmony of flavours, and extensive tastings by industry experts and connoisseurs confirm that the teas release new flavour and aroma notes in mature single-malt whiskies. For those who prefer their tea alongside their whisky instead of mixed, the teas are a perfect accompaniment to a favourite dram.
The rare teas in Benjamin & Blum’s collection include a micro-production White Peony tea, hand-picked from original Chinese rootstock on the high-altitude slopes of Darjeeling, which exhibits hints of peach blossom; and a specially selected Oolong, grown in New Zealand in conditions matching the finest Taiwanese tea gardens. Each tea is carefully brewed in the United Kingdom using Scottish spring water selected for its perfect balance of minerals, and is hand filled into the precious decanter and then sealed with a Czech crystal stopper.
A limited quantity will be made available at Lane Crawford, ensuring the high quality and exclusivity that Benjamin & Blum encapsulates. Benjamin & Blum presentation boxes will retail at HK$ 1,900 for one decanter, and a twin-decanter gift set will retail at HK$ 3,600.
Benjamin & Blum is run by Paul Benjamin, a descendant of Marcus Benjamin, purveyor of fine foods in nineteenth and twentieth century Berlin, and of Friedrich Blum, who supplied exotic imported delicacies to high society in Vienna.
For further information please visit www.benjaminandblum.com