Harnessing the rich tapestry of flavor profiles found across tea, independent producers like the Copenhagen Sparkling Tea Company and Saicho craft expressive cuvées that rival your favorite bubbles in complexity and depth, providing a tapestry of flavor and that palate-prickling effervescence we associate with good times, better company, and a flute of Champagne in hand. With the IWSR projecting a 7% growth in the no-alcohol category by 2027, it seems natural that names like Fortnum & Mason and venerable wine merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd are also jumping on the trend.

In pursuit of the best possible product, Kocemba hand-brews all the teas so he can control temperatures and how long the tea brews before blending. “When I build a flavor, we have to bear in mind, I come from the wine world,” he says. “My way of tasting different varieties is based on how I would approach a wine. I work with the attack, the middle palate, and then the aftertaste. All three different items are very important to creating a complex tasting experience.”

At Saicho, Chiu prefers cold brewing. “When you hot brew, you generally have a much shorter time in terms of the brewing process and you extract very different flavor profiles,” she says. Cold brewing allows her to extract the flavor components while preventing too much astringency from creeping in and gives the flavors time to settle. Like coffee, chocolate, and, most famously, wine, tea holds a sense of place. As they tasted hundreds of teas from tea gardens across China, India, and Japan, Chiu and Winkworth-Smith marveled at the differences not only between tea gardens but different plots. They decided single-origin teas were the way forward for Saicho—and like the world’s great wine crus, these bubbly brews effortlessly speak of the soils and climate they were grown in. Whether you’re coming from the world of wine or exploring new avenues in tea, Chiu’s focus on terroir and Kocemba’s artful blending make their sparkling teas a natural pairing with a variety of cuisines.

How to Pair Sparkling Tea With Food

Creating complementary food and drink pairings is an art. “Sparkling tea can start a meal and it can finish it,” explains Kocemba, much like sparkling wine. “It’s very good as an aperitif, it’s very good with hors d’oeuvres or charcuterie.” He notes the style’s affinity for Asian flavors, sushi, and shellfish, as well as spicy dishes, a fact echoed by Chiu.