Zen Zen Thé: Sparkling Tea, Cold Brew & Taiwanese Gastronomy

Introduction

During my visit to Zen Zen Thé in Taichung, I discovered a tea experience curated down to the smallest detail: Taiwanese marble, lighting inspired by misty mountain landscapes, Japanese-inspired minimalism, and a deep sense of calmness shaping the entire tasting experience.

What fascinated me most, however, was Benjamin and Blue’s exploration of sparkling tea and cold-brew tea — and especially tasting the same tea both hot- and cold brewed. It was extraordinary to experience how warmth completely transformed the tea: aromatics expanded, textures deepened, and entirely new dimensions emerged in the cup.

Beyond the tea house itself, Benjamin also curates the tea pairings at EnPure, where sparkling teas and cold brews accompany a reinterpretation of Taiwanese cuisine through a contemporary gastronomic lens.

The following questions were developed following our conversations and tasting session.

1. Tea Beyond the Traditional Experience

Zen Zen Thé feels less like a traditional tea shop and more like a complete sensory experience where space, design, tea, and silence interact together.

When did you begin envisioning tea not simply as a beverage, but as an immersive contemporary experience?

In traditional tea ceremonies, crafting the perfect atmosphere has always been paramount. However, more often than not, it can feel like a carefully staged performance—overly formal and rigid—which ultimately distances tea from modern life.

My vision of tea as a "contemporary immersive experience" actually stems from a deep reflection on the essence of flavour. The flavour profiles of tea are incredibly nuanced, delicate, and fleeting. To truly capture them, one needs a space where clutter is stripped away and unnecessary noise is silenced, allowing the senses to fully focus.

Instead of being performers on a stage, we want to act as "flavour guides."

At Zen Zen Thé, the minimalism and silence of our space are not for show; they are designed to hit the "mute" button on the outside world for our guests. We lead everyone who walks through our doors to observe and explore the hidden layers of each cup, much like discovering a breathtaking, uncharted landscape—from the top notes and mid-tones to the lingering finish.

When guests are no longer just passive observers of a ritual, but active participants unlocking the subtle aromas and tasting notes for themselves, tea ceases to be a mere drink. It evolves into a deeply personal, sensory journey that perfectly resonates with contemporary living.

2. The Philosophy Behind Zen Zen Thé

Every detail inside Zen Zen Thé feels intentional — from the Taiwanese marble to the lighting evoking misty mountain landscapes.

What emotions or atmosphere did you hope people would experience when entering this space?

Every element inside the space is a physical extension of the teafields themselves. In the world of premium tea, terroir—the unique combination of soil, climate, and geography—is absolutely paramount to shaping the ultimate flavour profile of the leaves.

By seamlessly weaving these terroir elements directly into our interior design, we wanted to bridge the gap between the cup and the land. When guests step into Zen Zen Thé, they aren't just entering a tea room; they are being transported to the origin.

3. Hot Brew vs Cold Brew

One of the most fascinating moments during the tasting was discovering the same tea, both hot and cold brewed. The hot infusions revealed deeper aromatics and evolving complexity, while the cold brews felt calmer, softer, and more restrained.

What inspired you to explore tea through these different temperatures and extraction methods?

To us, tea leaves are like exceptional raw ingredients. Just as a chef uses different culinary techniques to reveal distinct characters from the same ingredient, we view brewing through that exact lens. Temperature and extraction are our ways of "cooking" the tea. Changing the method reshapes the entire flavour profile.

By exploring these contrasting temperatures, we demonstrate that tea is never one-dimensional, offering a panoramic understanding of what a single leaf can achieve.

4. How Temperature Shapes Tea

During the tasting, it became clear how dramatically warmth transforms tea — almost like revealing a different personality of the leaf.

Do you think temperature changes not only the flavour profile of tea, but also the emotional experience and perception of it?

As the temperature rises, richer characteristics gradually unfold, much like the process of unwrapping a gift. It serves as a gentle reminder to slow down and to discover its unique personality at our own unhurried pace.

5. Tea Sourcing, Selection & Craftsmanship

Your teas express very distinct personalities depending on cultivar, roasting, and processing style.

How do you source and select your teas, and what defines a tea that truly reflects the Zen Zen Thé philosophy?

We believe that the flavour of tea is a direct reflection of the land’s vitality. This is why we seek out tea gardens practiced in sustainable, eco-friendly farming; when you treat the earth and the tea trees with respect, they reward you with the most exceptional and distinctive flavours. From there, we use our own roasting techniques to shape the tea's best features.

6. Sparkling Tea & Tea Identity

Many sparkling beverages lose the identity of the original ingredient, yet your sparkling teas still feel unmistakably connected to the tea itself.

How do you approach creating sparkling teas that preserve the soul, texture, and complexity of the original leaf?

Many sparkling teas on the market lose their original character to heat processing and additives. At Zen Zen Thé, we treat this as a challenge of craft innovation. When developing this sparkling tea, our goal was to maintain a completely zero-additive approach, ensuring that we preserve the original, distinct character of the tea even after introducing the effervescence. Rather than settling for conventional pasteurisation that compromises the leaf's delicate traits, we invest in an advanced High-Pressure Processing (HPP) and precise gas-blending method.

By avoiding harsh thermal treatment, we lock the tea’s authentic aroma and texture.

7. Research & Experimentation

Your sparkling teas reveal a significant amount of experimentation — from carbonation levels to cultivar selection, roasting, and extraction.

How much research and testing go into developing these teas, and what have been some of the biggest challenges in translating tea into sparkling or cold brew form?

While there are many sparkling teas on the market, we hold ourselves to two uncompromising principles: first, the beverage must fully express the authentic, original character of the tea; second, the effervescence must be as elegant and refined as fine champagne, never harsh like soda. 

Take our Red Oolong Sparkling Tea as an example. Initially, we used a conventional hot-brew method combined with thermal sterilisation. However, this left the quality inconsistent and brought out overly sharp, woodsy notes. To modify this, we transitioned to extracting the tea through a cold-brew method and sterilising it using the HPP technique. This pivot transformed the flavour profile, making it beautifully soft and elegant—a true reflection of the Zen Zen Thé philosophy.

8. Tea Pairing & Reinterpreted Taiwanese Cuisine

At En Pure, your cold brew and sparkling teas accompany a reinterpretation of Taiwanese cuisine in a way that feels completely different from traditional wine pairing.

How do you approach pairing tea with food, and what possibilities do sparkling tea and cold brew offer that wine perhaps cannot?

When designing tea and food pairings, we actually start by considering two things: texture and flavour weight. I often use music as a metaphor for pairing.

If we imagine a dish's cooking method, sauce concentration, and aromatic intensity as scales on different instruments, there will naturally be high, middle, and low notes. The first step in pairing is not to look at the aromas, but to see if they belong to similar scales and weights.

But even more important than the scale is the timbre. To me, timbre is essentially texture.

For instance, High Mountain Oolong is round, smooth, and delicate, making it a perfect match for fresh ingredients like fish and shellfish. On the other hand, Dong Ding Oolong, with its heavier roasting, is better suited for richer meats like beef and pork. Ruby Black Tea, featuring distinct notes of spice and ripe fruit, often achieves a beautiful balance with rich poultry like duck.

 Therefore, in the pairing logic of En Pure, we always prioritise "texture first."

 If a beverage destroys the textural perception of the food, even the most beautiful aromatic pairing loses its meaning. We hope that through tea, the original texture of the ingredients is preserved—or even amplified—rather than overshadowed.

This is also where the greatest difference between tea and wine lies. Compared to wine, tea is a more subtle and elegant beverage.

While its flavour profiles can be incredibly complex, its overall weight and concentration are typically lower than those of alcohol. Consequently, tea often possesses a greater sense of inclusivity when it comes to pairings. I often describe wine pairing as two instruments of similar weight performing a duet.

Tea, however, is more like a stage.

 As the butter, meat juices, charcoal aromas, or sauces in a dish layer upon one another, tea gently unfolds these compressed flavours, making it easier to perceive the finer details. It isn't necessarily adding a new flavour; rather, it is helping the existing flavours be seen.

This is also what makes cold brew tea and sparkling tea particularly fascinating. If wine adds a whole new vocal part on top of the cuisine, then tea is more like amplifying every single voice that already exists within the dish, layer by layer.

This is precisely why we continue to keep tea at the core of our dining experience.

9. The Evolution of Sparkling Tea in Taiwan & Europe

Sparkling tea and tea pairing are still emerging categories globally. Taiwan already has a deeply rooted tea culture, while Europe is only beginning to explore tea in gastronomy and non-alcoholic pairing.

How do you see the evolution of sparkling tea and tea pairing in Taiwan, and how differently do you think these categories may develop in Europe?

I believe the rise of sparkling tea is directly linked to the recent global development of non-alcoholic pairings.

An increasing number of consumers are seeking beverages that are alcohol-free yet still offer complexity, flavour, and pairing capabilities. As a result, sparkling tea is gradually becoming a highly promising category within fine dining.

 However, from my perspective, sparkling tea in the global market is currently evolving in two distinct directions.

 The first approach stems from an everyday beverage perspective.

 To extend shelf life, increase flavour recognition, or improve consumer acceptance, many products add sugar, fruit juice, acidity regulators, or flavourings. These products align more closely with our familiar concepts of sparkling drinks, kombucha, or mocktails. They enjoy great market acceptance and create vivid, direct flavour impressions.

The second direction is the path we have been continuously exploring: To preserve the terroir and original flavour of the tea as much as possible.

In the sparkling teas at Zen Zen, we choose not to add sugar, fruit juice, or any extra flavourings to modify the taste. To us, the bubbles are not the main character; they are a medium to express the tea's inherent flavour. This approach is actually much more difficult.

When there is no sugar or flavouring to lean on, all the flavour must trace back to the tea leaves themselves.

From tea garden management, tea selection, processing, roasting, and ageing, to the final extraction and bottling, every single step is directly reflected in the finished product.

When talking about the development of tea pairing, I believe we will see a very fascinating contrast between Taiwan and Europe in the future.

Taiwan possesses a profound tea-drinking culture, so consumers have a high acceptance of tea and understand that it can carry rich layers of flavour. Yet, within the realm of fine dining, tea has long been viewed merely as a post-meal beverage rather than a pairing partner that stands alongside the cuisine.

Therefore, the greatest challenge for Taiwan in the future is actually establishing a complete language and system for tea pairing, helping consumers understand that tea can engage with the entire dining experience just like wine does.

Europe, on the other hand, presents a completely different scenario.

While Europe lacks the background of Eastern tea culture, it possesses a mature wine and pairing culture.

Consequently, European consumers find it much easier to grasp concepts like terroir, vintage, origin, ageing, and pairing.

In recent years, many Michelin-starred restaurants have begun developing non-alcoholic pairings, allowing tea to step into the dining space originally reserved for wine. For us, this is an incredibly exciting challenge.

How do we guide a European consumer who has never encountered Taiwanese tea to understand it? Through the wine language, they are already familiar with it.

For instance, we can use the flavour frameworks of Champagne, white wine, or rosé as a bridge of communication, allowing them to comprehend the unique personality and terroir of different teas. This is precisely the direction we have been dedicated to in recent years.

I have always believed that the future of sparkling tea goes beyond just being a non-alcoholic beverage. It has the potential to become a whole new vehicle for flavour.

It allows tea to transcend the limitations of brewing utensils and regional cultures to reach the world, all while preserving its most precious core—the authentic flavours accumulated through terroir, craftsmanship, and time.

10. Sparkling Tea & the Future of Hospitality

Sparkling tea is slowly creating a new dialogue between tea culture, gastronomy, and mindful drinking.

Would you be interested in participating in a future Sparkling Tea Festival in Europe, and how would you envision presenting Zen Zen Thé and Taiwanese tea culture within that international conversation?

If our schedule permits, we would certainly consider participating. We hope to use this opportunity to introduce Taiwan tea to the European culinary world and consumers from a fresh perspective, transforming Eastern tea from something distant and esoteric into a beverage that is naturally integrated into modern, daily life.