What Tea Goes Best with Mooncakes? A Mid-Autumn Tea Pairing Guide

Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for gathering with family, admiring the full moon and sharing mooncakes. Alongside your favourite mooncakes, a well-chosen pot of tea can make the whole tasting experience even more enjoyable.

Lava custard, double-yolk white lotus seed paste, red bean, mixed-nut and snow skin mooncakes all have different levels of sweetness, richness and aroma. Different styles of tea can therefore bring out different sides of each mooncake.

This Mid-Autumn Festival, Hong Kong Tea House has put together a simple “Mooncake × Tea” pairing guide featuring Taiwan oolong, Wuyi rock tea, Pu-erh, black tea and Longjing green tea, making it easier to choose a tea to enjoy with your favourite mooncakes.

These pairings are tasting suggestions only. Mooncake recipes, sweetness and flavour profiles vary between brands, so feel free to adjust according to your personal preference.

Mid-Autumn Mooncake & Tea Pairing at a Glance

1. Lava Custard & Salted Egg Yolk Mooncakes × Taiwan Li Shan Tea / Alishan Jin Xuan Tea

Lava custard mooncakes usually have pronounced creamy and salted egg yolk flavours, giving them a particularly rich character. Taiwan oolong teas such as Taiwan Li Shan Tea and Alishan Jin Xuan Tea are good pairing options.

Try taking a small bite of mooncake followed by a slow sip of tea, allowing the richness of the filling and the aroma of the tea to alternate as you taste.

Recommended teas:
Taiwan Li Shan Tea
Alishan Jin Xuan Tea

2. White Lotus Seed Paste & Double-Yolk Mooncakes × Premium Da Hong Pao / King of Pu-erh Tea

White lotus seed paste and double-yolk mooncakes are among the most traditional Mid-Autumn flavours. Their sweet lotus seed paste and salted egg yolk create a rich and substantial taste.

If you prefer a tea with a stronger presence, consider Premium Da Hong Pao . Its Wuyi rock tea character and fuller-bodied liquor make it a natural companion to richer traditional mooncakes.

Another classic choice is King of Pu-erh Tea . After a Mid-Autumn dinner, enjoying a small piece of traditional mooncake with a pot of Pu-erh is a simple and familiar pairing.

Premium Da Hong Pao brewing guide:
Tea: approximately 7–10g
Water temperature: 95–100°C
First infusion: approximately 20–25 seconds; gradually extend subsequent infusions according to taste

3. Red Bean & Tangerine Peel Red Bean Mooncakes × Taiwan Oriental Beauty / Lapsang Souchong

Red bean mooncakes usually have a noticeable sweetness, while tangerine peel versions may offer an additional aromatic dimension.

One option is Taiwan Oriental Beauty . Its honeyed and ripe-fruit aroma can complement the sweet fragrance of red bean and bean-paste fillings.

If you prefer black tea, try Wuyi Tongmuguan Lapsang Souchong as an alternative to oolong or Pu-erh.

4. Snow Skin & Fruit Mooncakes × Taiwan White Peach Oolong / Pre-Qingming Lion Peak Longjing

Snow skin and fruit-flavoured mooncakes generally feel lighter than traditional lotus seed paste mooncakes, so the tea pairing can also move in a fresher direction.

Taiwan White Peach Oolong is a natural option for fruit-flavoured mooncakes. If you enjoy Chinese green tea, you can also choose Pre-Qingming Lion Peak Longjing .

Pre-Qingming Lion Peak Longjing features bean, chestnut and fresh tea aromas. Its liquor is fresh, smooth and mellow, giving it a lighter overall character.

Pre-Qingming Lion Peak Longjing brewing guide:
Tea: approximately 2–3g / 150ml
Water temperature: 80–85°C
First infusion: approximately 60 seconds

5. Mixed-Nut Mooncakes × Premium Da Hong Pao / King of Pu-erh Tea

Mixed-nut mooncakes can contain sesame, nuts and a variety of traditional ingredients, creating a relatively complex and full flavour.

For this style of mooncake, consider Premium Da Hong Pao , or choose King of Pu-erh Tea if you prefer a deeper and more traditional tea character.

If your family is serving several kinds of traditional mooncakes, both teas can also work well as shared teas for the evening.

6. Osmanthus & Floral Mooncakes × Taiwan Osmanthus Oolong / Taiwan Oriental Beauty

Modern mooncakes now come in an increasingly wide range of flavours, including osmanthus, floral and fruit-inspired varieties.

If the mooncake itself has an osmanthus aroma, try Taiwan Osmanthus Oolong , allowing the floral aroma of osmanthus and oolong to continue throughout the tasting experience.

For another aromatic direction, consider Taiwan Oriental Beauty , with its honeyed and ripe-fruit aroma.

Does the Order of Tea Tasting Matter?

If you plan to taste several teas and mooncakes in the same evening, avoid starting with the strongest tea.

Longjing → Taiwan Oolong → Oriental Beauty / Black Tea → Da Hong Pao → Pu-erh

Take a small piece of mooncake and follow it with a sip of tea. Smaller portions make it easier to notice how each tea interacts with different fillings and flavours.

How Many Teas Do You Need for a Family Mid-Autumn Gathering?

You do not need a different tea for every mooncake. To keep things simple, prepare three different tea styles:

• Fresh & Light: Pre-Qingming Lion Peak Longjing / Taiwan Li Shan Tea
• Aromatic: Taiwan Oriental Beauty / Taiwan Osmanthus Oolong
• Fuller & Traditional: Premium Da Hong Pao / King of Pu-erh Tea

These three directions can cover many common mooncake styles while also giving everyone at the table an opportunity to compare different types of tea.