When I think of tea and food pairings or using tea as an ingredient in a dish, Italian food does not come to mind as the first, most obvious choice. And I was born and raised in Italy. That’s the reason why, when I came across chef and tea lover Christian Nicita and his tea room/restaurant Acquamadre on Instagram, I was immediately captivated. Imagine my reaction when I found out that he was serving gongfu-cha-steeped tea alongside fine-dining dishes in Sicily! Mind-blowing! And tea found its way into the dishes as well, together with local seasonal produce. Unfortunately, Acquamadre has shut down permanently due to the pandemic but Christian is already working on more tea-infused projects. Here is my conversation with him.