Tea is on the menu at restaurants around town.
Tea isn't just for helping crumpets go down easier. At a handful of Boston and Cambridge restaurants, it can be a key ingredient.
At Tony Maws' Craigie on Main in Cambridge, the Pennsylvania Peking Duck Two Ways includes a duck breast that's been smoked with English breakfast tea ($36; limited availability; 617-497-5511; reserve online). Maws also infuses his panna cotta amuse-bouches with different teas – a rooibas for an almost smoky-citrus tang and jasmine for a delicate nuance.
Over in Park Square, the Boston Park Plaza's Swan Cafe offers a scallop ceviche that gets its smoky edge from Chinese black tea. And to show off the restaurant's impressive tea selection – it even has its own tea sommelier – there's also a constantly changing, three-course tea menu available for $30 that includes scones, sandwiches, pastries and crème brûlée.
Finally, at Catch in Winchester, chef and owner Chris Parsons gussies up his salmon tartare with a black tea–braised celery branch, celery root chips, a quail egg and a black tea vinaigrette ($9; 781-729-1040; reserve online).