Food Pairing: Coffee & Desserts

Food Pairing: Coffee & Desserts

Coffee, like wine, tea, soft drink and other beverages can be consumed throughout the meal. For a long time, I believe coffee (drip) consumption should be enjoyed by itself. Occasionally, I may grab a muffin or a pastry with my coffee, but mostly I prefer my coffee as is.

I was aware of the preparation for pairing coffee with desserts. Because my preference in drinking coffee, I never gave it a second thought. With the latest buzz about coffee pairing with food, I was interested to find out more, and I did some research myself.

As a general rule, always look to pair likenesses (harmonizing) rather than contrasting (tension creating) in flavor attributes and characteristics. Some argue that contrast in flavors isn't a bad thing, and I agree. Two opposite flavors such as sweet and sour, they balance each other out quite nicely. The level of roast –– light, medium, or dark –– dictates the intensity of each coffee and helps determine what foods it will pair with best.

Light roasts; the roasting process terminates early in order to retain the peak acidity, aroma and flavor (varietals dimensionality / characteristics.) Because of their delicate flavors, light roast goes very well with the light/fruit desserts.

Medium roasts; where acidity is being traded for body. The delicate & complex flavor diminishes while the body becomes increasingly noticeable. The sweetness comes from the carmelization. Medium textured dessert is preferable.

Dark roasts; heavy, full‑bodied coffees, but with very little of the varietals uniqueness. This type of roast is known as Italian and French roasts. They are best with the decadent chocolate or heavy cream desserts.

I use the commonly known coffees and the broad category of desserts for easy identification. So, in summary:

Light roasts such as Mocha Java and Yemen go well with fruit tarts/desserts, blueberry muffin, cherry pie, compotes, and cobblers.

Medium roasts like Colombian, Brazil, Ethiopian Harrar, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Sumatra combine well with custards, tiramisu, cannolis, cakes, pies, and cookies.

Dark roasts, French and Italian, are best to match the richness desserts like ice creams, cheesecakes, tiramisu (I know, this baby goes well with everything), mousses, rich cakes, and brownies.

What about you? What coffee do you like to go with what dessert? Leave your comment and let us know. It is time for some experiments…

P.S. I was going to creat a table for the recommendations, but I don't know jack about the html codes, and not enough time to learn for this blog entry...Also I hope malachi doesn't mind me using his vocabularies...