Brewers’ dinners, lunches in the vineyard… coffee pairings? Coffee and food are a perfect match—gourmet coffee carries more nuances of flavor than even the finest red wines, and is capable of complementing food in at least as many ways. On the other hand, many of us are almost less inclined to trust ourselves with multiple cups of coffee than with multiple glasses of wine (how will we ever fall asleep tonight?). It’s one reason why we see fewer five-course coffee meals than five-course wine or beer meals.
The potential of coffee pairing is vastly under-tapped. For all the fine coffees available in the Northwest, most restaurants—even high-end ones—choose a single blend to serve their entire clientele. Whereas waiters and waitresses often serve as pseudo-sommeliers to patrons asking for wine or beer recommendations, how many can suggest the coffee best suited to a given entrée? How many even have options available?
Meanwhile, customers are becoming increasingly aware of their personal coffee preferences. If you’re open to trying new coffees, why not see how they match up alongside different foods? With a meal, the difference between a light roast and a dark can be as dramatic as that of a red wine versus a white. Throw in distinctions in beans’ origins and brewing techniques, and the combinations are limitless. Here are a few guidelines to get you started pairing food with coffee, but don’t forget that in the end it’s a game of personal preference. Does it taste good? Then you did it right.
- Light roasts are often characterized by a high level of acidity (“brightness”). The effect on taste can be comparable to the crispness of citrus fruit. With a lively, light-bodied Colombian coffee or breakfast-style blend, pair hot or iced with pastries like cranberry-orange scones, or light fare such as an arugula salad with pears, Oregon hazelnuts and goat cheese.
One option: El Salvador Malacara B (Zoka) with blueberry coffee cake.
- Medium roasts show off flavors from caramel to floral. Many coffees with these characteristics are of African origin. Medium coffees fit well into a hearty eggs-and-bacon breakfast, or complement soup-and-sandwich lunches (say, butternut squash soup and turkey-havarti on rye).
One option: Kenya Tegu (49th Parallel) with tomato-chicken soup.
- Heavy-bodied dark roasts linger on the palate for up to several minutes, making them the ideal counterpoint to strong flavors in foods from bleu cheese to slow-roasted meats to rich chocolate desserts. Such roasts are often chosen for earthy Pacific Island coffees grown at low altitude with low acidity.
One option: Tin Pan Alley Blend (Lone Pine Coffee Roasters) with chocolate cheesecake.
