Top 5 Foods to pair with Coffee
Most of us treat coffee as a solo act. Cup in hand, first sip, day begins.
But coffee is a beverage with acidity, sweetness, bitterness and body — the same four levers a sommelier pulls when matching wine to a plate. Put the right food next to the right cup, and both get better. Put the wrong one next to it, and you’ll wonder why your beautiful single origin suddenly tastes like burnt cardboard.
Here are five pairings worth trying this week.
- CHOCOLATE (DARK)
The flavor of Dark Chocolate is enhanced when it is paired with Strong and Rich Dark Roast Coffee. A fair blend of Arabica and Robusta beans will get you the perfect taste that creates a whirlwind of flavors as the dark chocolate adds to the bitter-sweet flavor.
Combined with citrus berry fruits like strawberry or blueberry, the taste takes to the next level.
Best Combined with :
Black Arabica Coffee (light or medium roast)
2.CITRUS BAKES — Orange Loaf, Lemon Tart, Marmalade Toast
Best with: A light roast, especially an African single origin
Light roasts from Ethiopia and Kenya carry bright, almost wine-like acidity with notes of berry and citrus already built in. Serve them alongside something acidic and they don’t clash — they harmonise, the way lemon juice lifts a piece of grilled fish.
This is the pairing most people never try, and the one that surprises them most.
Try it: Orange and almond cake with a pour-over Ethiopian. The citrus makes the coffee’s fruit notes obvious instead of subtle.
3. Aged, Salty Cheese
Best with: Cold brew, or a medium roast served black
Sounds odd. Works beautifully.
Aged cheeses — a sharp cheddar, a good parmesan, a firm gouda — are salty, savoury and full of umami. Salt suppresses your perception of bitterness, which means the coffee reads sweeter and rounder than it does on its own. Cold brew, already low in acidity, is the ideal partner.
Scandinavians have been dunking cheese in coffee for generations. They were early.
Try it: Cold brew with a plate of aged cheddar and a few walnuts. An excellent late-afternoon alternative to the usual sweet snack.
4. Banana Bread, Nut Cakes and Anything Buttery
Best with: A medium-dark roast through a filter or French press
Caramelised sugar, browned butter, toasted nuts — these are the exact notes a medium-dark roast develops during roasting. Pairing them is less a contrast and more a chorus.
The buttery texture matters too. Fat softens the coffee’s edges and gives the whole thing a fuller mouthfeel, which is why a plain croissant tastes so good with a plain filter coffee.
Try it: Warm banana bread with a French press medium-dark. The extra oils that make it through the press mesh screen do real work here.
5. Spiced Savoury Breakfast
Best with: A dark roast, brewed strong, or a flat white
Eggs with pepper and green chilli. A masala omelette. Bacon. Smoked or cured anything.
Spice and smoke need a coffee with enough body to stand up to them. A delicate light roast gets bulldozed. A dark roast — smoky, low-acid, heavy-bodied — meets the food on level terms. If your breakfast is rich as well as spiced, a flat white adds milk fat that cools the heat without dulling the coffee.
Try it: Masala omelette with a strong dark roast, no sugar. Breakfast, solved.
The Quick Cheat Sheet
| Food | Coffee |
|---|---|
| Dark chocolate | Espresso / medium-dark |
| Citrus bakes | Light roast, African single origin |
| Aged cheese | Cold brew / medium roast |
| Banana bread, nut cakes | Medium-dark, filter or press |
| Spiced savoury breakfast | Dark roast or flat white |
Two Rules That Cover Almost Everything
Match intensity. A delicate coffee and a bold dish will never be friends. Pair light with light, heavy with heavy.
Then decide: echo or contrast. Echo shared flavours to deepen them (chocolate with a chocolatey roast). Or set them against each other to create lift (bright citrus with a bright coffee). Both work. Just pick one on purpose.
Everything above starts with a good cup. Come by Urban Beans Coffee, tell us what you’re planning to eat, and we’ll suggest you something that makes it better.
Buy here : Urban Beans Coffee
Know Your Coffee
Do you know your coffee well ? Africa, the first word that comes to mind when you think of origins of Coffee. Eventually, the cultivation spread east and west, Europe, America and other countries across the globe. Coffee grows in regions with temperatures around 20 Deg C and moderate rain and rich porous soil. To buy some of our great coffee click here. But before you buy the coffee, know your coffee well.
- ARABICA
- ROBUSTA
Arabica coffee trees are grown at higher elevations (1800 feet or more), are more delicate and yield fewer beans per crop.
Robusta coffee trees are much hardier, may be grown at lower elevations, and have a high bean yield. The taste of Robusta beans is stronger than Arabica and the beans are smaller in size too.
Apart from these two there are Liberica, and Excelsa beans which are rarely found. If you are lucky you might run into the latter at a store in Southeast Asia. Although Liberia originated in West Africa. It soon travelled to Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines.
HOW TO BUY THE RIGHT COFFEE ?
- IDENTIFY YOUR TASTE.
Every individual would most likely identify with a unique taste of coffee. Don’t get us wrong, everyone likes a little experimentation, but there is that very relatable taste of coffee that either you have grown up to or developed over time that you would call as your coffee taste. (tip: it can vary between couples, be prepared for a showdown)
Arabica coffee plants grow in high altitude hilly areas with low levels of oxygen and rocky grounds. Slightly acidic, smooth and rich taste. While, Robusta grows in lower altitude plains and has a relatively strong, bitter taste.
2. DETERMINE CAFFINE CONTENT / ROAST PROFILE
Let us burst some myths first – contrary to the belief – dark roast coffee has the lowest amount of caffine. To get that real caffine kick first think in the morning you need to reach out to your light roast blend. Yes ! you read that right.
Coffee beans that are used to make espressos are in the medium roast category. Get the Roast right and your coffee will taste like heaven.
Tips to help you decide on the right roast :
- If you prefer coffee with lower acidity levels, then opt for a medium or medium-dark roast.
- To enjoy powerful naturally occurring flavor notes in your coffee, opt for a light roast. This will give you the best caffeine kick.
- Dark or Medium Dark Roasts and blended coffee beans play magic with the flavors, do give it a try rather than a single origin for this.
- A Dark roast with blended beans like Arabica and Robusta in ratio of 80/20 or 70/30 will add bitterness and body.
3. MATCH THE GRIND SIZE
Grind size of the Coffee Powder (if you buy ground coffee) depends on what equipment you use to brew the coffee. A quick reference is shown below that will help you identify and seek the best suited grind size for you.
Tip : In case you are not sure, always opt for a Medium Fine grind that works with most brewing equipment.
We aim to cover the basics to get you started with good quality coffee. In the next post you will find more details on the mistakes people make with coffee and other finer nuances.
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