Today’s coffee is as expertly produced and as high in overall quality, making the art of combining food and coffee quite easy and very rewarding. Most coffee complements most food, but certain types of beans and craft espresso beverages pair magnificently with certain food groups. Here’s why.
If It Grows Together, It Goes Together
Like grapes, beans from different parts of the world possess unique aromatic notes that reflect terroir. It’s these notes that attentive roasting develops. The same notes automatically complement natural ingredients that grow in the same region or similar climates as the beans.
Generally, tropical coffees like Kenya, Yemeni, Tanzania and Jamaica go with tropical fruits and locally sourced ingredients. The further south of the equator you go, the more likely it is that coffee beans grown in those regions pair with local ingredients and ingredients grown in similar climates.
How do coffee experts determine which bean goes best with which food? They drink a bunch of different coffees paired with tons of great eats, a gourmet paradise you should partake of at your local food cafe in Lancaster PA. During your own scrumptious experiments, you’ll encounter the exceptions to the above rule. Luckily, the exceptions are just as delectable.
Exceptions to the “Grows Together, Goes Together” Rule
You already know that coffee comes in three basic degrees of roast: light, medium and dark. Each degree augments each bean’s inherent aromatic notes derived from its terroir. Some beans yield coffee that’s bright and acidic. Others are smoky or chocolaty, with tons of gradations on the flavor and aromatic spectrum.
Just like with wine, use bright, crisp coffees to cut through the cream or sweetness of decadent desserts, cheese or sweet fruit. With milk chocolate and dark chocolate, reach for coffee whose qualities support and/or counter those of the chocolate. Medium roasts and darker, smoky coffees lend oomph to milk chocolate, for example. Dark roasts round out the bittersweet, full-bodied flavor of dark chocolate.
Taste for yourself. Visit a food cafe in Lancaster PA today, such as CoffeeCo. Established in 1983, CoffeeCo stocks exquisitely roasted coffee and a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu, soups, sandwiches and vegetarian options. Find out more about CoffeeCo..
