What to Eat?

Pairings are also part of the coffee experience. Just like you would pair a fine wine with a meal, there are opportunities to pair foods and meals with coffee. The meal we most think of in this respect is breakfast.

Breakfast is the morning meal, and most drink our coffee in the morning. So it makes sense that we might make some interesting pairings at this meal. I'm a pancakes guy. For this post, I will talk about blueberry pancakes. Now I'm not talking about what IHOP serves you, which is a compote over buttermilk pancakes doused in whipped cream. Ugh! I mean those from scratch blueberry buttermilk pancakes mom used to make, where you cut into the pancakes, and the juice inside the pancakes would squirt a little. Add some REAL maple syrup, and that is good stuff.

For the coffee, I suggest a coffee which floral or fruity notes in it. Central American coffees are good for this. I am thinking of some roasts from Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Ethiopian coffees are also a good pair to go with the pancakes.

Now if you are more of a coffee cake kind of person, you might want a coffee which has more chocolate hints in it. Mexican coffees from Chiapas are an example of this, as are many of the Indonesian coffees - a Sumatra comes to mind. Coffee cakes can be a bit heavy(depend on the cake), so the more Earthy flavors of these coffees I think are ideal.

So what if you aren't a morning person? The other time we think of coffee is after a really good dinner. This of course means dessert. A mistake I think a good many restaurants make, is to serve dark roasts after dinner. I feel a dark roast can over power the pastry or ice cream we are eating, so I recommend something like a Tanzanian Peaberry. I find the coffee to taste like a light tea, which blends more with the creme brûlée, red velvet cake, or whatever sweet you might be indulging in.

Well look at that....I'm hungry now after all this talk of food. So what goes with my Honey Nut Cheerios? This morning it's a Starbucks Thanksgiving Blend. It's a dark roast....just so-so, but I am loving the Cheerios!

Charlie