What are the two best things in the world? If your answer is not coffee+chocolate, you’re doing something wrong!
Coffee and chocolate are like best buddies. Usually, they are in an intense yet harmonious conversation with each other. Mastering coffee and chocolate pairing can bring to the front flavors that might have been hidden from you. Getting deeper into the world of warm, aromatic, dark, and velvety chocolate and coffee mixes is a journey well worthwhile.
Today, we’re taking you on it with us!
Best Coffee Chocolate Pairings
Espresso and Dark Chocolate
What do these two have in common? The intensity of flavors that can sometimes feel a little intimidating, but when joined together, they create a true masterpiece.
Pairing dark chocolate (99.6% cocoa and more) with dark roasts that are often a base to an espresso, like Indonesian, Ethiopian, or Brazilian coffee blends, can help to balance out the two forces: chocolate and coffee, and make them truly embrace one another.
Granted, if you’re not a fan of bold, more bitter flavor notes, this coffee and dark chocolate pairing may not be for you. But don’t you worry – we’ve got some exciting pairings for you further down in the article.
Fruity Coffees and Milk Chocolate
The fact that chocolate and all kinds of fruit are in a happy, committed relationship is not a secret to anyone. But what about chocolate and fruity and floral coffees? Well, it turns out this pairing also makes a lot of sense. Floral blends, like Costa Rican, Guatemalan, and Panamanian blends, often feel amazing in the company of much more tamed, sweeter, and delicate milk chocolates.
This can be a winning combination if you’re planning on preparing some coffee-based desserts, like cakes. Of course, the use of sweet milk chocolate should be moderate to avoid making your dessert too sweet.
Still, this coffee and chocolate mix has many devoted fans, and we can see very clearly why that is!
Spicy Coffees and Slightly Bitter Chocolate
What about those who love a little bit of spice in their lives? First of all, we see you. Choosing to switch out your regular supermarket blend for something with more depth and richness, something with that spice you’re missing in your day-to-day, like Indonesian and Papua New Guinea roasts, can make a significant difference.
Match it with a slightly bitter chocolate (anywhere between 50% and 70% cocoa content), and witness how sweet, bitter, and spicy notes dance on your tongue. This pairing of earthy, spicy coffee and somewhat bitter chocolate works because of the lower acidity content in the coffee that makes room for the sweetness of chocolate to make itself known. Truly remarkable fusion.
Nut-toned Coffees and Slightly Dark Chocolate
Another beloved pairing – nuts and chocolate, shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s a classic for a reason. Nuts go well with sweet chocolates, but they also provide much to work with in terms of flavor with slightly darker, bolder dark chocolate.
That’s how we arrive at nut-toned blends like Brazilian, Mexican, or Indonesian coffees mixed to create a delicious masterpiece with slightly dark chocolate (anywhere between 45% and 70% cocoa content). Heavier nut tones play nicely on the tongue with sweet and bitter dark chocolate tones, creating the best coffee-chocolate pairing for all the nut fans out there. It’s an intense pair but well deserving of its fame.
White Chocolate and Light Roasts
White chocolate might not be for everyone, but those who appreciate it also deserve their own coffee and chocolate pairing. In this case, simplicity is the way to go. As white chocolate already carries a lot of the sweetness and intensity of flavors, it’s best to pair it with blends that will nicely contrast these notes – light roasts like Costa Rican, Colombian, or Yemeni coffees.
Similar to milk chocolate, all the fruity, spicy, and earthy notes are welcomed, as they help balance out the sweetness of chocolate.
What Flavors Go Best With Coffee?
So, as we’re nearing the end of this article, the ultimate question remains – what flavors go really well with coffee?
This list is quite extensive, and on it, we can find foods like:
- chocolate
- cinnamon
- coconut
- fruit, especially blackberries, raspberries and cherries
- almond,
- caramel
- cheese
The truth is that there are as many coffee+foods combinations as there are people who love to mix their favorite drink with something sweet or sour. The whole fun is in the experimentation.
Chocolate with Coffee – Final Thoughts
Best coffee-chocolate pairings are the ones that balance each other out and play together in harmony. This means it’s not exactly about mixing coffee blends and chocolate that are on the opposite sides of the spectrum.
As we outlined in our article, coffee and dark chocolate make up for a really great combination, whereas sweet milk chocolate feels amazing in the company of more delicate and approachable floral blends. White chocolate should be paired with light roasts, while slightly bitter chocolate will offer a nice base for more memorable, spicy coffees.
Try all the pairings yourself and fall in love with unique, really sweet or bitter combinations. Check out our Sample Packs to test blends at home. With Angelino’s Coffee, finding your die-hard favorite coffee blends is easy and cost-effective.
Good luck with all your coffee and chocolate adventures!
Resources
Coeur de Xocolat, How to pair chocolate and coffee, Accessed 11.06.2023
Dial Up the Coffee, 30 Amazing Coffee Pairing Ideas, Accessed 11.06.2023
