Bite, Sip, And Taste Wisely
Coffee may be universal, but it doesn’t play nice with everything on your plate. While some foods change your cup for good, for example, highlighting hidden notes or smoothing bitter edges, others can leave your brew tasting poorly. The difference isn’t just personal preference but chemical and textural. Before your next bite and sip, let’s help you sort what to pair with coffee and what not to. We’ll begin with those that pair well with it.
1. Dark Chocolate
Both coffee and dark chocolate have similar origins and share complex aroma compounds like methylxanthines. In dark chocolate, there are flavonoids that accentuate the bitter notes found in medium and dark roasts. Also, the bitter edge of dark chocolate can reduce perceived acidity in coffee.
2. Almond Croissants
This is a café staple in France—called “croissant aux amandes”—served almost exclusively with coffee. Almonds introduce a sweet nuttiness that softens the bitterness of dark roasts, and the butter in the croissant enhances the creaminess of coffee.
3. Banana Bread
While ripe bananas’ natural sugars mellow out bright acidic notes in light-roast coffees, the dense texture of banana bread gently offsets the heat of a freshly brewed cup. In Central American coffee varieties, banana bread steps in as an enhancer of the caramel undertones.
4. Blueberry Muffins
Blueberries are one of the only fruits that amplify—not clash with—coffee’s natural flavor profile. Not only does the fruity acidity in blueberries cut through the bitter, smoky edge of dark coffee, but the muffin’s soft crumb soaks up espresso like a sponge, perfect for dunking.
Veganbaking.net from USA on Wikimedia
5. Cinnamon Rolls
This pastry’s rich icing pairs well with coffee’s bitterness, creating balance. Cinnamon chemically complements coffee by enhancing its volatile aromatic oils, and may also reduce blood sugar spikes from both the roll and the coffee. Scandinavian cultures even use cinnamon rolls during “fika”—a coffee break ritual.
6. Buttered Toast
Here comes a minimalist favorite among baristas who drink black coffee and need a neutral snack. The fat from butter creates a coating effect that amplifies coffee’s creamy mouthfeel, and the toast’s mildness lets the nuances of specialty brews shine without distraction.
7. Tiramisu
Made with espresso-soaked ladyfingers, tiramisu enhances the existing coffee flavor. It originated in Italian cafés and was literally built to complement espresso. The mascarpone cream softens strong brews and not only makes them smoother but also more indulgent.
8. Plain Bagels
With this food, you get a dense, bready texture that acts as a flavor buffer for bold brews. Plain bagels avoid introducing clashing flavors, hence they serve as a neutral coffee companion. Plus, the chewiness pairs well with hot coffee and extends the eating experience.
dreamcat115 from Tokyo, Japan on Wikimedia
9. Cheese Danish
Cream cheese adds a mild tang that offsets coffee’s roasted edge, and the buttery pastry brings out nutty, creamy notes in espresso-based drinks. Also, there is sugar in the glaze, and it balances out the bitterness of strong brews.
10. Peanut Butter Cookies
When roasted peanuts meet the earthy, toasted notes in dark-roast coffee, they echo them. The cookie’s sweetness offers a smoother sip by balancing coffee’s natural bitterness. If the cookies are salted, you can expect them to bring out hidden caramel tones in medium roast blends.
Aimee Plesa from Springboro OH, USA on Wikimedia
While these are good for coffee, there are many foods that don’t fit with this drink, and here are some of them.
1. Spicy Tacos
Capsaicin in spicy foods can dull your ability to detect the subtle flavors in coffee. And instead of soothing the burn of spicy tacos, coffee’s bitterness can intensify it. You may even get a numbing sensation on your tongue if you drink coffee after spicy tacos.
Jarritos Mexican Soda on Unsplash
2. Pickles
The flavor profile of coffee is disrupted by the vinegar and salt in pickles. Fermented pickles even introduce umami and sourness that don’t complement any roast. After eating pickles, the lingering brine on your palate can make coffee taste metallic.
3. Sushi
Coffee’s high acidity and roastiness create an unpleasant aftertaste when paired with raw fish. Its strength easily overpowers the subtle umami and sweetness of sushi. Wasabi and soy sauce may intensify bitterness when followed by a sip of coffee.
4. Onion Rings
Fried onion rings carry oils that coat the palate and blunt coffee's brightness. There are also sulfur compounds in onions that distort the perception of sweetness in coffee. Coffee and onion residue together can lead to a sharp, almost acrid flavor.
5. Fried Chicken
Not only does grease from fried chicken alter the texture of coffee on the tongue, but strong seasonings and umami overload also suppress coffee’s subtler notes. If you have internal discomfort, drinking hot coffee with hot, oily food may intensify it.
6. Garlic Bread
When coffee’s natural bitterness clashes with garlic’s sharpness, it results in an unpleasant blend. The fat from butter may improve mouthfeel, but garlic negates any balance, as the pungent sulfur compounds in it overpower delicate coffee notes.
7. Blue Cheese
Both blue cheese and coffee have strong aromas, but together they create a discordant profile. Coffee’s subtle flavors are overpowered by the mold cultures in blue cheese, and tasting coffee after blue cheese can bring out harsh, sour notes.
8. Kimchi
The aromatic structure of most brews won’t survive the chili and garlic found in kimchi, and the lactic acid from fermentation clashes with coffee’s natural acidity. Kimchi’s fermentation may make hot coffee feel overly sharp and biting.
9. Caesar Salad
Coffee after Caesar salad often tastes sour or flat. The umami and salt from anchovies disrupt the delicate bitterness of coffee, and creamy Caesar dressing coats the mouth and affects how we perceive coffee flavors. Even iced coffee struggles to cut through the savory dressing.
10. Hot Wings
Vinegar interferes with the flavor clarity of both light and dark roasts, and capsaicin can desensitize taste buds and dull your ability to enjoy the brew. Also, the spiciness and tang from hot sauce can magnify the bitterness in coffee.
