Coffee: flavour pairings

9th May 2013 by Anna Tully

Whilst many of us may be partial to a sizeable chunk of chocolate brownie with our flat white as the afternoon slump sets in, or a delicious spoonful of Tiramisu at an Italian dinner party (y’know, because we go to those all the time), coffee isn’t just a vessel to dip your bar of Bournville in. With the help of one of the most well-thumbed books in my cookery catalogue, Nikki Segnit’s Flavour Thesaurus is here to teach us there’s more to coffee than meets the (double) eye. (Excuse the awful coffee pun.)

http://craighitchenstherapies.com/foods-that-heal-avocado/

Coffee & Avocado

If you’re keen to get one of your five a day in your much-needed caffeine injection first thing in the morning, a surprisingly popular combination is the Coffee Avocado milkshake. Pureed with condensed milk, it makes for a unctuously tasty morning pick me up, though perhaps not the most health-conscious replacement if your order is usually a skinny latte!

http://mets-trading-diary.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/cow-muck.html

Coffee & Beef

Yep, you read that right. Popular in the deep South, it’s used as a rub for slow-cooked meats such as brisket. There’s a supposed overlap between the flavours of roasted coffee and cooked beef, though Segnit isn’t sold. She advises serving them at least one course apart at dinner, though if you’d like to find out for yourself, try this recipe.

Coffee & Blackcurrant

Another unusual combination, but one used by our assistant producer, Hannah, when recently competing in a barista competition (if my memory serves me correctly!). Popular notes often identified in rich glasses of red wine, Segnit encountered the two in a take on the classic Vacherin glacé: meringue, blackcurrant sorbet, coffee ice-cream, toasted almonds and whipped cream. She was clearly smitten as she writes, “It’s in the running for the most delicious sweet thing I have ever put in my mouth.” With commendations like that, I’m planning on persuading Hannah to recreate her blackcurrant & coffee drink at the festival…

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cardamom-coffee-50400000109242/

Coffee & Cardamom

Almost a necessity to include given Lorelei’s influences for the festival: the Bedouin way of preparing Arabic coffee requires equal amounts of coffee beans & cardamom blended, drunk short, sometimes with sugar, sometimes with orange-flower water. Segnit says the aromatic spice rounds out the tartness of the coffee. If you enjoy spice added to your coffee, also experiment with heating milk infused with cloves (discard before adding the coffee), or a 1:6 ratio of coriander seeds. If you’d rather spice stay out of your morning latte, you might prefer the sound of coffee & cardamom cake with pistachio cream.

Coffee & Goat’s Cheese

Whilst initially you may be taken aback, the Norweigen ekte gjetost will have you promptly doing a U-turn. This delicious sounding ‘brown cheese’ is made using the leftover whey from the cheese making process. Boiled with milk and cream, the heat transforms the milk sugar into a caramel, and is popularly eaten on thin slices of crispbread with a morning coffee. You may be aware of it after a lorry full of the stuff caught fire earlier this year. The high fat content of the Norweigan speciality meant the fire was still burning five days later!

http://valentemike.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/tropicana-orange-juice-not-so-orange.html

Coffee & Orange

I first came across this combination when I worked in a bar and a customer ordered a Tia Maria and orange juice. I looked at them as if they’d just asked for a gin and coke (I’ve had someone drink this before too!), but served away. Later at home, in the dead of night, when no-one was around, I added a dash of OJ to a shot of Kahlua and was surprised at its tastiness. Though perhaps not tasty enough to go back to it again… If you’re not quite ready to move to that level of commitment with this flavour combination, take it slow and add a teaspoon of orange zest to the batter in the classic Coffee & Walnut cake.

Coffee & Vanilla

Not surprising if you’re a secret fan of tainting your morning coffee with a shot of vanilla syrup (hands up! I do it!), it’s also delicious in the easy-peasy Italian dessert ‘affogato’: quite simply, a shot of espresso poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A classic and delicious combination.

Well, there’s some food for thought… get cooking with your coffee beans! And if you don’t have a copy of the Flavour Thesaurus, I’d recommend it: it’s practically my kitchen Bible.