Pairing Chocolate & Coffee
A Guide to Pairing Chocolate with Coffee
Imagine the rich, robust aroma of your favorite coffee mingling with the smooth, decadent sweetness of premium chocolate. It’s more than just a treat; it’s an experience.
The harmonious pairing of chocolate and coffee has deep roots, stemming from their shared origins and similar processing methods like fermentation and roasting. While cacao and coffee emerged from different ancient cultures, their paths converged significantly in 16th and 17th century Europe. As coffeehouses and chocolate houses flourished, these exotic beverages were often enjoyed together. Palates quickly recognized coffee’s natural bitterness and rich notes as a perfect complement to chocolate’s sweetness and depth, solidifying a delicious partnership that continues to thrive today.
Finding the ideal chocolate to pair with your coffee largely depends on the roast level and its inherent flavor profile. Light roasts, with their delicate floral or fruity notes, pair best with white or lighter milk chocolates. For medium roasts, offering balanced caramel or nutty flavors, classic milk chocolate or medium dark chocolates (50-75% cacao) are excellent choices. Moving to medium-dark roasts, which present richer, bittersweet notes, dark chocolates (70-85% cacao) are ideal. Finally, dark roasts, being bold and intense, demand high-cacao dark chocolates (75%+) or those with spicy inclusions. The key is to either balance complementary flavors or create a pleasing contrast.
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Pairing Chocolate & Coffee Tips
When pairing coffee with chocolate, you want to use high-quality chocolates; low-quality blends may have hydrogenated fats which have replaced the cocoa butter. Look for coffee and chocolate blends with fewer ingredients, as these will provide the “truest” tasting experience.
You can contrast, complement, and enhance both coffee and chocolate flavors when paired properly.
Complementing: Pursue coffee and chocolate blends which may not have the same characteristics, but are compatible. i.e. a caramel-infused chocolate could pair well with a light-roast, fruity coffee.
Contrasting: Look for chocolate and coffee with completely different characteristics. You could take a spicy dark chocolate blend and pair it up against a smooth, creamy vanilla latte.
Enhancing: Pair coffee and chocolate which share similar characteristics. An earthy, dark roast coffee would enhance the flavors of chocolate with nuts.
A successful pairing will bring out all of the flavors in both the coffee and the chocolate blends. Neither flavor profile will be washed away, and depending on your desired outcome (contrasting vs. complementing vs. enhancing), you will taste sensational results.
Below you can find both types of coffee & single origin coffee, and within each page you will be able to view coffees in each family. This coffee and chocolate pairing selection is constantly in the works, and has the basic coffee info available currently. Read about your favorite coffees below, and shop our extensive catalog and host your own chocolate and coffee pairing!