Top 5 foods to pair with light roast coffee

The cold season is upon us and that comes with the temptation of a hot mug of coffee every so often. The good news is you can enjoy your coffee even with your meals. What is essential when pairing food with coffee is how those foods interact with one another.  

While there’s no denying that certain items taste better with a hot mug at their side, sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error before figuring out what works best for your palate.

To save you the trouble, we’ve put together this list of five foods to pair with coffee:

Cheese

The acidity in cheese can heighten the intensity of a cup of coffee. Still, there’s also reason to believe that the caffeine content in coffee reduces the number of fatty acids found in cheese. This makes sense because fatty acids give dairy products intense flavour, much like caffeine does for coffee.

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Chocolate

Coffee doesn’t just pair well with cheese; it also goes hand-in-hand with chocolate. There are tons of ways to make this work, but the simplest recommendation is to enjoy a cup of black coffee alongside plain chocolate candy bars or some dark chocolate truffles.

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Pie Crusts

Some may argue that pie crusts are desserts in their own right due to how flaky they tend to be. If you agree with this perspective, pairing a slice of pie with a light roast will result in a tasty experience that becomes even tastier as the caffeine from your beverage begins to kick in.

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Pastries

This is where things start to get interesting! Not only does light roast coffee go well with pastries but also pairing desserts with coffee has been shown to induce “hedonic synergy.” So if you want an excuse to have another cup after dinner, try pairing whatever kinds of pastry you fancy with your favourite light roast java.

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Nuts

This one takes some getting used to, so don’t give up after the first bite if you decide to try it! As it turns out, coffee enhances the flavour of nuts and makes them taste sweeter because there are fewer fatty acids found in them.

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Bottom line…

There are many food options you can pair with coffee. The foods on this list will not only enhance the flavour of light roast coffee but they can also be used as desserts or even eaten after a meal!