Choosing what kind of food and coffee pairings you’re going to have can be a really hard decision, no matter how many years you’ve been having the exact same problem. In some countries, it might be so unthinkable to drink coffee without food, that you get a free small portion of biscuits or cookies just for buying a coffee.
To us, this is some serious business: We’ve decided to go ahead and look at some of the most common coffee drinks pairings with the food that can make everybody’s life just a little bit easier.
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Espresso & Americano
Salty:
Bagels are one of the food pairings that have, for more than a few years now, been typically associated with coffee and coffee shops. And for good reasons: Bagels come in many varieties, and they are a comfortable size to match your breakfast coffee.
Breakfast foods just seem to have been made to accompany black coffee. Bacon goes great with it, as does yogurt. But if we had to choose just one, it would be scrambled eggs and bacon with a double espresso.
Sweet:
Bitter espresso is, in our experience, best enjoyed with a bar of dark chocolate and some nuts (try a mix of almonds and cashews, you could even throw some raisins in there). This is a very powerful combo when you’re in need of a break during work or just for taking a break, relaxing; the combination of espresso and chocolate will never fail to make you feel better.
Sweet, puffy doughnuts are also a great combination because they offer a contrast between their sweetness and the subtle bitterness of coffee: Bitter coffee enhances the sweet taste of the doughnut, which in turn enhances the flavor of coffee, which… okay, you get it: they complement each other really well.
Make sure you also check out our piece “Every Espresso Drink Explained (Espresso Chart)” to see what other varieties of espresso there are.
Latte Drinks
Sweet:
For a normal latte, we suggest you try either chocolate cake or brownie. Coffee and chocolate are two natural allies, and each enhances the flavor of the other. Dunking a piece of brownie in your latte is the best thing you can do for yourself. Chocolate cookies also make a good combo with a coffee latte.
Café au lait, while not technically a latte, we’re going to treat it as if it were on this occasion. The traditional sidekick of café au lait has always been bread and butter: After you butter the bread, you dunk on your coffee and it comes out steaming, the butter melting… It’s truly a simple yet delicious combo.
In some places, they serve a really hot café au lait and then dump a piece of cheese (preferably mozzarella because it has a perfect consistency) then eat the cheese with a fork and some bread. It’s insanely good, and we highly recommend this. That’s something our friends at Cheese Buzz are experienced with so hop to their website and read about various cheeses, you just might find your new favorite!
Salty:
The croissandwich is one of the best options that you have. Usually, we go for ham and cheese, but you can really do it in any number of ways. The sky’s the limit.
One option that’s less popular but deserves some serious praise is the rosemary/garlic focaccia. This delicious bread that resembles pizza bread but without the tomato sauce is a popular food item in coffee shops in some parts of the world.
Try out “What are CBD Infused Lattes?” to see the new trend sweeping the nation…CBD infused coffee!
Cappuccino
Salty
For the salty options, the cappuccino goes really well with buttery foods such as a French croissant. French toast is also a solid companion to the cappuccino, although lately, the avocado toast has stolen the toast spotlight and, we have to say; it’s a really nice combo. If you’re having avocado toast, try not to use any lemon, since coffee is already pretty acidic and could give you heartburn.
Sweet
For this coffee drink, we have a tie: Vanilla ice cream and Tiramisu. If you’re an ice cream lover, then don’t look any further: cappuccino and ice cream are a match made in heaven. Vanilla ice cream is the safest bet when it comes to pairing it with coffee, but you can always experiment.
Tiramisu is a dessert that’s made for coffee lovers. The coffee and chocolate combo in this dessert make it a worthy opponent of ice cream.
Learn to froth your milk in “How to Froth Milk for Cappuccinos” to get those cappuccinos done right.
Macchiato
To pair your macchiato, serve yourself a nice loaf of bread with plenty of jam.
It’s also a good option if you’re ever making crepes: fill them up with strawberry and kiwi slices, add some whipped cream on top of the crepes (not the macchiato!) and you’re all set. It has fruit in it, so it’s definitely healthy.
Ristretto
It’s best to think small for this coffee drink: A snack such as a piece of dark chocolate or a granola bar are good examples.
If you’re feeling fancy, a chocolate truffle is the ideal sweet to go with a ristretto.
Frappe
Frappe is sort of already accompanied by food as it is, but you can always take it to the next: Freshly made brownies make the frappe melt in your mouth and there is probably no better sensation in this world than the one you get when you mix coffee with melting ice cream and brownie. And if you don’t believe us, try it.
Frappe also goes really well with cookies: We recommend either Oreos or butter cookies. You can’t go wrong with cookies.
Coffeeholic Drinks
There are a couple of drinks that are commonly served after food, they are accompanied by a small dessert or are considered a dessert by themselves: The corretto and the Irish coffee.
These two drinks constitute a sweet treat by themselves, but we do recommend to pair them with small portions of lemon pie or apple pie. Corretto and meringue make a perfect combination to end some good food.
Iced coffee
We’ve always found that ice coffee goes really well for anything that involves bread: Sandwiches, toast: It pairs well with most fast food, too. If you’re someone who has a busy schedule, ice coffee is usually a really good option because you don’t have to spend time heating up coffee or milk plus it goes well with almost anything.
Mochaccino
If you’re going for a classic mochaccino, then we recommend having a piece of carrot cake or a muffin (extra points if it’s blueberry muffin!).
If you’re having iced mocha, then it’s best to pair it up with a frosted doughnut, or even better, some chocolate cake. Because everyone knows that chocolate goes amazingly well with chocolate.
Thank you for reading with us today! Be sure to share your coffee and food pairings down in the comments below. What does your breakfast look like in the morning?
Check out related content to enhance your coffee knowledge like “What’s the Difference Between Cold Brew & Iced Coffee?” or even “5 Alcoholic Drinks That Go Perfect With A Coffee“.
Become a part of our exclusive Coffee Sesh Facebook Group, Daily Coffee Talk, and join our expanding coffee community. And don’t forget— we’re on Pinterest and Instagram! Check us out for daily coffee content.
We’ll brew ya later! ☕️
