Highbrow brews: Fancy up your daily coffee with these flavours and food pairings

Why settle for plain old coffee when you can make cafe-style java at home? With the work-from-home arrangement and ingredients close at hand, get creative by adding chocolate, spice and everything nice to your cuppa. Here is an expert guide on how to flavour, pair and serve coffee this monsoon

India may be known as a tea drinking nation but that has been changing over the years owing to an increasing number of boutique roasters and artisanal coffee brands that have sprouted over time. Unlike instant or regular filter coffees, making these coffees is a slow and immersive process.

Coffee lovers are going beyond the plain cup of black or milk coffee to indulge in grinding, mixing, stirring and playing with flavour profiles. Much of this within the home, where the pandemic has given many people more leisure and an appetite for experimentation. The viral Dalgona coffee from 2020 or the Proffee (protein coffee) from 2021 are signs of the phenomenon. Among coffee drinkers, owning and carrying a portable coffee grinder, filter and different roasts is commonplace now.

The monsoon season only encourages the desire to drink coffee and is also probably a good time to see what suits your palate. Mid-day.com asked avid coffee drinker Rahul Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Coffeeza, a Goa-based artisanal coffee brand, to recommend the best possible concoctions while making coffee at home. Here is his expert guide on how to flavour, pair and serve coffee. 
 
>Flavour pairings with coffee

Black coffee
There is something for every kind of coffee drink. If you prefer taking coffee black over adding milk, there are a variety of flavours you could try out the next time you pour a cup.
 
Add: Ground spices, hazelnut or almond syrup work perfectly well.

Avoid: It is ideal to avoid citrus flavours as it will overpower the coffee.

Optional: If you don’t want to have your coffee black, add milk, cream, milk foam or condensed milk.

Milk Coffee
With the extra bit of time at home, those who like the traditional milk coffee can take the drink to the next level with a boost of nuts or chocolate.

Add: Flavours like hazelnut, vanilla and chocolate can elevate the taste of your coffee. Ground spices with white chocolate, orange-flavoured chocolate or dark chocolate also make for good pairings.

Avoid: It is best to avoid ingredients with floral notes. For example, using lavender gives a strong flavour and aroma to the coffee instead of a balanced taste.

Optional: These coffees can be topped with whipped cream, cookie crumbs, chocolate shavings or cocoa powder.

Cold coffee
If you don’t like a steaming hot cup of coffee and side with its cold cousin instead, Aggarwal recommends using your cocktail-making skills to experiment with the beverage.

Cold black coffee

Add: Tonic waters, sodas or ginger ale. Adding orange juice or coconut water can also enhance the flavour.

Milk-based Cold Coffee

Add: Malt, caramel, vanilla or chocolate work perfectly well with cold milk and coffee.

Avoid: Citrus flavour notes will simply make this type of coffee sour.

Mini sandwiches, quiches, chocolate squares or snack mixes are ideal pairings with coffee. Photo: istock

>Food pairings with coffee
- Drinking coffee is incomplete without delicious pairings on the side. Aggarwal recommends eating small portions which do not overpower the coffee. Mini sandwiches, quiches, chocolate squares or snack mixes are ideal pairings with coffee.

- Interestingly, unlike other food pairings which are usually contrasting, it is different for coffee as food with similar flavours to the roast go well with it too. It helps to highlight the flavour profile of the coffee. Aggarwal suggests that if one is drinking a dark roasted, strong coffee, then pairing it with dark chocolate is ideal. On the other hand, a light roasted acidic coffee can be paired with a lemon, orange or almond cake.

- It is important to avoid heavy or creamy food as it will coat the tongue making it difficult to taste your coffee. Food with a lighter texture complements the flavour of coffee.

>Choosing the right coffee mug
- Coffee isn’t only about the ingredients. Aggarwal says the right choice of mug can also boost the beverage. While it is ideal to use a wide mug for milk-based coffee, using a narrow mug for black coffee helps, as it gets cold faster.

- It is best to let hot coffee cool down to about 50-60 degrees Celsius, as the taste notes and flavours are highlighted best at these temperatures.

Also Read: How Mumbai’s Kolis relish dried fish on rainy days

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