Burundi Coffee with Cream Toast? There's a Formula for Pairing Coffee with Baked Pastries!

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When you step into a specialty coffee shop or afternoon tea restaurant, the inviting aroma of coffee mixed with baked pastries fills the air—it's as if this is the scent of happiness.

Coffee with Diverse Flavors Enriches Pastries with Rich Layers

The reason coffee and baked pastries make such a perfect match lies in the different origins of coffee beans, roasting methods, and brewing techniques, which give each cup of coffee a rich and complex mellow flavor and aroma. When paired with different foods, they present entirely distinct tastes. Therefore, when enjoying baked pastries, a cup of well-matched coffee is most suitable—it can cut through richness while enhancing the wonderful experience for your taste buds.

For example, lightly roasted coffees with prominent fruit acidity, such as Yirgacheffe, Costa Rican, and Burundi coffees, are perfect for pastries with dry aromas and fruit flavors, such as scones, cookies, and chiffon cakes. These types of pastries can highlight the fruity acidity in the coffee, while the coffee's aroma adds rich layers to the pastries, avoiding a dry mouthfeel.

As for dairy-based pastries, which typically have rich milky aromas and sweet, heavy textures, they can easily become cloying after the first bite. This includes fresh cream cakes, cheesecakes, heavy cheesecakes, mousse cakes, tiramisu, and cream puffs. These pair best with low-acidity, medium-roasted coffees like Mandheling, Brazilian, and Guatemalan varieties. This is because when coffee's fruit acidity is too strong, it can clash with the milky flavors. Instead, the rich, full-bodied texture of medium-dark roasted coffee can balance the sweetness of dairy products while preserving a pleasant milky aftertaste.

For those who prefer pairing coffee with savory items like quiches, croissants, sandwiches, and savory breads, I recommend choosing specialty coffees with strong coffee flavors but not overly heavy milkiness, such as cappuccino, Yuanyang coffee, and macchiato. This way, the savory flavors can blend with the rich smoky and spicy notes in the coffee, adding more layers of complexity to the coffee experience. Meanwhile, the coffee aroma can cleanse the palate of excessive greasiness from savory foods, leaving a lasting fragrance in your mouth.

Are you surprised that pairing coffee with pastries involves so much expertise?

FrontStreet Coffee: A Guangzhou-based coffee roastery with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans, while also offering online services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473