Pairing coffee with food

Just had a really interesting tasting at Longueville Manor for an article we're doing with Eat magazine. Usually tastings are all about the coffee which is not unreasonable, however also in attendance on this occasion was Martin Flageul of Victor Hugo wines. The interviewer wanted to hear his comments on the taste and then make suggestions as to which desert to pair it with. The following observations were made:

Monsooned Malabar from southern India - This coffee is lightly roasted and thus has a very delicate flavour. It is notably smooth which is the result of the process that takes place at origin where the beans are slightly dessicated prior to bagging into 50 kilo sacks. Martin concluded that this would go well with Madeira cake or light biscuit something that won't overwhelm the taste buds.

Old Brown Java from Indonesia - This coffee is darker roasted creating a darker aroma, yet still achieving real smoothness in the cup. The taste is much more lingering than the Malabar coffee. Martin suggested dried fruits to go with this coffee - Dried Apricots was his suggestion, personally I think fresh fig would also be quite interesting.

Costa Rica Tarrazu - A medium roasted classic central American washed Arabica coffee. Right now this coffee is superbly aromatic and is a favourite with us at Cooper's. The caramel notes really come through in the coffee. For Martin this coffee was the classic coffee to have with a croissant or light puff pastry. Truly glugable!

Ethiopian Harrar - This again is medium roasted however is noted for its fruitiness. Martin immediately picked up on this coffee's complexity, it plays havoc with your taste buds due to the sun dried process that takes place at origin which locks in the fruit of the outer skin. After some deliberation this turned out to be Martin's favourite coffee which probably reflects a sophisticated palate which has tasted more than its fair share of blandness over the years. Martin's pairing suggestion was dark chocolate. The fruit and chocolate flavours complimenting each other.

This was a really interesting session and once again we end up with coffee being spoken about in the same terms as wine. Coffee has a lot of catching up to do in educational terms though.