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Which chocolate for coffee?
Coffee is a must-have after-dinner drink and can be enjoyed to the fullest when consumed with excellent quality chocolate. In various forms, this delicacy is the ideal accompaniment to your coffee. With so many different products available, it is not always easy to know which chocolate is best for coffee. To help you make your choice, here is a guide to help you select the most suitable chocolate for coffee in any situation.
Chocolate and coffee, a popular combination
Chocolate and coffee have a long history together. In Great Britain, it is a tradition to have tea with a variety of delicacies, but in France this little pleasure dates back to the end of the 19th century. In 1882, the master chocolatier Eugène Weiss democratised the sale of Italian espressos with a small square of chocolate at the counters of the cafetiers in Saint-Étienne. The founder of the Weiss company gave his creation the same name as this type of black coffee, namely the Napolitan. Quickly adopted by the professionals of the region, this practice will spread and last until today.
From a gustatory point of view, the use of chocolate to accompany the coffee ensures a perfect marriage of flavours. The harmony between these two products lies in their great complementarity, the sweetness of the chocolate bringing balance to the strength of the coffee. Better still, the two can be consumed together without losing any of their aroma or subtlety. As a flavour enhancer, cocoa allows the natural flavours of coffee to be enhanced.
There is no doubt that cocoa beans and coffee beans are an ideal combination to end a meal. However, these ingredients with character are not always easy to combine in the best way, because of the large number of products available and the marked differences in their composition. It is important that the chocolate enhances the flavours of the coffee, while the coffee should be able to energise the chocolate. To enjoy a tasty result, you should therefore look for the best possible combinations.
Finding the right flavour combinations
The choice of chocolate for coffee is obvious because of the common flavours that these two products share. They bring out the best in each other, making them the perfect combination for all your gourmet breaks. With this in mind, you can opt for brand-name chocolates, chocolate-covered fruit or chocolate squares with a high percentage of cocoa. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate or more specific products (with almonds or hazelnuts, for example), there is no shortage of possibilities for a successful tasting.
With Fauchon, you will be able to buy exceptional products designed by great French chocolate masters. The choice of quality is a sure value to sublimate the flavours of your coffee. Although these sweets should of course be consumed in moderation, a small amount of high-quality chocolate taken with coffee is a good way to combine pleasure with a beneficial effect on health. Depending on your taste, you will be able to find a variety of specialities, including praline and crispy chocolates.
The best chocolates to enjoy with coffee
When looking for a little chocolate to go with coffee, it's best to go for top-of-the-range products. You should also take into account the specific characteristics of each chocolate to determine which aromatic combinations will be the most successful with coffee.
A milk chocolate is best paired with a European roast coffee. This type of coffee is known for its rich and bold notes. These will provide an optimal counterpoint to the creamy flavour of milk chocolate. With a square of excellent dark chocolate, you can choose a coffee based on traditional roasting. Dark chocolate is perfectly enhanced by a mild, medium coffee. For lovers of white chocolate, it is preferable to choose a combination with a hazelnut cream coffee. Very tasty, this combination will allow you to remarkably enhance the aromas of these two products.
For more original choices, you can drink a European-style coffee while enjoying chocolate-covered strawberries, or eat chocolate-covered pretzels with a Colombian coffee.
Choosing the right chocolate for your coffee
For those who like to have a sweet treat at the end of a meal, chocolate with coffee is a must. Depending on your favourite types of coffee, you can choose the chocolates that will give you the tastiest combinations.
With espresso coffee, you will need to counterbalance its full-bodied aspect with a surplus of sweetness. A fruit with a chocolate coating is a good idea, as are orangettes, slices of candied orange peel covered in dark chocolate. Robusta coffee is notoriously bitter and should preferably be enjoyed with chocolate that is slightly sweeter than normal. A good milk chocolate will do wonders to balance the strength of the heavily roasted coffee beans. Sweet and aromatic, Arabica can be consumed with a crunchy sweetness for a most pleasant tasting experience. Chocolate-covered almonds are recommended here.
Don't hesitate to favour combinations based on common terroirs. A coffee from Colombia can be enjoyed with a dark chocolate from Ecuador with a high cocoa content, while an Arabica and a dark chocolate from Mexico will make a perfect match.
With all these tips in mind, you'll have no trouble choosing a chocolate to accompany your coffee.
