Food Product Design: Culinary Connection - November 2000 - The Coffee-Food Connection

November 2000

By Mark Crowell & Eric Chastain

Yesterday, more than half of all adults in the United States enjoyed a cup of coffee. In fact, on average, they enjoyed just over three of them. Coffee is the third most-consumed beverage behind water and soda. While coffee consumption overall has remained relatively flat, gourmet coffee consumption continues to grow rapidly, according to the National Coffee Association Winter 2000 study.

Complementary coffees

As with wine, much of the country seems to be discovering, and enjoying, the better-quality stuff. If gourmet coffee consumption is becoming widespread, can an appreciation of how specific types of coffee complement food be far behind? If so, a theory of how to pair coffee and food will need to be developed.

As a chef who works for a coffee company, I’ve often wondered why particular coffees pair so much better with certain foods than with others. If you work with coffee or coffee flavors, or are in the gourmet coffee business, you may have asked similar questions.

• Do coffees from certain origin countries pair better with certain of   food than with others?
• Are certain complementary or contrasting flavors present in   coffee and food that allow the two to pair well?
• Should certain foods be avoided with coffee?
• Are certain foods simply irresistible when paired with coffee?

A theory of coffee and food pairing would provide guidance, and perhaps even answer some of these questions. A pairing theory might also provide the means for marketing coffee in new ways that increase the consumer’s understanding and appreciation of it. At Starbucks, I am working with the experts in our coffee department to construct such a theory where we have developed some preliminary findings.

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Bean basics

First, some coffee basics. There are two commercially important coffee species: Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora (robusta). Arabica coffee (about 75% of world production) grows best at high altitudes, has a much more refined flavor than other species and contains about 1% caffeine by weight. As the name indicates, robusta coffee is a robust species, resistant to disease, with a high yield per plant. It flourishes at lower elevations, and produces coffee with harsher flavor characteristics. It contains about 2% caffeine by weight, twice that of arabica. Most gourmet coffee shops use 100% arabica beans, while grocery-store coffee is generally a blend of the two.

Geography has a significant impact on coffee flavor. There are three main coffee-growing regions in the world:

Coffees of Latin America: Known collectively as Latin America, the countries of Central America, Northern South America, as well as Mexico in North America, produce coffees that are generally light- to medium-bodied with clean, lively flavors. They are prized for their crisp acidity and consistent quality; both these features make them ideal foundations for blending.

Coffees of the Pacific: Frequently referred to as Indonesian coffees, they are on the opposite end of the taste spectrum from the Latin American coffees. They are typically full-bodied, smooth and earthy, with very low acidity and occasional herbal flavor notes. These are the "heavyweights" of the coffee world, providing deep, sturdy "low notes" when used in blends.

Coffees of East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula: These coffees often combine the crisp, clean acidity found in Latin American coffees with intense floral aroma and enticing fruity or winey flavors. Most are medium- to full-bodied. The range of coffee experiences from this family is as varied as the African continent itself — from the pure, elegant refinement of a fine coffee from Kenya to the exotic spice of Sanani from Yemen.

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Tasting and describing coffee

Commonly used coffee descriptors focus on four major characteristics of coffee:

Aroma. Much of what we taste is determined by what we smell. The aroma of a coffee can be floral, like a rose or winey, like a Merlot. Words that describe a coffee’s aroma include: exotic, floral, winey, earthy, fruity, pungent, sweet and clean.

Acidity. It is the lively, palate-cleansing property characteristic of all high-grown coffees. Acidity, like sweetness, is tasted primarily on the sides of the tongue and may range from low to high. Acidity should hit on the sides of the tongue and sometimes around the back of the jaw bone. It is the "tartness" or "tangy" quality felt in the mouth. Words which describe a coffee’s acidity include: bright, snappy, tangy and crisp (for coffees high in acidity).

Body. Body is the weight or thickness of the beverage on the tongue. It is the lingering aftertaste felt on the tongue long after the beverage is gone. It ranges from light to full. It varies between coffees and also with brewing methods — French-press coffees are all heavier-bodied than drip coffees. The terms light, medium and full are used to describe a coffee’s body.

Flavor. Refers to the total impression of aroma, acidity and body. Words that describe a coffee’s flavor include chocolatey, nutty, winey, berry-like, spicy, woody, earthy and smoky.

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Working toward a theory

To formulate a theory of pairing coffee and foods, we started with the four basic flavors: bitter, sour, salty and sweet. In addition, we added umami, a fifth sense that has generally been recognized as having the quality of savoriness. We also added spiciness as a sixth variable to our theory because of the popularity of spicy foods, and the marked impact these foods have on coffee flavor.

To develop baseline assessments, professional coffee tasters and chefs who frequently work with coffee and coffee flavors were assembled. They were given a black, high-quality (100% Arabica) South American coffee to taste. This coffee was selected because coffees from this region of the world are so common in the United States. Several food samples were provided representing each flavor. The tasters were asked to independently rate how the food samples impacted the flavor of the coffee. The tasters then discussed their findings and their observations were recorded and summarized as follows:

Bitter (raw mustard greens): tends to flatten out and neutralize coffee flavors, including coffee acidity and bitter notes.

Sour (lemon): tends to amplify acidity and bitterness. If mildly sour, it can have a positive "clarifying" effect on coffee flavor.

Salty (salted potato chips, salt): tends to round out or mellow coffee flavors, making them toastier. In lower concentrations, saltiness can emphasize a coffee’s nutty or earthy characteristics.

Sweet (baklava, sugar): enhances spiciness, acidity and body in a complementary manner.

Spicy (chili paste): overwhelms all coffee flavors and amplifies the physical heat present in the coffee. Body is one of the few characteristics that can still be discerned.

Umami (miso): intensifies all flavors, especially acidity, nuttiness and bitterness. In low concentrations, it can have a pleasant effect.

Based on these observations, we came to this general rule: Bitter and spicy flavors tend to overwhelm or clash with coffee. Sweet, salty, sour and umami flavors tend to complement coffee.

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Origin country

Next, we examined how the same food samples affected the flavor of coffees from the three major growing regions of the world: Latin America, Indonesia and Africa. The results are summarized in the table "Effect of Food Flavors on Coffees of Different Origins."

The coffee’s country of origin had much more impact on the coffee-food flavor interaction than we expected. Generally, the food flavor intensified one or two characteristics of the coffee for better or worse:

• Latin American coffee most complements sweet and sour flavors.
• Bitter flavors are generally unpleasant with coffee, but Latin American coffee stood up best.
• Indonesian coffee best complements salty and savory foods.
• African coffees, with their crisp acidity and fruity-winey flavors, are tough to match with food.
With some exceptions, these coffees may be enjoyed best alone.

Next steps

We are only beginning to understand the interactions between coffee and food flavors. Much work needs to be done to understand how specific foods (vs. simple flavors) interact with coffee. We have generalized how the three regions react to the flavor groups, but we have not considered the impact of coffee-processing methods: dry vs. washed vs. semi-washed.

As we experiment further, we will refine our theories and become better at pairing coffee and food. The result will be a heightened appreciation and understanding of how to enjoy the fascinating world of coffee.

Mark Crowell, director, culinary development for Starbucks Coffee Company, Seattle, WA, was an honors graduate from the Culinary Institute of America in 1979. With a B.S. in Hospitality Management from Florida International University, Miami, this board member of the Research Chefs Association earned his MBA from Columbia University.

 Eric Chastain, coffee education specialist, joined Starbucks in 1993. He has a B.S. in Marketing from Metropolitan State College, Denver; a MBA in Marketing; and a MA in Southeast Asian History from Ohio University.

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