Coffee is for Lovers

The long awaited follow up article to our successful food+coffee pairing with Companion Bakeshop. This article is focused on savory pastries; ones that are not sweet but buttery, salty, hearty, among other things. Again, we are pairing these delicious goods with a cappuccino and coffee to see what kinds of wonderful flavor combinations we can find. Companion makes some of the best baked items in the Monterrey Bay area, so there was no better place to sit down, enjoy a coffee, and set to work eating delicious food for this article. Enjoy.

The Daily Quiche/Fritada: While the creamy texture of the cap mixed very well with the fluffy texture of the eggs, the combination of espresso and vegetables was truly outstanding. The espresso actually seemed to enhance the flavors and underscored the nuances of the kale, for instance. I think what was most striking was the way it also brought out the spices in the dish, especially the fennel seeds. By contrast, the coffee actually detracted from the flavors of the quiche; it masked most of the subtitles with intensity while adding nothing to the texture. It’s only real advantage was that it toned down the buttery crust. Winner: Cap.

“Salty Pig” Cheddar Bacon Biscuit: This was our only real toss up, both drinks did equally well. The buttery-ness of the buscuit combined with the coffee’s astringency was wonderful since it cut down the heft of the dough while accentuating the savory elements, especially the the bacon. The cap added an unexpected sweetness and a delightful thick body. Though potentially overwhelming, it was actually quite pleasant in small portions. Winner: Both.

Bread Pudding: As delicious as savory bread pudding can be, this was a no-brainer for the food pairing. The coffee mellowed out the cheese and cream that oozes out of this delicious treat, thus making it relatively mild. The cap was far too rich to be paired well with just bread pudding alone…unless you like an oversaturation of dairy. Winner: Coffee

Bread (rye): By far, the bread combination was the biggest surprise and delight of the day. Not only did it offer the most dynamic flavor combinations, it also felt the most “organic” pairing in some senses. Companion’s Rye is incredible and no doubt one of the best loaves you will get from a bakery in Santa Cruz. It is a hearty, solid, “go-to” selection. The Carroway seeds and cap milk was satisfying and mellow. The milk sits well with the heavy body and texture of the bread. I could see myself comfortably eating a few slices with a little butter and a cap every day. The coffee, on the other hand, diverged from “safe” and amazed us with complexity. The flavors from the Carroway and other seasonings were pleasantly accentuated. There was an incredible tapering zest after-flavor that literally lingered on the back of your tongue with each sip of coffee. Winner: Both

Granola: This was just a small sampling of the granola itself, not a full bowl with any garnish or added dairy. This too was relatively straightforward. Of course, the cap won us over since the milk complimented the granonla. That little extra was essential. The black coffee drowned out the sweet flavor of the granola, becoming coffee with a texture. Winner: Cap.

Overall, we concluded that the sweet flavor of the cap paired well with everything. It added some elements that enhanced savory characteristics.

While some combinations could be considered mediocre, the cap never detracted from the food.  The coffee had the biggest range in flavors. We found that the coffee had some very intriguing combinations, the Rye+coffee pairing was definitely my favorite overall. However, the coffee also hindered the flavors of some of the more mellow items on the list. So, while coffee+savory item can be a more intriguing pairing, the cap won out overall as the more reliable option. Enjoy, happy eating.

Erin, one of the owners of Companion Bakeshop, approached me with a novel idea; pairing coffee/cappaccinos with pastries like wine and cheese. I thought it was just brilliant, coffee shops and specialty bakeries are becoming such mainstream culinary staples, why shouldn’t we take pairing seriously? I bounced the idea around and got a lot of positive feed back. Not only is it a great way to give back to the coffee community but a good way to get some buzz for a great bakeshop and a solid coffee roasting company.

I walked in one morning and met with two of Compaion’s excellent baristas, Andy and Ryan. We briefly discussed strategy and started brewing up some fresh pour overs. Of course, we used Lulu’s beans for our caps and coffees, Sidama ECX for both. All of us are coffee nerds, so the three of us making coffee together was fun enough. Then, like a pack of wolves, we descended on the pastry case, Andy and Ryan choosing what they thought best represented the specialties of their shop. When we sat down to our pasty Smörgåsbord at the end of the companion long table, we all had this kind of “what did we just get ourselves into?”mixed with “this is going to be so amazing” look on our faces.

After about an hour of chatting, tasting, and seriously critiquing each coffee/cap and pasty pairing, we found that most of our predictions were right with a few curve balls. We took very official notes (see picture) and here are the results.

• Buckwheat Scone: We thought the acidity of the coffee mixed with the starchiness of the scone was a good combination. The coffee definitely gives your pallet a little moister, which is a good balance to the dryness. The bite of the coffee also went very well with the sweet tangyness of the berries.            Winner:Coffee

• Chocolate Seasalt Cookie: If you haven’t had one of these yet, go down to the store tomorrow and buy 6 for you and yours. We split one cookie amongs the three of us and it still killed us. The saltiness of the cookie paired very well with the creaminess of the cap where as the watery coffee actually detracted from it. The coffee was also a bit harsh with the rich chocolate.            Winner: Cap

• Lemon Bar: This is something unique since you may not find it in every coffee shop, but lend it to Companion to make another oustanding pastry. This one was a real toss up; all three of us disagreed. While some of us thought the cap contrasted with the creamyness of the crust too much, others thought it went well. Since coffee was very smooth, the lemon bar was just moist enough to pair well with either. For me, I thought the lemon flavoring and the coffee flavor was key.          Winner: Both

• Chocolate Croissant: A solid choice for any coffee shop, this one was pretty much a no brainer. The creamy cap and the butter of the crossaint were just too much richness while the acidity of the coffee actually canceled out the richness very well. This also may  have been because we were 4 pastries deep and all feeling a little sugar high.               Winner: Coffee

•  Brownie: I could not believe how moist and rich this thing was. At this point, customers had taken notice of our little party and joined in the tasting. Though the three of us predicted that the brownie was going to go well with the coffee, we were actually extremely impressed with how well the milk in the cap went with the creamy smooth chocolate. The moosey texture complimented the coffee since it offered a contrast, so we were all pretty happy with either choice. Most customers seemed to agree that the cap went a little better, but it was pretty even between the three of us.                    Winner: Cap

• Pear Pie: Tis the season of pie. By now we were all feeling about 10 lbs heavier and could barely look this thing in the face. But, Companion never dissappoints and we had a job to do. You readers were depending on us, pioneers in the field of coffee/pastry pairing. The creamy whip went super well with the coffee, the pasty crust was perfectly balanced by the coffee, but the pear filling flavor was totally swept by the cap. This one really could have gone either way because of all the unique flavors mixing together.                 Winner: Both