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The Perfect Match
How to select just the right coffee — during and after the meal 
(Family Features) - Most holiday dinners are made and presented with a lot of care and
attention to the taste of the food. But paying attention to what's
in the cup can also affect what's on the plate. When entertaining
this year, make holiday dinners more memorable by pairing the right
coffee with your meal.
The level of roast — light, medium, medium-dark or dark —
dictates the intensity of each coffee and helps determine what
foods it will pair with best. The general rule is, the richer the
food, the darker the coffee needed to balance the flavor.
While most people think of coffee as an after-dinner drink, it
can be served throughout the meal. When serving coffee with dinner,
a non-flavored roast is best. Most holiday meals are very rich, so
a medium or medium-dark roast is best to balance the richness of
the food. A Columbian Supremo or medium-dark Millstone Foglifter is
a great complement to Thanksgiving or other holiday dinners.
If serving a coffee over the course of a meal, be sure to keep
the coffee fresh. Millstone Coffee's master roaster Rich Bertagna
recommends keeping coffee fresh and hot during and after a meal by
using air pots. "Coffee can get scorched by sitting on a hot
burner, and can also lose freshness if exposed to air for more than
20 minutes," says Bertagna. "An air pot keeps coffee hot — without
burning it — and fresh for several hours.
After dinner, consider offering a selection of coffees to
match the range of desserts that are offered. When pairing desserts
and coffee, consider the richness of the dessert. Light roasts,
because of their delicate flavors, go marvelously with light
desserts, but are overwhelmed by rich desserts. Conversely, rich
sweets are best answered by dark coffees that can stand up to the
flavor. Many holiday desserts, such as pecan pie, pumpkin pie or
rich chocolate cakes, should be served with a darker coffee, like a
deliciously smoky French roast. Flavors also make great complements
to dessert.
You can also indulge in holiday flavors without the guilt by
selecting a flavored coffee instead of dessert. Many premium
coffees, like Millstone Coffee, have special roasts — like Pumpkin
Spice, Holiday Peppermint and Jingle Java — just for this time of
year. Favorites such as French Vanilla or Hazelnut also are great
after-dinner coffee flavors. Around Thanksgiving, Millstone's
Pumpkin Spice is a great guilt-free after-dinner indulgence.
Coffee tip: To maximize its freshness, open coffee as close to
the meal as possible and keep it in an airtight container. (Don't
keep coffee in the fridge or freezer, where there can be
condensation or food odors.)
Coffee drinkers can find more information on coffee and
dessert pairings and other coffee tips at Millstone.com.
SOURCE: Millstone
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