Coffee & Chocolate

Last month’s issue of “Fresh Cup Magazine” was all about pairing coffee with some of the most luxurious gourmet chocolates of the world. How do they pair up? How does coffee and chocolate go together? For us at Chillybean that’s easy; a dark roasted coffee bitter and bold can only go so well with one thing: chocolate.

At Chillybean we make our mochas with the finest quality Batdorf and Bronson organic roasts and mychai organic chocolate sauce. The quality of our ingredients is impeccable, we could eat our chocolate with a spoon!

This week we have carefully read through each coffee report and paired the roasts we use on the Chillybean with the famously delicious Lindor Chocolate Truffles. This will give you the opportunity to pick up the truffles and try for yourself!

Dancing Goats Blend:

Batdorf and Bronson’s most popular and famous coffee blend is some of the most well balanced coffee we have ever had the pleasure of trying at Chillybean. The name was given by the goats that danced after eating the coffee cherries as the origin story of how coffee began. This coffee we have used as a drip coffee or espresso due to its well-balanced nature and great flavor.

According to the coffee report, Dancing Goats is described as dark, smooth and sweet. It has a floral aroma with a rather nutty flavor mixed with hints of chocolate and caramel. Not very acidic, it has the characteristics of the older, more traditional coffees with a darker, bolder profile. Dancing Goats we felt needed something lighter and sweeter to balance out such a roast. A Stracciatella Lindor truffle (or a few) would be a great pair to the Dancing Goats blend. The white, sweet vanilla chocolate and milk chocolate pieces compliments the dark almond roasted flavor of this blend and provides a tasting experience you won’t soon forget.

Organic Whirling Dervish:

The Whirling Dervish is a roast we use for our espresso. Due to it’s traditional cherry, chocolate and molasses flavors, we’ve found this roast is served best as a double shot with a thick layer of gold crema on top. In its coffee report, Whirling Dervish is explained to have a velvety body, which explains why it is widely used as an espresso blend.

Similar to a Dancing Goats, Whirling Dervish also has a hint of orange zest in the flavor profile adding that slight acidic nature. The velvety profile of this blend is paired best with something dark and not quite as sweet as milk chocolate. We have paired Whirling Dervish with a Dark Orange Lindor truffle, expanding the flavor of the orange and giving WD its full potential.

Organic Peruvian Decaf:

The only decaf coffee Chillybean serves is the Peruvian coffee we can use for either decaf espresso or decaf drip coffee. This coffee is bold in flavor due to its origin location being rich in natural minerals. This part of Peru is known greatly for its gold and silver. Batdorf and Bronson said it best: This special coffee will have you second-guessing if you are indeed drinking decaf.

This roast is described as having a sweet-chocolaty nature with great hints of orange and spices. It goes great with milk and pairs great with many fruits and desserts. The coffee report suggest the Peruvian Decaf is great as a cold brew coffee so, we suggest adding some milk to this cold brew and enjoying it with a hazelnut Lindor Truffle. The nuttiness compliments the sweet, spicy flavors completing a great decaf coffee.

Organic Skye’s Mountain Blend:

One of Batdorf and Bronson’s oldest blended coffees, the Skye blend is also great as an espresso or pour-over coffee. Known as the “dessert coffee” the blend comes from the inspiration of the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

The flavor profile of this blend is very complex, being very bold but acidic. It is compared to vintage port with spicy black currant and dark cherry notes. Skye would do well with a Dark Raspberry Lindor Truffle, expanding the dark berry flavors. This will help better identify the complex flavors of this roast.

Organic Nicaraguan Isabelia:

Chillybean never goes anywhere without its traditional dark roast, Nicaraguan Isabelia. This is our most loved coffee, with the great and traditional bold coffee flavors, it pairs well with almost anything and you can drink it many different ways at any time of year. We have used it for a our famous cold brew coffee as well during the summer, and brewing it extra hot in the colder months.

The flavor profile is very traditional and very balanced. This makes close to a perfect cup of coffee for us because we enjoy the traditional dark coffee with a perfect mix of fruity and chocolate notes. Isabelia is described loosely in the coffee report with peach and cocoa. Something soft and sweet with bitterness of chocolate nibs would be paired with something like the famous Caramel Lindor truffle creating a great and light contrast especially for warmer times of the year.

Here’s a challenge: Post a picture of you and your favorite chocolate on the Chillybean Facebook page or on Instagram with #chillybeancoffeeco for your chance to win a bag of Lindor chocolate truffles this holiday!

Let’s start off the year right and pair your morning coffee with some chocolate chip pancakes or a gooey chocolate croissant!