Which dessert with which coffee? A cheat sheet for baristas

You serve great coffee and take care of the beans, the roast and the extraction. Then a random biscuit lands next to the cup and covers up everything the barista has worked on. A well-chosen dessert does the opposite: it brings out notes in the coffee that the guest wouldn't have noticed on their own. And it sells more easily, because the barista has a real reason to recommend it.

For every dessert in our B2B range we say which beans and roast it pairs with best. Below we explain where these recommendations come from - so you can use them even when you change the beans in your grinder.

Three rules before you start

• Like with like. Coffee with clear acidity and fruity notes goes well with a dessert that also has some acidity - citrus, raspberry, blackcurrant. Chocolatey coffee likes chocolate, caramel and nuts.
• Intensity with intensity. A delicate, light roast will lose against a heavy, very sweet dessert. Darker roasts and espresso can carry butter, chocolate and cheesecake.
• Contrast - yes, but in moderation. Salt, miso or sesame can beautifully lift the sweetness and the caramel notes in coffee. This works best with a medium roast that has something to answer with.

Ethiopia and Kenya, light roast

Citrus, flowers, red fruit, often a tea-like body. These coffees are easy to drown out, so we look for lighter desserts with natural acidity.

• Matcha - raspberry tartlet - the raspberry ganache plays with the Kenyan blackcurrant, and the matcha with the green, tea-like notes.
• Lemon - poppy seed - yuzu muffin - citrus with citrus, a good choice for an Ethiopian filter coffee.
• Matcha - white chocolate cheesecake and matcha muffin with white chocolate - creaminess without overwhelming sweetness.

What to avoid: heavy, bitter chocolate. With a light roast it simply becomes “chocolate with a hint of coffee”.

Brazil and Honduras, medium and dark roast

Chocolate, nuts, caramel, low acidity - the classic base for espresso and milk drinks. Here you can afford more butter and sweetness.

• Lotus cheesecake and Lotus - white chocolate cookie - caramelised, cinnamon notes complement the nuttiness of the coffee.
• Salted caramel - pecan tartlet - for flat whites and cappuccinos.
• Chocolate cheesecake and double chocolate cookie with salt - for a dark Brazilian roast, for guests who like it intense.

Colombia and Guatemala, medium roast

Balanced, with cocoa, spices and caramel. The most versatile - they handle sweet and salty combinations well.

• Miso - caramel cookie and Basque miso - caramel cheesecake - umami brings out the depth of the coffee.
• Black sesame tartlet - sesame and cherry for a cocoa-rich Guatemala.
• Coffee - tonka tartlet (Brazil or Colombia) - coffee with coffee, ideal with espresso.

A cheat sheet to hang behind the bar

How to use it in your café

• Add one line next to the dessert in your display, e.g. “With our Ethiopia: matcha - raspberry tartlet”. Guests don't need to know the rules - a hint is enough.
• Give the barista a ready-made line. Every dessert's product sheet has a short text the barista can say to the guest when they order.
• Changing the beans in your grinder? Swap one or two desserts in the display. The “Matches my coffee” filter in the catalogue will show you the matching items.

“Coffee tartlet with tonka - coffee with coffee. For espresso.”

Sample barista line from the product sheet

Not sure where to start?

Answer 6 questions in our “Match my display case” quiz - it takes 2 minutes, and we'll put together a selection of desserts to suit your coffee and your guests. Prefer to try them in person? Book a tasting - we'll bring a cross-section of our range to your venue or invite you to ours.