“May I reverse-engineer (that) and figure out what your taste in coffee is?” I bravely asked a powerful gentleman during a dinner between him, his wife, my husband, and myself.
Now let me emphasize a couple of words here, specifically “bravely” and “powerful.” If I’d messed up, I’d have sounded cocky, and I would have kissed whatever’s left of what I laughingly call my wine writing “career” goodbye. If I got it right, however, I would have impressed the guy and, well… I’d have lived to write another day.
Since this has been published… Needless to say, I might have done something right.
Let me paint a picture of that evening: The gentleman ordered a bold, robust, tannic red wine… The kind that really has a grip on the gums. Nothing wrong with this style, of course… It’s just that he was pretty chill pairing it with a delicate, briny seafood ceviche. He further spoke about his other wine preferences (all leaning towards the same style as his vin de la nuit) and I deduced…
“You like your coffee black… Strong…? At worst you’d probably have your coffee with a teeny amount of sweetener… But I think you’d prefer your coffee black.”
“Yes… Actually I like drinking espresso.”
Phew.
So, how did I do that.
No, it didn’t involve black magic… It involved applying a few principles I’ve learned over the years in food and wine pairing which I am gladly sharing here:
- People who like their coffee as black as, well… my soul… can generally tolerate bitterness and acidity (not sourness, we’re talking about salivation here) on their palate.
- Having said that, here’s the complicated part: Food with high levels of umami (such as the briny ceviche) will highlight a wine’s bitterness, tannin, and acidity. The fact that he was okay with that evening’s pairing was pretty telling… The guy could handle his bitterness, ergo his predilection for black coffee.
- He likes his wines red and frankly, massive. Again, nothing wrong with that… It just tells me that he wouldn’t like a caffeinated beverage as delicate as milk tea.
These principles could also be flipped: One of my closest friends hates coffee… And the rare times he has any, it’s loaded with cream and sweetener. This tells me that I must be careful with my food and wine pairing choices with him (I’d pair a powerful red wine with a flavorful, well-seasoned red meat for the guy) to avoid emphasizing the wine’s bitterness, tannin, and acidity. If he’s not pairing food with wine, I’d choose an off-dry (wine speak for something with a smidge of sweetness) for him.
Now. Does this make my friend a better gourmand than the powerful gentleman in my story? I’m not just saying this because both could potentially be reading this article (hi sir, hi buddy!), but hey… Taste has always been and will always be subjective. How someone wants his/her/their wines paired, and their coffee preference, is personal.
It’s just fun to know these principles… They’re equal parts a handy party trick, career saving, and useful when choosing wine.
