Day Forty - Seven : A Mighty Pick Me Up

Coffee anyone?

I know I certainly needed my fair share of caffeine to keep going through today. No, no, I did not have a late night out on the town. It was most definitely a mixture of my body being worn out from last week's marathon along with just simply not getting enough sleep, I needed my caffeine fix today.

I used to be the type who drank quite a few cups of coffee and caffeinated sodas during the day. Nowadays, I try to limit myself to one cup of coffee and as many cups of green tea as I want, much better for the body and for the nerves.

So I got to thinking this afternoon about coffee and cheese.

My mind first wandered of course to Beehive Cheese Company's Barely Buzzed, as previously discussed, a cheddar style cheese that is rubbed with Colorado Legacy's "Beehive Blend" and French Superior Lavender. What you get on your mouth is a distinctly exotic mix of flavors with the creaminess of the cheese packing a nutty, butterscotchy, and caramelly finish -- an unusual but successful union! Great with chocolates, coffees, dark stout-y beers, sweet wines, and more.

For all of our pairing discussions and pairing classes though, how many discussions do we have about pairing coffee and cheese? Not many that's for sure! So I thought today, I'd give you two different pairing ideas for coffee and cheese:

1. An aged Gouda such as: 2 Sisters Notorious Aged Gouda (aged for 1 year) or even an Aged Goat Gouda (toffee colored upon first glance, butterscotchy and caramel-y on the tongue with flavors of burnt sugar, crumbly to the touch -- unique and delish) or probably the best option 2 year aged Boerenkaas (uncooked, pressed raw cow's milk, soaked in brine with an extra four months of rind brushing to bring the cheese to its full maturation at 2 years). The reason aged Goudas work so well with coffee is because the bitterness of the coffee is downplayed by the caramel-y, buttery, nutty, creaminess of the cheese.

2. A fresh chevre such as: Coach Farms fresh chevre, Cypress Grove's fresh chevre, and even Cowgirl creamery has a great fresh chevre. This is an easy cheese to find, there are plenty of variations at your local supermarket or if you want a more delicate and developed chevre, your local cheese purveyour. There are some great fresh chevres at the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturdays. The creamy, freshness of the bright and light cheese will cut through the bitterness of a cup of coffee and bring a smile to your face.

There are plenty of other pairings you could try with coffee and cheese, but I think that these two groups of cheeses will be most successful with your morning cup of Joe or if you were like me today, maybe even your late afternoon cup of Joe.

Check back tomorrow for this week's GCF!