At Pacific Cookie Company, we pride ourselves on our Nellie’s Special: two cookies and a coffee to wash them down. The special is extremely popular – after all, what pairs better than Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co.’s coffee with a Chocolate Chip during a late-night stop? Plus, there’s no better feeling than supporting local small businesses during the holidays.
While we don’t serve every coffee from Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting with our cookies, we can recommend the best brews to try when you walk down the street. Here are our favorite pairings.
Chocolate Chip: Santa Cruz Full City
We serve Santa Cruz Full City at the store, because it’s a classic from Santa Cruz Roasting Co. (and it’s “Santa Cruz” Full City – we have to represent the town). A medium roast, the coffee’s vanilla mingles with the slight bitterness, perfect to pair with the cookie’s semisweet chocolate chips.
Chocolate Chip with Walnuts: 40th Anniversary Blend
What goes better with our walnut-filled cookie than a medium-roast coffee that has walnut flavoring? On top of this, the buttery brown sugar in the Chocolate Chip cookie matches the brown sugar tasting note mingling with the walnut in the 40th Anniversary Blend.
Almond Joe: Colombian Supremo
Almond Joe has almonds (of course), but it also has semisweet chocolate. Colombian Supremo’s medium-body roast has a fragrant, floral taste with notes of roasted almonds and caramel. It’s a sweet pairing balanced by the nuttiness.
Cahootz: Bean of the Earth
Our Cahootz cookie is, arguably, our sweetest cookie, thanks to its macadamia nuts, white chocolate, and hint of coconut. Rather than tamper it down with a dark roast, we recommend celebrating the taste with Bean of the Earth, which has notes of apricot and vanilla.
Dr. Midnight: Kenya AA
It might not seem like it at first taste, but part of Dr. Midnight’s delicious darkness includes grape juice, so pair it with a fruity, wine-like coffee. Our recommendation: Kenya AA, which has a crisp taste of bright, wine-like acidity.
Lemon Drop: Indian Monsooned Malabar AA
Our Lemon Drop has a strong, lemon taste, which we’re extremely proud of. Pair it with the Indian Monsooned Malabar AA, which is extremely light to keep a cedar-like note. For those not in-the-know (like myself), cedar notes taste sweet, like vanilla, so it’ll pair with the light, sugary dusting throughout the Lemon Drop.
Mint Condition: Chocolate Moka Java
Mint can be hard to complement outside of chocolate… so pair it with chocolate! Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co.’s flavored coffee, Chocolate Moka Java – which is smooth and sweet, with chocolate flavoring – doesn’t fight with the mint in the cookie, but melds with the dark chocolate.
Oatmeal Raisin: Steve’s Smooth French
Oatmeal raisin has a hint of cinnamon on top of its raisins, so pair it with currants and brown sugar. And by that, I mean pair it with Steve’s Smooth French, with tasting notes that pull out the raisins and warm spices without overwhelming your palate.
Peanut Butter: Mexican
This light French, medium-body roast pairs with the strong taste of peanut butter. It has a nutty, buttery flavor that mingles with the sweet and savory taste of our peanut butter, while milk chocolate and brown sugar add extra oomph.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip: Santa Cruz Organic Espresso
Espresso is strong, which is perfect when paired with semisweet chocolate chips. The Organic blend is rich and sweet, rather than bitter, lessening the peanut butter in a yummy way. You might even want to dip the cookie in the coffee, but that’s just us.
Snickerdoodle: Try the Nutcracker as we enter the holidays!
Our Snickerdoodle basically needs a coffee with cinnamon tasting notes. Enter: this coffee, full of cinnamon with a hint of hazelnut, which complement the sweet notes of our Snickerdoodles.
Ginger Spice: BluesBreaker
Our Ginger Spice is filled with ginger. Like, baked with crystallized ginger and ground ginger, then sprinkled with ginger sugar. It’s a Christmas miracle! It’s also supported by nutmeg, so underscore that tasting note with BluesBreaker, featuring hints of chocolate and nutmeg in a full body, dark roast.
What is your favorite cookie and coffee pairing? Will you be trying any of these? Tell us below!
How creative! I have not thought about pairing cookies with specific coffees. On this rainy morning I would say the Peanut Butter with Mexican Chocolate sounds like the perfect combo.
Amen to the cookie and coffee pairings, however, I vote for Lulu’s or Alta .. Like the variety of cookies , variety of coffees also matter! Here’s to more rainy days!