It’s Easter this weekend, and that means candy. So so much candy. Strewn about the house, littering the yard, the scattershot work of some mystical, egg-laying leporid bringing sugar-coated joy to little boys and girls (and adults) everywhere. Everyone loves a bite of something sweet, but the confectionary glut this time of year can sometimes be a bit cloying. It’s a lot.
Luckily, there is coffee. Much like the iconic pairing of coffee and donuts, the bitter counteracts the sweet and vice versa, creating an experience that can be greater than the sum of its parts. But what coffee goes with which candy?
For that, we turn to our Roaster’s Village, a weekly selection of coffees from some of the best roasters in the world, curated by the roasters themselves. We scoured the fresh coffee offerings from the Roaster’s Village to find the best pairings with six of our favoriteโand arguably the bestโEaster candies that you’re about to have literal pounds of. So grab your baskets and your brewers. We’re goin’ flavor huntin’!
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Equator Coffees Cherry Blossom Espresso and Peeps
Peeps are complicated. Within the context of a marshmallow confection, they aren’t strictly speaking, good. But as a Peep, there is a weird delight to them on their own. Some Peeps lovers say they are only good after they’ve “aged” and will buy a box to be eaten next year. As a simple sugar fluff, there is perhaps no better Easter candy to pair with an espresso than the Peep. It just makes sense. And with Equator Coffees’ Cherry Blossom Espresso, with notes of dried pineapple and cherry cordial, the interplay of rich sweetnesses is an undeniable combination.
More info from the Roaster’s Village: Equator Coffees’ Cherry Blossom EspressoโSip into spring with our new seasonal offering, Cherry Blossom Espresso. This limited-time espresso features delicate flavors of dried pineapple and lavender from the foundation coffee, Suke Quto, and an assortment of exotic coffees that make up the blend.
Monogram Elida Estate Catuai and Cadbury Egg
There is perhaps no candy more associated with Easter than the Cadbury Egg. The British-made sweet cream-filled chocolate egg has a cult following in the States. It is also a bit divisive. No one is unsure how they feel about Cadbury Eggs. You either anxiously await Easter every year for their seasonal return or they give you the creeps; there is no middle ground. However you may feel about them, they are the sweetest of the candies you’re going to find this time of year. (Some would say cloying, but YMMV.) The Cadbury punches big and requires a coffee that punches back just as hard. And the Elida Estate Catuai from Monogram is a heavyweight. Coming from the Panamanian farm famed for its Gesha, the natural processed Catuai from the Elida Estate has big aromas, intense fruit flavors, and a heavy body. It can stand up to the ooey-gooey sweetness of a Cadbury Egg.
More info from the Roaster’s Village: Monogram Coffee Elida Estate Catuaiย โ Lamastus Family Panama is now world famous for the gesha variety, producing some of the most delicious (and expensive) geshas in the world. Geshaโs popularity had a huge impact on speciality coffee by emphasizing the importance and impact of coffee variety. At the same time that there is an intense interest in variety, there is also a move to understand how processing can elucidate unique varietal characteristics in coffee varieties. Elida Estate is world famous for their gesha coffees, but they have not rested on their success and they are trying to improve every coffee they offerโincluding coffees that are not gesha.โจโจThey grow a large amount of Catuai on the farm and they have developed a process that brings the best out of the variety. They ferment the coffee cherry in oxygen-free tanks for 5 days and then dry it very slowly for up to 30 days, with the last part of the drying finished in a covered tent. This process reveals the power and structure of Catuai, with big aromas, intense fruit, and a heavy body.
Madcap Coffee New Moon and Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
The Easter egg is the best expression of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (though those new caramel-topped ones sure do sound good). You’ve got chocolate, you’ve got peanut butter, all without that weird dried-out crunch from the perforated edge of the cup. It’s timeless and crushable. And in coffee, there is nothing more timeless and crushable than a well-considered blend. For that, there is Madcap’s seasonal New Moon blend (or any blend from the Michigan roaster really). Combining the lighter florality of an Ethiopia Reko and the syrupy body of a Honduras, the New Moon offers excitement and balance in equal measure. Its flavors of caramel and orange, cherry blossom and rhubarb, and sweet agave offer both complement and counterpoint to the chocolate and PB of an all-time great candy.
More info from the Roaster’s Village: Madcap Coffee Company New MoonโEach season, Madcapโs roasting team creates a seasonal blend to reflect the flavors of the moment, combining shining single origins to create an exceptional blend experience. This yearโs New Moon blend captures the first breeze of fresh air when the windows are open, complete with fresh blossoms and beams of sunshine. A balanced blend of two coffees, Reko from Ethiopia and Juan Angel from Honduras, did just the trick.
Reko hails from Kochere district of Yirgacheffe, at the base of Reko mountain, from which the coffee gets its name. Famously bright and effervescent, not only is Reko delicious on its own, but it provides the perfect tea-like base for New Moon. Juan Angel completed the blend with its syrupy body, with rich notes of caramel and juicy orange, providing further depth for the blend. However you brew it, enjoy tasting notes of cherry blossom, rhubarb, and sweet agave with your windows open.
Olympia Coffee Ariz Family Gesha Natural and Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Bunnies
An elegant candy requires an elegant coffee. The chocolate bunny is a classic Easter treat, and Ghirardelli has added a layer of refinement to it by making a dark chocolate, sea salt, and caramel variety. The timeless trio can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be. The same can be said of Gesha. And Olympia’s natural processed anaerobic, natural Gesha from El Salvador can be a really good cup or coffee or it can a full on experience, with florality and strawberry jam and gummy candies.ย A nibble of dark chocolate bunny ear and Olympia Gesha pour-over are a pairing made to be savored, its complex subtleties to be enjoyed slowly.
More info from the Roaster’s Village: Olympia Coffee’s Ariz Family Gesha NaturalโOlympia Coffee: According to our sourcing experts, this coffee isโand we quoteโโinsanely ****ing good.โ The coffee-producing superpowers of Ricardo and Marco Ariz are responsible for this mindblowingly-delicious, anaerobic-natural Gesha from El Salvador. We found flavors of strawberry jam and gummy candies, along with a florality that makes for an extra elevated cup.
Greater Goods Santa Gema and Jelly Bellies
Pairing a coffee with jelly beans, especially some of the more gonzo flavors that can be found in a bag of Jelly Bellies, is no easy task. The coffee must be multi-faceted, able to work with tarter fruit flavors, sugar-sweet bites, and even an oddball bean like, say, buttered popcorn. The coffee must contain multitudes. And the Santa Gema from Greater Goods Roasting fits the bill. Used at the US Brewers Cup year, the Nicaraguan coffee has a broad range of flavor notes, including the sweetness of cherry cordial, a florality like tea rose, and the complex tartness of tamarind. Do your worst, Jelly Belly. The Santa Gema is ready.
More info from the Roaster’s Village: Greater Goods Roasting Santa Gema โLast year, we had the privilege of visiting some incredible farms in Nicaragua, including Santa Gema. At Santa Gema, Mario Vilchez produces a remarkable maracaturra coffee with flavor notes of cherry cordial, tea rose, and tamarind. Weโre proud to say that this coffee qualified for Nationals at the US Brewerโs Cup competition, a testament to its exceptional quality.
PERC El Salvador Delagua Pacamara and Cadbury Mini-Eggs
The natural processed Delagua from PERC has notes of fresh strawberries, orange, and maple syrup. And you know what goes great with fresh strawberries, oranges, and maple syrup? Chocolate, pure and simple. The move here is to alternate between sips of Delagua and bites of Cadbury Mini-Eggs. You hear the word “Cadbury” and you think cream eggs, but their Mini-Egg offerings are more akin to an M&M than their larger gooey counterparts. No matter what flavor of the Delagua is popping that day, the simple pleasure of the milk chocolate is sure to enhance it. And as a bonus, those big ole Pacamara beans are about the same size as the Mini-Eggs themselves.
More info from the Roaster’s Village: PERC El Salvador Delagua PacamaraโWe knew we had to bring it in as soon as we tasted this coffee. It reminds us of freshly picked strawberries, oranges, and maple syrup. Pacamaras are giant beans that yield big, juicy flavors with lots of sweetness, and Delagua delivers on that reputation in spades. Now, we can fit these beans in the dang bag.
Happy Easter from everyone here at Sprudge!
