Coffee klatsch

As the weather cools off (it is turning to fall, isn’t it?), it’s time to abandon your iced frappe-jappa-whatever and turn to straight-up coffee, preferably with something sweet alongside it. I asked Dalen Sargent, owner of Sargent’s Coffee, about his favorite pairings of coffee and sweets:

1. With desserts, I tend to like an Ethiopian coffee. With chocolate, I tend to like, say, with a brownie or some type of chocolate dessert, a Sumatra that’s got a lot of body to it, a lot of syrupy characteristics.

2. I’m an ice cream fan—with ice cream, I do like an Ethiopian coffee. I think it’s got a nice contrast. An Ethiopian Harare has some nice blueberry characteristics to it.

3. With cheesecake, I’d recommend an Ethiopian coffee, as well; they have a lot of fruit characteristics, a lot more flavor, and they’re usually roasted at a lighter level, at least that’s what we do with them.