A family in Oceanside has brewed up an interesting new business venture: a subscription service that sends different types of coffee – paired perfectly with snacks – right to your door.
North County resident Alex Moen, along with his sister, Kimberley DeLauro, and his brother-in-law, Adrian, recently launched Match Made Coffee, a monthly subscription service that delivers to its customers this treat: a wooden box filled with a collection of artisanal coffee from around the globe, along with snacks chosen to perfectly complement the flavors of the javas.
Moen likens the concept to what wine sommeliers do when they match wine with food but the focus here is on pairing different roasts of coffee with snacks.
“There’s something very interesting about tailoring something to match you and what you like,” Moen told NBC 7. “The coffee beans we use are from all over the world – gathered at different altitudes, producing different tastes. Different roasters bring out the intricacies in coffee.”
Here’s how the service works: each month, the company introduces subscribers to a new artisanal coffee roaster from around the world. Then, the featured roaster and the Match Made Coffee team curates a special box for subscribers filled with three top-notch roasts, each matched with a snack to help create the perfect flavor palette and enhance the tasting experience.
Those snacks might include cookies, candies, crackers or other goodies. Moen said sweet snacks often pair well with coffee, as do salty snacks.
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“Sugar and salt can neutralize bitter flavor from caffeine,” he explained.
He said an example of a perfect match might be a bold South American coffee with a traditional treat from that bean’s respective country. Or, a coffee with berry notes paired with a Nutri-Grain-style snack bar.
Moen – an avid coffee enthusiast himself – said his personal favorite match would be a Turkish bean coffee with some kind of cranberry or strawberry fruit bar. He said you can also never go wrong with some kind of dark chocolate with mint or berry flavors paired with a cup of Joe.
He also offered a few tasting tips for those just getting into finer, roasted coffees.
“The best and easiest way to enjoy coffee is to make sure to order whole beans and grind it as soon as you want to make it so that it is as fresh as possible, and then do what's called the ‘pour over method,’” he said.
For that, one would use a vase-type cup with a filter and the ground coffee on top. Then, you pour hot water on top of the ground coffee and brewed coffee falls into the vase.
“It's the method that best keeps the bitterness down to better appreciate the other complexities within the coffee, as the bitterness is what keeps most people from appreciating coffee's natural flavors,” Moen explained. “This method allows people to appreciate the flavor without much need for creamer or flavorings, and it's very inexpensive.”
When going for that first taste of coffee, Moen said one should first smell the brew, exhale, then take a small sip and do a quick swish around the mouth to cover all taste receptors.
“Do a little chewing to activate the saliva and get your brain in tune with consuming something and [make it] more aware of the flavors,” he added.
Currently, Match Made Coffee offers beans from all over the world – from Africa and Asia, to South America and even beans grown near a volcano in Argentina. Moen said that means each monthly subscription box will contain a lot of variety.
“No two roasters are the same,” he said. “We pick a mix of what is new and enticing. We’re all coffee drinkers here, so it’s a labor of love.”
Moen said he has also started connecting with many San Diego County coffee roasters so the service can also feature local offerings.
The coffee roasting trending globally and locally, Moen thinks craft coffee is next big thing.
“You can definitely expect micro-roaster coffees to reach the status of wines and craft beers in the upcoming years,” he added.
Moen’s buzzy business launched last month and he said it’s already picking up steam. He recently delivered this month’s box to customers who signed up last month and renewed their subscriptions. One box costs $29.99 per month, or $169.95 for a pre-paid six-month subscription.
He hopes each special delivery feels like a treat – and an opportunity to slow down and take a very special little coffee break.
To learn more about Match Made Coffee, visit the company’s website.
