Don’t let food and coffee fight.

You’ve probably realized that I see post call days as a chance to reacquaint myself with life away from the hospital. I emphasize cooking, crafting cocktails, exercise, and getting outside in the Post Call Day series. One of the things I never miss out on a post call day is exceptional coffee, a glaring omission from whoever designs the menus for doctor’s lounges worldwide: hospital coffee is synonymous with all kinds of badness. And the only other food available? Mushy apples, refrigerated sandwiches, and fart-inducing Fiber One bars. I’m not above any of this, by the way: there have been many times where a soggy sandwich and Keurig-made hot chocolate were lifesavers after long days in the OR. But on post call days, I like to elevate my food and beverage game a little bit. One of the best ways I’ve found to increase post call day enjoyment is simple: don’t let food and coffee fight. Armistice.

Not a new concept, by the way. There are entire bookstore sections and magazines on pairing food with wine. But why does wine, which some people drink occasionally with dinner, get to pair off with all kinds of great foods, while coffee, which many people drink at any time of day, gets thrown down the cakehole with stale donuts? Pairing wine with food should be followed up by matching all variety of beverages with their proper running mates. I’ve been hoodwinked into ordering enough flights and attending enough “tastings” to know that anything can be tasted and anything can be paired: balsamic vinegar, bitters, shrubs, chocolate, wine, spirits, and craft beer.

We treat coffee like wine in so many other respects: what varietal it is, where it grew, when it was picked, at what elevation, and how it was treated since then–that it also deserves an invite to the dating game. I’ll post more pairings as I come up with them; they aren’t scientific and can’t be forced. I generally try dozens of other combinations before I decide something is worth a walk down the aisle. I dare you to try the following combinations and tell me that they don’t elevate both the food and your steamy beverage.

1. Deeper Roots Amara Gayo coffee, freshly made in a Chemex. Pair with non-pitted Medjool Dates.

2. Cold brewed coffee shaken with milk, honey, and a rosemary tincture. Pair with anything with blackberries in it: scones, muffins, or toast with blackberry jam. Rosemary and blackberries are a match made in heaven, and low-acidity cold brew with milk is an ideal vehicle.