UK Cigar Scene Magazine December Issue 12 | Page 6

Cigar and Coffee Tasting Having selected the Cohiba Maduro Secretos as the best cigar to smoke with coffee we then set to to decide which was the best coffee to drink with the best cigar. Method The coffees were brewed in a French press/ Cafetiere with exactly the same amount of coffee for each brew, the coffee was tasted blind while enjoying the cigar. The coffees were rated on flavour, aroma, acidity, body and balance to give a total score per person and these were added and averaged. The suitability of the cigar to combine with the coffee was then rated on a scale of 10 (good) to 1 (poor) The results were as follows: No Coffee Origin Total Points for the Coffee Rate Coffee Cigar & Coffee Combination (out of 20) Rate coffee & cigar 1 Twin Engine Reserve Honey Bear Nicaragua 42 6 7 6 2 Hada Del Cafe Medium Roast Nicaragua 37 7 6 7 3 Twin engine Cuban style Coffee Nicaragua 54 4 11 4 4 Dictador Magno Columbia 59 2 13 2 5 Twin engine Nicaraguan Cigar Blend #1 Nicaragua 50 5 9 5 6 Dictador XO Columbia 66 1 15 1 7 Hada del Cafe Dark Roast Nicaragua 59 2 12 3 The coffee’s in order of suitability to match the Cohiba Maduro Secretos were as follows, (with comments from out tasting panel): Coffee Comments 1. Dictador XO (Columbia) Delicate yet firm, allows the cigar flavours to come out, not heavy or overpowering. Good all round flavours that complement the cigar 2. Dictador Magno (Columbia) Good dark colour, touch of cream, solid flavour 3. Hada del Cafe Dark Roast Too sweet for the cigar 4. Twin engine Cuban Style Coffee Nutty flavour, working well with the cigar. Nice rounded flavour, robust. Nice and easy 5. Twin Engine Nicaraguan Cigar Blend #1 Light and flat, opposite of the cigar 6. Twin Engine Reserve Honey Bear Fairly light, pleasant enough but not great. Flat with no evolution of flavours 7. Hada del Cafe medium Roast Touch of sweetness, very light flavour. More acidic and quite thin 5