10 of the Best Fruit and Coffee Pairings for the Office

You’ve probably paired a glass of wine with dinner, but have you tried pairing a cup of coffee with your favorite fruit in the office break room? If not, it’s definitely worth doing! When you get the pairing right, the two flavors will complement each other, making your whole snack break more delicious. 

Choosing the Best Fruit and Coffee Pairings for the Office

Choosing the right pairing can be tricky, which is why I’m here to help. I’m a professional fruit fan with The FruitGuys and a former barista, so you can think of me as your fruit sommelier. For even more coffee expertise, I chatted with baristas from Crafty—a national office pantry provider that delivers coffee, drinks, and snacks (like The FruitGuys’ fruit) to break rooms nationwide. 

Here are ten of the best fruit and coffee pairings for the office we came up with together. They’ll make your fresh summer fruits taste even better.

1. Banana + Drip Coffee

Did you know that bananas are America’s most beloved office fruit? Creamy and sweet, these tropical wonders are delicious paired with a dark or medium roast drip coffee (you need a bit of depth and bite to balance out the fruit). 

Crafty’s baristas recommend the Crafty Blend, a whole-bean medium roast coffee. It’s a collaboration with the Chicago artisan roaster Big Shoulders Coffee. Paired, the sweet banana brings out the nutty, chocolatey notes of the coffee and hints at a warm slice of banana bread. 

2. Blueberries + Americano

In our banana pairing, the coffee’s dark and nutty notes balanced out the fruit’s sweetness. This blueberry combo is the opposite—it pairs two similar flavors to take them up a notch. Crafty’s baristas recommend looking for a fruity, medium-roast bean like Hologram from Counter Culture Coffee (a sustainability-focused B Corp just like The FruitGuys) to pair with your blueberries. It has jammy berry notes and a syrupy mouthfeel. 

Try brewing up an Americano and sipping the crema while you snack on your blueberries. You’ll get a layered, fruit-forward experience that feels lush and bright. Plus, the blueberries will give your body and brain a healthy antioxidant boost. 

I’m a hot coffee drinker year-round, but if you like to mix up your cup, I recommend a hot Americano in the spring when blueberry season starts on the West Coast and an iced Americano in the summer when berry picking begins back East. 

3. Blackberries + Pour Over 

Whether you’re eating blackberries by the handful, sprinkling them over your morning yogurt, or adding them to your lunchtime salad, you’ll improve the experience with a light-roast pour over (my personal favorite drink). 

Crafty’s baristas recommend Intelligentsia’s El Gallo Blend, which the roaster says has “a round mouthfeel with a smooth, candied sweetness.” The coffee’s citrus and floral notes brighten the tart, juicy bite of the blackberries to create a lively and clean combo. Blackberries are packed with health benefits, but they taste almost dessert-like in this context. Can’t get your hands on the El Gallo Blend? Any light-roast Ethiopian or Kenyan bean will make a great backup. 

Blackberries taste best in the summer, but you don’t need to keep track: The FruitGuys’ office fruit boxes make it easy to get the best bites delivered. Check out our seasonal mixes—they change every week to keep things fresh. 

4. Gala Apple + Latte

The Gala is one of the sweetest apples, a cross between the Golden Delicious and the Kidd’s Orange Red. It has striped skin, a mild flavor, and hints of holiday spices on the finish. Those lingering notes make it a great match for Philz Coffee’s Tesora, a medium-roast blend with hints of chocolate and caramel. 

If you’re looking for fall comfort in the middle of summer, turn the Tesora blend into a latte with your favorite dairy or non-dairy milk. Then, sip it between slices of Gala for a healthy snack reminiscent of caramel apples. 

5. Nectarine + Nitro Cold Brew

Nectarines are bright and juicy grenades of summer flavor, so it makes sense to pair them with an equally assertive (and cold) coffee. Crafty’s baristas recommend a draft from Big Shoulders’ Nitro Cold Brew keg for its creamy texture and mild chocolate notes. 

The nitrogen infusion gives the coffee a smooth, almost velvety mouthfeel that enhances the nectarine’s floral sweetness and bright acidity. Take a break from your desk and enjoy this pairing outside in the sunshine for a brain break that’s both relaxing and delicious! (Here’s how to choose a ripe nectarine.)

6. Peach + Cappuccino 

Peaches and coffee may seem like an odd pairing given the popularity of peach tea. But they’re two of the world’s tastiest things, so we couldn’t resist putting them together. One of Crafty’s baristas waxed eloquent about pairing peaches with Counter Culture Coffee’s Big Trouble blend. 

“The chocolatey notes, nutty undertones, and sweet acidity of the South American beans in our Big Trouble blend evoke the experience of biting into a rich, chocolate-covered cherry. That deep, fruity richness pairs effortlessly with the bright, juicy sweetness of peach, creating a layered, stone fruit harmony in every sip,” he said. 

I think Big Trouble would be delicious in a cappuccino—there’s something decadent about licking fluffy coffee-flavored foam off a spoon while peach juice drips down your chin. 

7. Plum + Flat White

Plums are one of the last fruits to arrive in the summer stone fruit parade, and depending on the variety, they can sing with rich, dark, jammy notes or acid zip. Given that attitude, they need an equally intense pairing—which is why Crafty’s baristas recommend Starbucks’ Pike Place Roast. 

This popular brew has a smooth body and cocoa undertones. Try it on its own in a double-shot doppio or mellow it out with milk in a flat white. Either way, it will match the plum’s richness without overwhelming it. 

This pairing isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you’re a fan of intense flavors, it might become your late-summer go-to. Any dark-roast blend would make a good swap. 

8. Pluot + Cold Brew

Pluots are part plum, part apricot, and 100% perfect as a summer office snack. They’re more plum than apricot and sweeter than both of their parents, with a smooth flavor and low acidity. Crafty recommends pairing them with an equally smooth Original Nitro Cold Brew, which is a canned coffee drink from Rise Brew Co. that’s easy to stash in the break room fridge. 

If you don’t have cans handy, a classic cold brew coffee will do the trick, too. Add a bit of your favorite milk or creamer for a richer mouthfeel. 

9. Strawberry + Cortado

If you like chocolate-dipped strawberries, try pairing a bowl of fresh berries with Intelligentsia’s Black Cat Espresso—you’ll get the same complex, indulgent flavor without the calories. 

According to the roaster, the medium-roast brew has notes of dark chocolate, marshmallow, and sugar. Crafty’s baristas say it’s perfect as a cortado or an iced latte on a hot summer day. Sip your coffee while you eat berries out of hand or enjoy it with a strawberry-forward granola cereal bowl made with granola from one of The FruitGuys’ snack boxes. 

10. Valencia Orange + Mocha

One of my favorite holiday treats as a kid was a chocolate orange cracked open against the bricks of the fireplace and devoured with coffee. Valencia oranges aren’t around during the holiday season (they’re the “summer orange”), but they taste a lot like their Navel orange cousins—so they’re great with a mocha. I make a better-for-you version with oat milk, espresso, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and vanilla extract that’s truly indulgent. 

If you’re not feeling chocolate (or if you don’t have my mocha ingredients handy in the break room), you can go the citrus-on-citrus route. Crafty’s baristas recommend a Finezzo coffee pod from Nespresso. The brew offers light and floral citrus notes that echo the Valencia’s brightness.

Start Making Your Own Pairings

So, there you have it—the best fruit and coffee pairings for the office, courtesy of an unofficial fruit sommelier. To get all of these seasonal fruits and more delivered to your workplace (and make your pairing dreams come true), check out The FruitGuys’ office fruit delivery service.