Here's Why You Should Be Adding Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans To Your Cheese Board

Good drinks, good music, and good company are a good trifecta for a memorable party. But how good can that party be without finger food? Party snacks are a surefire way to ease your guests' hunger pangs after a long night of cutting a rug and laughing with friends. If you're hosting a gathering with red wine and vinyl records, or you just love cheese and meat, then a charcuterie board is the snack platter for you.

Assembling a charcuterie board can feel like painting a masterpiece made up of unique snack pairings and unsuspecting bites. Though they're frequently topped with such items as thinly-sliced prosciutto, crunchy bread bites, jam, and of course, plenty of cheese. But Wine Folly says honey, olive oil, mustard, and nuts make also make great charcuterie additions. Long story short, when it comes to a charcuterie board, the possible combinations are endless.

With so many ways to get creative, there may be charcuterie board ideas you haven't tried or that you haven't even heard of. For example, you can elevate your experience by adding chocolate-covered espresso beans to the smorgasbord of options, thanks to their intricate flavor profile and ability to pair well with a classic ingredient.

A good charcuterie board is all about the pairings, and a carefully-selected combination of fruity jam, salty meat, and rich cheese can spell flavor euphoria. However, if you're looking for an adventurous, wild-card ingredient to add to your usual charcuteries suspects, chocolate-covered espresso beans could take your platter to new heights.

Next time you're assembling a cheese and meat board, pair some aged cheddar and chocolate-covered espresso beans. Those beans pack a pleasantly bitter punch confronted by the familiar taste of the chocolate. In an interview with Yahoo!, cheese expert Molly Browne says that they have a similar flavor profile, creating "a sensory experience you'll never forget!"

Although cheese and chocolate might sound like a culinary odd couple, they have more in common than you might think. Per the Cheese Professor, both ingredients undergo a fermentation process, and when they collide, their flavors can work together or as "opposites [that] attract." Culture Cheese Magazine observed that notes of nuts, fruit, and chocolate can be found in coffee and cheese, making them great partners. In fact, Beehive Cheese even created an award-winning aged cheddar "rubbed with espresso and lavender" that it recommends for charcuterie boards. So grab your finest cutting board, pop open a bottle of wine, and make a charcuterie board that's exploding with chocolatey, cheesy flavors.