If a person drinks coffee at the end of a bread meal, before Birkat Ha'mazon, does he recite the Beracha of "She'hakol"?
A basic rule in Halacha establishes that the Beracha of "Ha'mosi" recited over bread at the beginning of a meal covers all foods and beverages (with the exception of wine) that are customarily eaten as part of a meal. This would include foods such as salads, cheese, eggs, fish, vegetables, bourekas, noodles, couscous, rice, meat and the like. Even if one eats one of these foods independently after the meal, then as long as he has yet to recite Birkat Ha'mazon he does not recite a Beracha, as these foods have been covered by the recitation of "Ha'mosi" at the beginning of the meal. However, foods that are normally not eaten as part of a meal are not covered by the recitation of "Ha'mosi" and therefore require a Beracha even during a bread meal.
The question thus becomes whether we view coffee as a beverage that people normally drink as part of the meal, or that people normally eat after the meal. The Haye Adam (Halachic work by Rabbi Avraham Danzig of Vilna, 1748-1820), as cited by the Mishna Berura (174:39; listen to audio recording for precise citation), noted that people generally drink coffee after the meal to help in digesting their food. Since it is not normally drunk for nourishment or to quench thirst, the Haye Adam argued, it is not covered by the Beracha of "Ha'mosi," and thus one who drinks coffee at the end of a meal must, in fact, recite a Beracha.
The Mishna Berura, however, notes that other authorities, including the Ginat Veradim, perceived coffee as a beverage normally drunk as part of a meal, in which case it should not require a Beracha, even when one drinks it alone after the meal. This is indeed the ruling of Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein (Byelorussia, 1829-1908), in his work Aruch Ha'shulhan (174:14).
In light of the different opinions in this regard, the Mishna Berura advises that one avoid this issue by one of the following two methods:
1) He can recite Birkat Ha'mazon before drinking the coffee, so that he will be required to recite a Beracha according to all views. This is the view of Hacham Ovadya as well.
2) Before drinking the coffee, he should eat a candy or other item that certainly requires the Beracha of "She'hakol," and have in mind for this Beracha to apply to the coffee, as well.
If one did not, for whatever reason, employ one of these two solutions, then he should not recite a Beracha before drinking the coffee. This is also the ruling of Rabbi Moshe Halevi (Israel, 1961-2001), in his work Birkat Hashem (vol. 3, p. 363; listen to audio recording for precise citation).
This discussion does not apply to a Shabbat or Yom Tov meal that one introduced with the recitation of Kiddush. When one recites Kiddush before a meal on Shabbat or Yom Tov, the Beracha over the wine covers all beverages drunk during the meal, regardless of whether they are normally drunk as part of a meal or independent of a meal. Therefore, if one drinks coffee at the end of a Shabbat or Yom Tov meal that had been begun with Kiddush, then according to all views he does not recite a Beracha before drinking the coffee.
(It should be noted that tea very likely is considered according to all views a beverage normally drunk as part of a meal, and thus one certainly would not recite a Beracha before drinking tea after his meal.)
Summary: If one drinks coffee at the end of a bread meal, he should preferably first recite Birkat Ha'mazon, so that he will have to recite a Beracha over the coffee according to all opinions. If he wishes to drink the coffee before Birkat Ha'mazon, then he should first recite "She'hakol" on a candy or the like and have in mind for the Beracha to apply to the coffee, as well. If he has no other food on which to recite "She'hakol," then he does not recite a Beracha before drinking the coffee. On Shabbat and Yom Tov, the Kiddush recited at the beginning of the meal covers all beverages according to all opinions, and thus in any event one does not recite a Beracha over the coffee drunk at the end of the meal.
