What could be finer than a holiday blend? Nothing, as far as we’re concerned here at Sprudge. In a tradition that dates back to 2012, we’ve rounded up some of the finest coffee holiday blends known to man. These twenty-some-odd blends, from two beans to whoocs, remind us why this time of year is such a special season to be a coffee lover. Gathered ’round the hearth with friends—or enjoying an 85 degree beach day in Sydney—this year’s guide has something for everyone, and is the biggest holiday blends guide in the history of Sprudge. Armed with mug and candy cane, we invite you to dive in, and happy holidays from all of us at Sprudge!
Counter Culture Coffee — Iridescent — $17.75 — Shop via Counter Culture Coffee
A perennial favorite here at Sprudge HQ, this year’s Iridescent is 92% Huehuetenango Concepción Huista washed, 8% Ethiopia Banko Gotiti natural. Leaders in not just coffee taste-goodery, but coffee do-goodery, Counter Culture are donating a nickel per pound sold to help combat climate change at origin—read more about this remarkable program here.
Dogwood Coffee — “Snow Emergency” — $18 — Shop via Dogwood Coffee
Most folks would panic in a snow emergency, but not the good people of Dogwood Coffee in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Instead they’re pairing up a Colombian washed coffee from Tolima with a natural Ethiopian coffee from the Guji zone, resulting in a coffee that “pairs well with ski masks, choppers and ice scrappers. ” Okay then.
Ceremony Coffee — “Holiday 2016 — $17 — Shop via Ceremony Coffee
A two-bean blend of Ethiopia Wazzala (washed) and Ethiopia Nefas (natural), this coffee works great for both filter and espresso, and offers “a simultaneously familiar, electric, and fruity” flavor profile. Recommended!
Campos Coffee — “Superior Blend” — $12 — Shop via Campos Coffee
Campos have gussied up their classic Superior Blend with some delightfully elvish holiday art work. Just look at those wee elves, hanging around the espresso machine. They’re digging this blend Latin American and Ethiopian coffees, procured in line with Campos’ ethical quality standards.
Batdorf & Bronson — “Holiday Blend” — $14 — Shop via Batdorf & Bronson
An annual tradition from Batdorf & Bronson, this coffee is comprised of Latin American and African coffees, with flavor notes of “Chocolate and dried fruit, pecans and dates, and cherry liquor”.
Equator Coffees — “Holiday Blend” — $17.95 — Shop via Equator Coffees
A complex blend of washed and natural coffees from Brazil, Costa Rica, and Ethiopia—but not in the order you’d expect. A washed Ethiopian Guji from the Hambela Estate anchors and inspires this blend, which is natural processed coffees from Fazenda Santa Luzia and the Ureña brothers in Tarrazu, Costa Rica, where this style of processing is exceedingly rare. It’s one of the most original holiday blends we’ve seen anywhere this year.
Groundwork Coffee — “Holiday Blend” — $21.95 — Shop via Groundwork Coffee
For “a sweet and juicy blend” meant to evoke warm weather Christmas spirit everywhere—from sunny Los Angeles to Sydney and Cape Town—Groundwork starts with a Guatemalan coffee via TG Labs, and pairs that with an Ethiopian METAD and Uganda Sipi Falls. This is most especially a filter coffee, and would taste great through a home batch brewer.
Bespoken Coffee Roasters — “Holiday Blend” — $17 — Shop via Bespoken Coffee Roasters
Based in tiny Corvallis, Oregon, the husband-wife team behind Bespoken Coffee Roasters are earning praise a bit further up the Willamette River, earning shelf space and hopper time at several of Portland, Oregon’s best coffee bars. Discover this microroaster through their Holiday Blend, a blend of Guatemalan, Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees with notes of “cocoa, plum, and sweet molasses.” We love how Bespoken keeps it real, suggesting their Holiday Blend as a great option for those who dig a little cream and sugar in their post-turkey, post-pie, perhaps-even-post-brandy brew.
Tim Wendelboe — “Nacimiento Merry Christmas 149” — $17 — Shop via Tim Wendelboe
Not a blend exactly, but a lovely Christmas release all the same from Oslo’s Tim Wendelboe. Nacimiento is a Pacas & Bourbon coffee from the Santa Barbara region of Honduras, from husband & wife producers Jobneel & Fany Caceres Dios. Grown nice and high at 1700 MASL, this coffee matures under limited sunlight and cool temperatures, resulting in a complex, singular expression of terroir in the El Cielito. Winner of the 2016 Nordic Roaster Competition, this light roasted coffee has a wine-like complexity, with fresh and dried fruit notes. Available worldwide and highly recommended!
Intelligentsia Coffee — “Celebration Blend” — $19 — Shop via Intelligentsia Coffee
The celebration continues with Intelligentsia’s annual offering. Comprised this holiday season of coffees from Ethiopia, Kenya and Colombia. Intelli’s online retail excels year in and year out, with multiple bundlings and special edition offerings we’ll be featuring throughout our 2016 holiday guides.
Huckleberry Coffee — “Sister Winter Holiday Blend” — $19 — Shop via Huckleberry Coffee
Denver’s Huckleberry Coffee tell it like it is: this blend would taste great with a splash of booze, especially in the context of a large holiday family gathering. To achieve this balance they’re blending coffees from Guatemala and Ethiopia, resulting in a coffee with downright fruitcake-ish notes. Even better, portion of sales go to help leaf rust recovery in Guatemala.
Madcap Coffee — “Holiday Fusion” — $19.50 — Shop via Madcap Coffee
One of our favorite holiday blends each year, Madcap keeps things simple and quality focused with this two-bean blend of featured coffees. This year’s Holiday Fusion combines Madcap’s Kenya Karinga and Costa Rica Santa Lucia, for a coffee with “notes of cranberry and sparkling acidity.” We definitely recommend this blend!
Onyx Coffee Lab — “FRAMILY: Holiday Blend” — $16 — Shop via Onyx Coffee Lab
A blend in honor of your friends and family—”Framily”—this coffee from Arkansas’ Onyx Coffee Lab combines a washed Ethiopian Hambela with honey processed Colombia La Plata coffees. We’re digging the tasting notes like “German chocolate cake” and “mint and spice.”
Joe NYC — “Rockefeller Holiday Coffee” — $17.50 — Shop via Joe NYC
No matter which holiday you celebrate on December 25th—for some of us this year it’s Hanukkah!—Joe’s got the hookup, in the form of their much-loved annual Rockefeller holiday release. This year Joe’s featuring a single origin coffee from the Marcala region of Honduras, from producer Roger Antonio Dominguez Marquez. $1 from every bag of Rock purchased will be donated to the NY Cares’ Annual Coat Drive—learn more here, and happy sipping.
Quills Coffee — “Yuletide Holiday Blend” — $20 — Shop via Quills Coffee
Lousville, KY coffee heroes Quills Coffee are offering up a holiday coffee that does what it says on the box, with notes of cranberry, spice cake, caramel, and the all-important ‘cheer’. It’s a marriage of Kenyan and Costa Rican washed coffees that somehow doubles as Quills’ first-ever holiday blend, a tradition we hope continues for many years to come.
Klatch Coffee —The Many-Splendored Blends of Klatch — Prices vary — Shop via Klatch Coffee
Not one, not two, but four unique holiday blends are on offer this season from Klatch, including one they describe as “Santa’s favorite Holiday brew, dating back to his days as an Ethiopian reindeer herder.” That’s probably our favorite holiday coffee copy of the 2016 season.
Olympia Coffee Roasting Company — “Holiday Blend” — $17 — Shop via Olympia Coffee Roasting Company
“A complex expression of the Bourbon varietal”, this year’s Holiday Blend from Oly Coffee is a gift perfectly suited for the coffee nerd in your life. Olympia takes an El Salvador Bourbon coffee from producer Ricardo Ariz and blends it with an 100% SL 28 / SL34 bourbon hybrid from the Kagomoini Cooperative in Kenya. The end result is Bourbon on Bourbon, from two very different sets of terroir on opposite sides of the world. Some might think it geeky, but this is very much our idea of fun.
Populace Coffee — Joyeux Holiday Blend — $18 — Shop via Populace Coffee
A lovely little blend from Populace Coffee, a brand with big things on the horizon in 2017. This year’s Joyeux is equal parts Colombian and Kenyan coffee, and should play nicely at any upcoming family gatherings—plus its color scheme is perfect for the stuffing of stockings.
PT’s Coffee — “Abominable Snowbrew” — $17— Shop via PT’s Coffee
This is the People’s Choice winner for this year’s best blend name and coolest holiday blend art—look at the cute little cartoon yeti. He’s terrifying and yet, the coffee he guards is delicious. PT’s are blending up African, South American, and Sumatran coffees for a coffee that pairs well with sumptuous spiced meats and mulled wines.
Stumptown Coffee — “Slay Ride” — $19 — Shop via Stumptown Coffee
The heavy metal music enthusiasts at Stumptown Coffee are offering up a wicked blend for you heshers out there. We don’t know what’s in it, but we know it shreds, man, with flavors of citrus, cinnamon, caramel, and surely some Rainier in there somewhere. Rock on.
Verve Coffee Roasters — “Holiday Blend” — $20.25 — Shop via Verve Coffee Roasters
We’re continually impressed by Verve’s approach to the holiday blend, which they refer to as an “exciting challenge” to curate each year. This year’s blend takes three washed coffees from very different parts of the world: Kenya, Guatemala, and Honduras. Once united you get a coffee with flavor notes like “Molasses, Sugar Plum” and perhaps our favorite flavor note of the season: “Festive”.
Jordan Michelman is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network, and he loves a nice holiday blend. Read more Jordan Michelman on Sprudge.
Several of the roasting companies featured in this guide are advertising partners on Sprudge. A complete list of partners is published on the lower right-hand side of each article.
