Ho ho ho and spro spro spro to all of you in Sprudge land. A very happy holidays from everyone at Sprudge Media, as we present to you the latest edition of our much-loved end of year tradition: a compendium of the season’s finest holiday coffee blends.
We’ve published a story like this one each year since 2013 (!), and every edition carries with it new surprises and delights. This year’s version pulls the very best of coffees from the Sprudge Roasters Village, a who’s who of quality-focused coffee roasting confabs with whom we’re proudly partnered. There’s so much to love here: multi-bean fiestas, single-origin gobwhallops, unique melanges of origins far and near, and so much more besides. Dig in, and shop on—from the stocking yet to be stuffed to the Christmas morning breakfast in need of fresh brew, we guarantee you’ll find your perfect holiday coffee from the selections below.
Stumptown Coffee Evergreen
Like the big green year round trees that tower over the Pacific Northwest, Stumptown’s annual Evergreen is a much-loved fixture, and a staff favorite for your Portland-based Sprudge Media crew. This year’s blend features two classic Stumptown coffees: Honduras Finca El Puente (“the purple princess, man!”) and Rwanda Huye Mountain. That Honduran coffee, from producers Moisés Herrera and Marysabel Caballero, is a legendary Stumptown offering, and it tastes marvelous here fused with the washed Rwandan. Order yourself a bag and stay cool in the cold weather.
Perc Coffee Holiday Blend
Savannah (and Atlanta), Georgia’s Perc Coffee has come out with a seasonal blend as mysterious as that big wrapped present under the tree. The Holiday Blend touts an origin of “Gobbler’s Village” and an elevation of “Way Up There.” The process is “Unnaturally Mean” and the variety is “Scary”. I’m frankly not sure what any of that means, but it makes it all the more exciting when brewing up that first cup.
Equator Coffees Holiday Blend
When is a blend not a blend but it’s still actually a blend? When it comes two coffees from the same origin. And that’s exactly what Equator Coffees has on offer this year. Their certified organic Holiday Blend features two coffees from Ethiopia, with the Suke Quto, a farm located in the Guji Highlands of Ethiopia. The med-light roast has notes of chestnut, candied citrus, and fig cookie, and 5% of sales will support the purchase of desks through the Suke Quto School Project.
Joe Coffee Rockefeller
A perennial favorite here at Sprudge, NYC’s Joe Coffee takes us all the way to Manhattan with their seasonal blend, Rockefeller. This year’s blend uses coffees from Guatemala (Miriam Florence Aguirre Wyld De Urruela & Florence Aguirre De Fanjul) as well as Burundi (Turihamwe Women’s Group) for a coffee with notes of dried dates, papaya, candied nuts and baking chocolate. $1 from every bag sold goes to support 9 Million Reasons, a charitable organization combatting food insecurity in the New York area.
Partners Coffee Miracle on North 6th Street
Tis the season for something cozy, something homey. It’s the season for mulled wine and all its bone-warming glory. With Miracle on North 6th Street, Partners Coffee’s latest blend, the flavors of mulled wine are in coffee form. Notes of sweet orange, honey, ginger, cinnamon, and Malbec round out Partners’s blend of natural and wash processed from Honduras. All the cozy warmth, none of the hangover.
Verve Coffee Holiday Blend
It’s always a delight to share a little California Christmas with the folks at Verve—in our minds that means a beach, some nice fresh winter citrus, maybe like, a chill cousins walk after dinner with some good local produce if you know what I mean, and of course a steaming Chemex of Verve’s annual holiday blend. This year you’ll find coffees from Ethiopia, India, and Rwanda in the cup, offering notes of cherry cordial and persimmon. Sounds pretty perfect.
Nightswim Coffee Holiday Blend
A lot of holiday coffee blends play it pretty safe—crowd pleasing flavors, a bit more roast development in case Grandma (or Jordan) wants to add a splash of milk. But this is not the case at Nightswim. Their blend unites two truly unique coffees: Idido Anaerobic Natural from Yirgacheffe, and Kuta Peaberry from Papua New Guinea. Think bright, think fruity, think expressive, like a cup of holiday fruit punch instead of a logy bowl of nog. Sounds refreshing to us!
Klatch Coffee Dancing Reindeer Blend
There’s nothing wrong with dabbling in the dark arts from time to time; a med-dark roast can be a thing of beauty in the right hands and it’s something that even Grandma and Grandpa will like. Enter Klatch Coffee, who have been producing high-quality coffees at a variety of roast levels for decades now. And with their Dancing Reindeer Blend, they are leaning into the development. Full-bodied with notes of dark chocolate, spice, and toffee, the Dancing Reindeer Blend goes perfectly with a sugar cookie, in case you want to leave out something sweet and caffeinated for a man in a red suit pulling an all-nighter.
The Barn Christmas Coffee
Let’s get right to the point: The Barn’s Christmas coffee is called, simply, Christmas Coffee, a nod perhaps to the brand’s no-nonsense Berlin roots. This year it’s a Huye District red bourbon coffee from Rwandan producer David Rubanzangabo. In the cup you’ll get notes of praline, candied fig, orange and warming winter spices, ideal for this very time of year.
Dune Coffee Roasters Holiday Blend
I think the packaging of Dune’s Holiday Blend is super cute—look at those packages tied up with ribbon!—and the components in this blend are pretty exciting, too. It’s 50% Ethiopia Gigesa, 25% Ethiopia Sewda, and 25% Honduras Olvin Fernandez, a three bean blend bringing tidings of cheer and delicious flavors to your holiday cup. Ho ho ho!
Olympia Coffee Roasting Company Holiday Blend
Don’t get hung up on nomenclature. This year’s Olympia Coffee Holiday Blend is actually a blend of day lots, sourced from Daye Bensa’s Kontoma washing station in Sideman, Ethiopia. Look for “flavors of glad tidings, comfort and joy”, plus classic Ethiopian washed coffee notes of floral sweetness and complexity. This one is a can’t miss.
Onyx Coffee Lab Framily
A washed coffee from Ethiopia’s famed Chelbesa washing station is the base for this year’s Framily offering from Onyx. “This coffee is designed to accommodate everyone from the coffee nerd to the heavy-handed cream and sugar in-laws,” which sounds more or less ideal for the next few weeks. Another perennial hit from Onyx.
Phil & Sebastian Snow Day
There’s a lot of snow days up in Calgary, but this year’s Snow Day offering is extra special for Phil & Sebastian. That’s because it’s sourced from the legendary Honduran coffee producers Moises Herrera & Marysabel Caballero, whose coffees at Finca El Puente have been delighting specialty coffee drinkers around the world for decades. Look for notes of sugar cookie and almond, and see if you can detect a distinct “purple” tinge to the flavors.
Portland Coffee Roasters Holiday Roast
A medium roast blend with coffees from Mexico and Colombia, this year’s Holiday Roast from Portland Coffee Roasters doesn’t just taste good—it does good. That’s because $1 from every bag sold goes to support Growing Gardens, an Oregon non-profit focused on growing edible gardens in schools, backyards, and correctional facilities across the state. This unique organization has a legacy of good work, and they’re a fine way to make your holiday coffee routine go beyond the mug this season.
Sightglass Coffee Winter Solstice
I have personally been drinking this coffee for the last week and can attest that it is delicious, and highly seasonal—a perfect way to end our blend’s guide this year. Sightglass Winter Solstice is proudly, boldly medium roasted, comprised of Colombian and Kenyan coffees and brilliantly evocative of cold nights and roaring fires. There’s so much to like here—try it and you’ll agree, this might be the perfect holiday blend this year.
