Our Guide to the Best Christmas Coffee Beans of 2020
It’s that time of the year where speciality coffee roasters release their signature Christmas Coffees, and this years’ selection is jolly good.
Typically coffee roasters carefully select these speciality coffee beans because they showcase a range of festive flavours. Think mulled wine, spiced fruits, white chocolate, brown sugar, mince pies, christmas pudding etc. It’s popular for coffee roasters to craft a blend of coffee beans that work in harmony to showcase these flavours, like Allpress Espresso, who have created a stellar Christmas blend that’s guaranteed to get everyone’s taste buds tingling. However, sometimes roasters present a coffee from a single origin that delivers Christmas notes on it’s own. This year Clifton Coffee Roasters have a coffee reminiscent of mulled wine, and new roasters Established Coffee stand out with a Colombian coffee that is Christmassy with a clementine twist.
The signature festive packaging is a topic in its own right. There are timeless Christmas designs like North Star Coffee Roaster’s luxurious red and green bags set with a gold Christmas tree, or Caravan Coffee Roasters simple yet effective Christmas wreath. There are fun festive illustrations like the ones that adorn Perky Blenders and Neighbourhood Coffee Roasters bags. And a classic gift box is hard to beat. Old Spike are offering full gift wrapping with their coffee packaged in a beautiful glass jar and Gentlemen Baristas are shipping their coffee in a signature gift box with matching blue ribbon.
There’s no denying 2020 has been unique and challenging and while many roasters have acknowledged this in their literature, some roasters have taken this a step further. Ozone Coffee Roasters have taken a different approach to the artwork on their packaging this year. Their design is a metaphor for how the global pandemic has altered our views and thought process. HasBean have taken a different approach as well, but this time with the flavour of their blend . They’ve opted to leave the typical Christmas flavours behind, instead creating a brew that’s packed with floral and fruit notes.
In the spirit of giving, many roasters also donate a portion of revenue from the sale of their Christmas Coffees to charitable organisations. Mission Coffee Works, Neighbourhood Coffee Roasters, We Are Here Coffee and North Star Coffee Roasters are some of the roasteries giving back this year.
So what will you be drinking this Christmas!?
Check out our full line up below.
Perky Blenders
Caravan Coffee Roasters.
There's a lot happening in this cup. As the brew cools more flavours emerge. You can expect mixed berries, white chocolate, hazelnut creme and cookie dough notes. Adorned with a simple timeless Christmas wreath this coffee is perfect for connoisseurs who appreciate classic designs and complexity in a cup.
North Star Coffee Roasters
Notes of sweet sherry from it’s Costa Rican component really make this blend stand out. The packaging showcases a simple gleaming gold tree with either a deep rich red or green background and just oozes Christmas. To top it off, £1 from every bag of Northstar’s Christmas Blend sold will be split between 2 charitable organisations with the overall amount raised to be matched by North Star Roasters themselves.
Ozone Coffee Roasters
Ozone have taken a different approach to the artwork on their packaging this year. Choosing to reflect upon the challenges of the year, the design features the stretched out numerals 2020 and is a metaphor for how the global pandemic has altered our views and thought process. The blend itself delivers tasty Christmas notes of berry, marzipan, cocoa.
HasBean
Hasbean have also taken a different approach to their Christmas Coffee this year. Acknowledging that 2020 has been far from normal, they’ve opted to leave the typical Christmas flavours behind and instead create a unique blend of coffees that showcase super psychedelic floral and fruit flavours. The strawberry notes in this are massive and the acidity has a wonderful sparkling quality to it.
Rounton Coffee Roasters
Rounton’s Festive Blend is bold and spicy with notes of baked apple. A blend of 2 coffees from Guatemala and Uganda, this is the coffee you want if you like to add the occasional drop of milk or whisky to your coffee. Come on it’s Christmas!
Neighbourhood Coffee Roasters
Neighbourhood deserve a special mention for their commitment to puns. The festive Illustration on the bag depicts a socially distanced Christmas day scene with the title “I’ll be lonely this Christmas without Brew” written above. The blend is rich with dried fruit notes and mulled wine spices. And £1 from the sale of every bag will be donated to Liverpool Homeless Outreach. If you appreciate a good bit of light hearted fun, this is the bag for you.
Clifton Coffee Roasters
Instead of crafting a blend for their Christmas coffee, Clifton have carefully selected one coffee from the Kisinga Coffee Station in Western Uganda that delivers Christmas in a cup. It packs an absolutely incredible punch of juicy, delicious, fruity mulled wine flavours. This one will blow your mind with how diverse coffee flavours can be.
Gentlemen Baristas
Top marks for the packaging here featuring a gift box with matching ribbon, and the coffee inside is just as good. A single origin from a farm in Colombia this coffee will be particularly enjoyed by those who favour hand brews.
AllPress Espresso
This is a really well rounded blend of 3 coffees with loads of depth. It’s got everything you want, a bright berry acidity, notes of cocoa, spices, raisins and a big body. Delicious on its own as a black filter or espresso but easily handles the addition of milk. This is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
Established Coffee
These folks are new to the roasting game and they’ve nailed their Christmas coffee. This single origin Colombian stands out with big juicy notes of clementine set in a Christmassy chocolatey base.
Gold Box Coffee
Gold Box have created an espresso blend for their festive coffee with notes of dark chocolate, tamarind and a hint of spice. They also have a delicious range of chocolate coated coffee beans which mean you never need to choose between coffee and chocolate again.
Plot Roasting
Plot have called their festive coffee “Sweet Jesus” and are serving up a single origin coffee from Myanmar that's big on boozy cherry notes. No sign of red and green on their packaging, it’s pink and silver all the way.
Ancoats Coffee
Ancoats have created their blend with espresso brewers in mind. A combination of three coffees from Brazil, Nicaragua and Guatemala you can expect notes of orange, milk chocolate and caramel.
Mission Coffee Works
This tasty blend has a lovely walnutty base to it that sets it apart from others. What’s more, £2 from every 250g bag and £8 from every 1KG bag will be donated directly to The Trussell Trust who have a network of over 1200 food banks throughout the UK.
Old Spike
Old Spike are a social enterprise from which 65% of profits directly support people experiencing homelessness. On offer from them is a full Festive Brew Gift Box that has their coffee packaged in a hand printed Old Spike glass jar. The blend itself has candied fruit notes with a nutty base.
We Are Here Coffee
This roastery has stayed true to its brand, keeping their coffee exactly the same and leaving the jargon behind. You simply choose how you like to brew your coffee, and they’ll ship you a coffee that fits that style. For the Christmas version you get a festive label and the usual 10p they donate to a charity is designated for Shelter.
Origin Coffee Roasters
Origin’s Christmas Blend is a mix of 3 coffees from Nicaragua, El Salvador and Burundi. In the cup it’s dark and rich with notes of fig, Christmas pudding and dark chocolate.
Coaltown Coffee Roasters
These folks have released not one, but two Christmas coffees this year. Both designed for espresso brewing, “Candy Cane” is fruity and sweet and “Deep Winter” is more dark chocolate and brown sugar. With red and green labels respectively, they make a lovely duo.
Hard Lines
As has been a popular choice for Christmas coffees in previous years, Hard Lines have chosen a lovely single origin coffee from Rwanda for it’s inherent Christmas like flavours. This one has a delicious toffee body along with mulled wine spices and a plum acidity.
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Give the Gift of Coffee This Christmas
Make sure to check the Best Coffee Gift Shop, and discover the best gift ideas for coffee lovers.
If you are looking for convenience, check our Best Coffee Pod Box December Edition, featuring a lovely Christmas Espresso from Notes Coffee Roasters