The leaves have changed colors [and Thanksgiving has passed], so it’s the perfect time to prep some Christmas gifts. After all, as soon as we can get past Thanksgiving, the holiday season is in full swing! It’s always a solid idea to play to your strengths, and for the devoted readers of our blog (and intrepid wanderers of the internet) that means coffee! Did you know there are lots of ways to turn the coffee you’ve spent so much time and effort roasting into an excellent gift? Let’s take a look.
How to Gift Coffee for Christmas (for all the home roasters out there)
So you’ve gone down the coffee rabbit hole, spent all your money on green beans, and still need to buy Christmas presents? Good news! You can give coffee related gifts to all your friends and family; thereby drawing them down the rabbit hole with you. After all, there’s something magical about the kind of coffee you can only produce with high-quality, home-roasted beans. That’s why we do this, right?
You could always just give them a bag of roasted beans—or grounds if they prefer—but why stop there? There’s a lot of mileage to be gotten out of incorporating the holiday spirit into your coffee.
A Homemade Christmas Coffee Blend
The unique flavor notes in coffee come from the different varieties of beans that are used. Some coffees use only beans from a single, specific location so that the flavor really shines through. These are called single origin. Other coffees use different combinations of flavors that complement each other. These are called blends. We have a more detailed guide on the difference here.
Odds are, if you’re roasting at home, you’ve got quite the palate for coffee flavors. Why not use that gift, take your creativity for a spin, and try developing a holiday blend for friends and family to enjoy? We have a more detailed guide for creating coffee blends here. You can also use our coffee matrix to find flavors that will complement each other well!
A Homemade Spiced Christmas Coffee
Another way to develop festive flavor in coffee is through spices. It’s pretty difficult to beat the feeling of sipping something that just tastes like Christmas. Often, that phenomenon is created through the addition of a few key ingredients: cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. Candy canes, whipped cream, and sprinkles can also be added as festive decor (gotta make that insta-worthy cup). Adding these spices to your favorite coffee grounds can make the perfect holiday gift bags! You could even pair it with a cute coffee mug.
Everything You Need for Coffee on Christmas Morning
Sometimes Christmas morning starts a bit earlier than you want, and you have to give yourself a jolt of Christmas cheer. What better way to do this than with coffee! For the people you will be spending Christmas morning with, you can take the extra step to brew them something special. Maybe include some hot chocolate for the little ones.
You can transform this tradition into a gift by preparing all the necessary ingredients for a friend. Maybe you can utilize the previously mentioned spiced coffee. By throwing the grounds in a mason jar, you give yourself a lot of flexibility to personalize and decorate. You could also include freshly baked cinnamon rolls or a roll of dough to let them make their own.
Depending on whether you’re making coffee at home or gifting supplies, you may need to consider the tools someone has to make their own coffee. If you give them grounds, maybe you could give them a French Press as well. If they have a classic coffee machine, you could help them stock up on coffee filters. Everyone trying to make coffee needs at least water, coffee grounds, and a brewing method.
When you need your second boost in the evening, you can continue the party with coffee cocktails! There are lots of fun coffee drinks that you can experiment with in order to Christmas all day long.
A Recipe to Follow (with your specialty roasted coffee beans)
Beyond a mug of coffee, there are countless opportunities to utilize that fantastic coffee flavor you’ve cultivated with your roasted beans—from food that pairs well with a coffee beverage to recipes that use coffee as an ingredient. You can gift some of your coffee with a cute recipe card or a jar of (dry) ingredients. Different coffee flavors will pair well with different foods. For example, medium roasts pair well with fruity muffins and dark roasts pair well with hearty breakfast bacon. Cinnamon rolls pair great with iced vanilla lattes or coffee with chocolate notes. Or, even better, you can find a cinnamon roll recipe that calls for coffee. There are lots of other foods that can be improved by adding coffee to the recipe like roast beef or donuts [CHOCOLATE CAKE]. Give your friends a sweet gift by picking great coffee to go with great food!
Conclusion
There are many excellent ways to use your coffee roasting skills for Christmas gifts. You can create a jolly holiday blend, add spices to gifted grounds for a pop of flavor, whip up morning lattes and evening cocktails or give friends supplies to do it themselves, and you can gift coffee with food. These coffee-based gifts are a great way to share your passion with friends and family. And they’re all sure to make Christmas Day a little bit more delicious!