You know the holidays are approaching when our aprons change from green to red – and Christmas Blend starts appearing on shelves.
The special coffee has been a part of our story for decades. In 1984, we were a small chain of five Seattle stores selling nothing but fresh-roasted coffee beans, teas and spices. To celebrate the holidays, we decided to create an expert blend for our customers that showcased our artistry in roasting. It combined lively Latin American beans, mellow Indonesia coffees and rare, spicy Sumatra beans, painstakingly aged for three to five years.
We‘d hoped the rich, full-bodied blend would develop a small, loyal following, but customers snapped it up as soon as it arrived. In the days leading up to Christmas, stores were selling it as quickly as it could be scooped and packaged.