How to Create a Holiday Coffee Drink

As one of the highest-consumed beverages in the world, coffee has solidified itself as a mainstay in the homes and stores of communities all over the globe. With such a ubiquitous reputation, it’s no wonder that different cultures have put their own spin on the drink when holiday time comes. From Eggnog Lattes to Dirty Chocolate Chai Tea, coffee is a drink that is great for any season and provides a wonderful base to stay festive and celebrate this time of year.

• Define the Celebration

The first step to designing a holiday drink is understanding which holiday is being celebrated. Each holiday has its own unique themes and values, and these festive thematic elements can serve to help narrow down the types of flavors that should go in your holiday drink. Think about the kinds of foods and spices used at a certain time of year. In America, autumn usually involves spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, along with fruits and nuts like apples, pumpkins, and pecans. Conversely, in the winter, flavors of peppermint, chocolate, ginger, and orange get a spotlight.

• Choose the Right Coffee Blend and Roast

With large-scale consumption of coffee comes large-scale innovation in the flavors of coffee. Any coffee someone purchases will have its own unique flavor notes, and these notes can be used to enhance and deepen the complexities of your beverage. Consider whether a single-origin or blend of coffee better suits your needs — Single-origins tend to offer stronger, more concentrated flavors, but often have less complexity, while blends can offer a more nuanced and complex coffee, at the cost of less punchy individual notes. Typically (though not always!), single-origins will have more fruit- and spice-forward flavors, while blends will have more chocolate- and nut-forward flavors. Roast level is also important to consider, as different roasts can change the flavor of coffee as much as the origins. Lighter roasts have more caffeine, and tend to be stronger in fruity, acidic flavors, while darker roasts tend towards chocolate and spice notes. It’s best to source your beans directly from a roaster, such as Lightwave Coffee. Coffee roasters guarantee freshly roasted beans that are full of flavor, as opposed to the old, stale coffee commonly found on supermarket shelves. Regardless of which blends and roasts you choose, it’s smart to taste the coffee on its own before mixing in seasonal flavors or milk.

• Pick a Brewing Method

While origins and roasts define much of the flavor, the brewing method used to make coffee also has a significant hand. Drip brews like pour-over and french press can result in less intense and nuanced coffee flavors, while pressure brews like using an espresso machine or Italian brewers can create a punchier, brighter flavor that can hold up to strong and bold flavors. Most large-scale or chain coffee shops will use espresso for their drinks, but home brewers can certainly get an amazing product with a stovetop espresso brewer or a drip brew.

• Collect your Flavor Ingredients

Many different ingredients can be used in flavoring holiday coffee. Syrups like vanilla or mocha can be made easily at home, while more complex flavors like pumpkin spice or juniper may be better sourced from a supermarket or specialty shop. Some spices can also be brewed with your coffee beans, such as cardamom or clove, and impart those spiced flavors directly to the coffee rather than infusing them into a syrup. There are many unique ways to add flavor to a coffee, so don’t be afraid to experiment with methods that you would use in other culinary pursuits as well!

• Garnish and Share

After all the hard work of collecting the flavors and brewing coffee, the only step left is to share the beverage with friends and family. People eat first with their eyes, and drinking coffee is no different. Adding garnishes are a nice touch to lift the look of a drink, while also helping to add complexity to the flavors in your beverage. Similarly to bars, adding a small garnish to a drink can also help bring aromas to the nose of the drinker, brightening the flavors of whatever that garnish is. Adding toasted cinnamon stick or a peppermint candy cane to your cup can help to bring out those flavors to the drinker, while foamed milk and cocoa powder are excellent ways to add a bit of texture to your drink, enhancing the feel and richness of the beverage.

Holidays are meant to be shared with friends and family, and making a coffee drink is a fantastic way to bring people together. Sharing with those close to you will let you know if you hit the mark, and how to improve your drink for the next time you make it. At the end of the day, holidays are about celebration, and there is no better celebration than sharing a handcrafted drink with those you love.