Every year we create a special blend to commemorate the holiday season with a little cup of cheer, and this time we’re doing something special that we’ve never done before. As coferments have proliferated in the specialty market, we’ve not only sampled dozens of green coffee offerings; we have also cupped a number of other excellent coferments from many different skilled roasters across the world. Cofermented coffees can be processed in a variety of ways, but the key element is extending the coffee’s fermentation time by adding it to a tank with another non-coffee ingredient such as fruits, flowers, herbs, or spices. This method is designed to impart flavors that are sometimes outside of the normal flavor wheel that one can expect from the traditional means of processing coffee.

As with decaf, the fact of the matter remains that the very best ingredient to add to a coferment tank is obvious: excellent coffee from talented producers. While coferments are relatively new to us, excellent coffee is not, and after the better part of a year finding and sampling coffees from all around the world, we found a way to introduce our community to a coferment in a palatable and supremely delicious holiday blend.

Long before coferments were commonplace, it was almost impossible for Colombian producers to export any coffees that were not explicitly a washed process, meaning natural and honey processed coffees were exceedingly rare, if available at all. In the last five years however, the Colombian specialty coffee market has undergone a complete transformation, and that is no hyperbole. About two years ago, our team was introduced to Unblended, a Colombian producer cooperative that has been the epicenter of funky and experimental coffees, with a great number of their offerings being coferments, or coferments that are (somewhat ironically) blended with development lots that the organization uses as a way to teach young producers how to process their own coffee. In terms of coffee cooperatives and exporters alike, what Unblended has accomplished in their relatively brief time as an enterprise is nothing short of remarkable. The coffees we have sourced from them have all been a mechanism of supporting coffee producers who may otherwise have a difficult time learning the ropes of the trade, or having collective bargaining power alongside each other. Unblended’s strategy of partnering young producers with mentors in the field is such an incredible project that we have been so privileged to support in our own small way.

Our holiday blend is centered around a coffee produced by Unblended’s team of young producers that was blended at origin with another lot that was cofermented with cinnamon, produced and processed by Sebastian Ramirez, one of the program’s mentors. We combined this coffee with a Peruvian natural from the El Palto cooperative and cut in a little bit of the Ethiopian Ardi natural for good measure. Together, these coffees coalesce into a flavorful yet balanced blend, with notes of plum, holiday fruitcake, and a comforting snickerdoodle finish. Designed to be an integral part of this season’s festivities, this coffee brings a bouquet of classic holiday flavors to the table. As always, we thank our wonderful, supportive community for making fun blends like this possible. We thank you for another incredible year as we look forward to 2027. So when it comes to your holiday celebrations, have a cup of cheer!

These coffees coalesce into a flavorful yet balanced blend, with notes of holiday fruitcake, jammy plum, and a comforting snickerdoodle finish.