Every year since 2010 I’ve done a series of December diaries focusing on a variety of seasonal topics ranging from music to food to ugly sweaters. (Full disclosure: I did ONE Seasonal diary in 2008, and 2009 (eleven years ago?! time flies!!) was the first December K2 was with us so I was a little distracted :-)).
Despite the fact it’s 2020 and it feels like everything is different, I can’t ignore this theme, so let’s get seasonal! Don’t worry if Christmas isn’t your thing- while my personal December perspective is primarily secular but culturally Christian-based with a vibrant dose of earth-centered Winter Solstice mixed in thanks to almost two decades as a Unitarian Universalist, these diaries are for everyone who is alive and reading this. In other words, if there’s a holiday in December that makes you happy, that you mark differently than all the other days, or that involves negotiating about who brings what food… or even if there isn’t... this is a place for you!
Grab a glass of whatever libation you’re having tonight as you savor today’s SCOTUS ruling on PA’s election results and hop across the story break for tonight’s topic, a question that’s long mystified me- what is “Christmas Blend”?
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It’s no secret that I like coffee. I didn’t start drinking it until my first year of graduate school, when it was both necessary to keep me awake to study AND was the only beverage besides water freely available in the department lounge. I mixed it with a packet of Swiss Miss hot chocolate and added a little carton or two of creamer and survived another seminar without snoring. Later on I grew to enjoy my homebrewed coffee with a bit of sweetener and cream, and thanks to Mr. Brillig’s influence I discovered that whole bean coffee ground fresh really DID make a delicious cup.
In addition to our regular morning french press, we also frequented our local Starbucks- K1 practically grew up there and it’s a supreme irony that she detests coffee. And every December, in addition to the usual assortment of coffees came a new bag: Christmas Blend. It rapidly became a tradition that every December, we’d purchase four or five bags of Christmas Blend, and savor it into spring.
But what exactly IS Christmas Blend? Is it coffee picked by elves? Blended in large vats mixed by teams of reindeer? Does it taste best with milk and cookies? Or is it dark and strong to fortify us before we venture forth to find the perfect tree, get those #$%^ decorations up, or [in any year but this one, where we’re all staying the F home or we’ll be put on the Naughty and Probably Infectious List] prepping us for that drive to Grandma’s?
I went to that old favorite source of all knowledge, Google… and learned that at Starbucks, this once-a-year blend has been packaged and sold since 1984. While the composition of each year’s blend varies, it tends to be a dark-roast mix of Sumatran beans plus an assortment from around the world… Latin America, New Guinea and Ethiopian. In years past there also was a Holiday Blend that I assumed was merely the same coffee packaged for those who did NOT want a little Christmas in their caffeine; I learned recently that it’s actually a different blend of beans, with a lighter medium roast.
Lest you think Christmas/Holiday blend coffees are proprietary to just one brand…
I give you the current contents of Casa Brillig’s coffee inventory. In this year that is 2020, I’ve made it my mission to sample as many different special winter blends as possible. So far we’ve had the Jims, the Starbucks Holiday Blend, and we’re working on the Christmas blend now. After that will be the Peets and then the Fazenda, plus whatever other varieties I can find in the next several weeks. Each of them have their own descriptors, ranging from sweet & maple-y to warm spice, and range from medium to dark roast. In other words, there’s an underlying truth that it’s a special blend people look forward to every year, but there is a variety and subtlety in everyone’s offering. Sounds a lot like the holiday itself.
I know there are folks reading this who, instead of coffee, were thinking of the special Winter Warmers and Christmas Ales that appear every year on craft beer shelves. Alas, I can no longer drink beer because my blood sugar skyrockets, but I suspect there are the same similarities and differences that exist in the coffee world.
Time to finish those last sips and head to the Tops. Share your coffee or other winter beverage favorites in the comments, and if you’ve got other fantastic thoughts on what might make Christmas Blend unique, I’d love to read those stories as well!
TOP COMMENTS
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It was a very quiet 24 hours; ie, there were no comment nominations sent in. Please send em in when you see them! We do however have a number of highlights… those comments someone recognized as excellent but that didn’t get sent in. Here are what I found tonight:
HalBrown highlighted this comment by wesmorgan1 as a well thought out and persuasive opinion and analysis. It was in response to his diary Open for debate: Should a recently retired general be the Secretary of Defense?
hester would like to recognize this comment by Bluerall, from Joan McCarter’s Supreme Court sends Trump packing in Pennsylvania election challenge.
Also from Joan McCarter’s Supreme Court sends Trump packing in Pennsylvania election challenge comes this one by ktoz that millwood wanted to highlight.
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, December 7th 2020, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
TOP PICTURES
Top Pictures for yesterday, December 7th 2020. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment or picture. Thank you jotter!