Holiday Coffee

Every year our friends at Black & White Coffee Roasters releases a holiday blend. This one's particularly good.

It's built around a Kenyan lot from Ushirika that brings spice and sweetness, then layered with two co-fermented coffees from Colombia and Costa Rica. The result is complex but not fussy—cinnamon, cooked red fruit, milk chocolate. Works black. Works with cream. Works at 6am before your board meeting or 3pm when you're deep in a model.

The blend:

• 50% Ushirika (Kenya) — the anchor, subtle spice, necessary sweetness
• 25% Huver Castillo, Red Berries (Buesaco, Nariño, Colombia) — co-fermented, fruity
• 25% Esteban Zamora, Cinnamon Anaerobic (San Marcos, Tarrazú, Costa Rica) — co-fermented, warm spice

Tasting notes: Cinnamon sugar, cherry pie, toasted marshmallow, milk chocolate. Nostalgic without being kitschy.