The Christmas Cup: Why Some Coffees Taste like Christmas

Clove, clementine, a suspicion of brandy. Before you blame the syrup, consider that the bean got there first.

There's a week in early December when the coffee shelf starts to sound like a Christmas market. Mulled this, gingerbread that, something described as "festive". Some of it is flavouring, and good luck to it. But every so often a bag turns up with no syrup in it, no spice, no sleight of hand, and the first sip is unmistakably a mince pie.

It's the reason we write the notes on our bags the way we do. The clove, the dark fruit and the cocoa you taste at Christmas belong to the coffee itself.

In short, Christmas coffee flavours come from three places: where the coffee grew, how the cherry was handled after harvest, and how long the beans spent in the roaster. Here's how each of them works, and which of our coffees to reach for when you want the season in a cup.

The clove question

Start in the roaster, because that's where a coffee acquires its smell. Green coffee has almost no aroma of its own. Apply heat and its sugars and amino acids begin to react, producing hundreds of aroma compounds, some of which wouldn't look out of place in the spice drawer. Certain beans smell of cloves. These are made as the roast breaks down ferulic acid in the bean. Thus, the clove in your cup is a consequence of the roast.

Where the pudding comes from

Fruit is a matter of processing. In a natural process coffee the whole cherry is dried with the fruit still wrapped around the seed, and over several weeks its sugars and fermentation compounds make their way in. What comes out is sweeter and heavier, jammy rather than crisp, often with less of the bright acidity of a washed coffee, whose fruit is stripped away before drying. Honey processing sits between the two, leaving a little of the sticky mucilage on the bean as it dries.

To taste the effect, start with Complex. It's a natural from Banka Farm in Yunnan, China, a Catimor grown at 1,800m, and it tastes of gummy cherry, stonefruit and dark chocolate: a Christmas pudding, more or less, from someone generous with the brandy. Pour it slowly. It deserves the pause.

Something for the crumble

Sweet is the gentler side of the season. It's a white honey Bourbon from El Durazno in Guatemala, grown at 1,700m, and it tastes of baked apple, toasted pecan and brown sugar. In other words, the top of an apple crumble. Make it while the custard is warming.

Why it tastes like Christmas

The reactions that give a loaf its crust and a nut its toast, caramelisation and the Maillard reaction, also build the cocoa, caramel and roasted nut notes that sit underneath nearly every cup of coffee. Strong leans on them. It’s a blend of natural Brazil and washed Peru with dark chocolate, walnut and brown sugar, made for espresso and milk. For the same depth with a roasted almond edge, there is Bold, a natural Brazil with dark chocolate and roasted almond.

The Festive Edit

If you know what you want from the season, start here. Find the craving, then the coffee.

FAQs

Is flavoured coffee the same as tasting notes?

No. Flavoured coffee has aromas added. Tasting notes describe flavours that occur naturally in the coffee.

Why does my coffee taste of cinnamon or clove?

Usually a mix of origin, processing and roast producing spice-like phenolic compounds.

What's the best coffee for Christmas morning?

For something sweet and soft, Sweet. For fruit and richness, Complex.

Are Common's tasting notes added flavours?

No. Nothing's added to our coffee. Roasted in Midlothian, just outside Edinburgh. Explore Common's coffee collection.