An insider’s guide to Christmas Blend and Starbucks holiday coffees

Before Red Holiday Cups and Peppermint Mocha, there was Christmas Blend. This beloved holiday coffee was introduced in 1984, when there were only five Starbucks locations in Seattle and the company sold only whole bean coffee, tea, and spices. The new coffee blend displayed Starbucks’ mastery of roasting and blending by combining beans from Latin America with those from Indonesia. The final touch was the addition of rare, spicy Sumatra beans that were painstakingly aged for three to five years to produce a robust, spicy, and flavorful cup of coffee.

Customers quickly purchased the hand-scooped bags of Christmas Blend, and the roasty-sweet aroma of Christmas Blend soon filled the stores. As more and more shipments arrived each morning to meet the increasing demand, their white metal containers were still warm from the freshly roasted beans inside.

Since that very first holiday, Christmas Blend has become a treasured part of the season, whether it’s shared over a meal or given as a gift in a beautiful box. This year’s vintage was created by Starbucks’s team of expert coffee developers to honor the company’s rich history while incorporating new coffees from Latin America, Africa, and Indonesia and taking into account brewing methods such as iced and cold brew.

Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices have validated that 100% of Starbucks’ arabica coffee is sourced ethically. Here are the holiday coffees you can enjoy from Starbucks this year, complete with the familiar warmth, spice, and depth:

Christmas Blend

Aged Sumatra is blended with dark-roasted beans from Papua New Guinea, Guatemala, and Colombia to create this year’s Starbucks® Christmas Blend. With hints of herbs, baking spices, and a chocolate finish, each sip of this flavorful coffee evokes the magic and coziness of the season.

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