On our first Christmas together, my wife and I decided that we should get a special coffee to drink Christmas morning. Many years ago it was the special-order Jamaica Blue Mountain that our local shop in Burlington VT (Uncommon Grounds) would order just for the holidays. Then we moved to coffee-hell (aka Eastern NC) and suspended this tradition for a few years... internet ordering apparently didn't occur to us :). Charlotte has been far kinder in terms of good coffee offerings - a nice freshly-roasted Papua New Guinea did a reasonable job for the past 2 years, but I'm used to this level of quality now so the bar has been raised. I need a super-special Christmas coffee - something with a nice sweetly-balanced acidity, decent body, darker fruit, good complexity, maybe some earthier aspects... I have a couple in mind, but wanted to throw this out to the group too.

So here's the survey:
Do you do this?
What will you be drinking on Christmas morning this year?
What should I order for the big day?

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My friend is going to bring me back from green coffee from Monteverde in Costa Rica on the 23rd. Roast it up on the 24th, ready to brew Christmas morning...
I'm thinking of going in with a few friends to save a bit on shipping... still kills me to pay to ship coffee.
We will enjoy Caffé Pronto's 2008 Holiday Blend. I tried it at a cupping at Caffé Pronto two weeks ago. It's a winner. Holiday perfect.
Yeah, I'm thinking hard about a Lintong. Loving the Popayan right now - really nice. Gonna get more of Dilworth's for the store tomorrow.

The leading candidate right now for me is the CCC Aida Grand Reserve... had some on Friday and was pretty impressed. The roast dates don't line up right though - last one is December 15.

We'll see. Thanks lots for the ideas so far.

I had a lot of fun coming up with a Holiday Blend this year! I eventually settled on a pleasant blend of Bolivian, Sumatra Mandheling (double picked), and Ethiopian Sidamo (natural process). It's got fruit, dark chocolate, nuts, and a buttery body. I roast it slightly darker than my other blends, but by no means dark enough to mask what each origin brings to the table.

El Salvador Finca La Fany does it for me.....mmmmm

The holiday coffee is really good this year where I work though (Kaffitár, Iceland):

Three Guatemalan (direct trade) mixed together: Rio Azul (Huehuetenango), San Francisco Tecumburro (Fraijanes) and Finca El Bosque (Amatitlan).

I don't know if Kaffitar sends outside....you could try and send an email kaffitar (at) kaffitar (.) is
We have roasted our own "Christmas Blend" for the big day. It is a blend of 4 East Indonesian beauties. It is very fruity, hints of Double Chocolate, ripe passionfruit and sweet Vanilla pod. I will be drinking that... has proven so popular I may sadly run out of one of the greens I use before Christmas day :((
Just bought a pound of Sumatra from Cal Java Roasters in Chico, CA. I actually bought it for my dad for Christmas but I will make him brew some in the French Press right away after he opens it Christmas day.
And the winner is...

Dilworth's Reserve Rwanda Bufcafe. This was a surprise for me today, when I picked up my order at the roastery they had just pulled the first batch out of the roaster. I knew they were working on one, having gotten ahold of a little more very recently, but I hadn;t realized it would come out this week. Loved the one they roasted a few months ago, and looking forward to this one. Will let it rest a day or two and try it Christmas.

Let's keep this going as we actually get there... let me know what you have/had.

b
I'm usually the one brewing the coffee for the family, so I usually pick out my favorite blend or single origin at the moment and have it shipped before the big day... but my shipment from Counter Culture might not make it in time. I'll probably have to swing by Coffee Slingers and pick up some of Barefoot's offerings. Hopefully they'll have the Java Surabaya Jampit I've been digging recently...
I'll be enjoying the last of our Sumatra Blue Batak peaberry. I just roasted it about an hour ago. It's great for the holidays-- sweetness, red wine, plum, hints of clove and cinnamon.

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