I subscribe to a few of the roasters, and today received an email from Verve Roasters promoting their "Holiday Blend". Since this is my first "Holiday" season with an espresso machine, I thought it would be fun to begin a list, with reviews or recommendations for this year's offerings.

I haven't had any holiday blends so far. How about you? Any favorites from years past?

Here's the link for Verve for those who might be interested:

https://www.vervecoffee.com/pages/holiday-blend

I am in no way invested in this brand.

I can see that this is a hot topic I've ordered a bag of the Verve "Holiday Blend" and will report back.

Do holiday blends usually have spices added?

I surely hope not! I'm pretty sure that a reputable coffee roaster would never pollute their hard worked beans with anything but pure coffee.

I think it's mostly just a marketing concept. You advertise your "Holiday Blend" generally with a description of commonly used terms like "Rich" that have little actual substance to what they're describing. I think the general public perception of a holiday blend is something maybe a touch darker, "comforting" etc. When someone thinks of a holiday blend, they're probably not thinking of light roasted blends of bright coffees.

Anything that might help boost sales during the holiday season will be utilized by any company, coffee roasting or not.