Wintry Mix Coffee Spices

Every year at this time we start thinking about a special seasonal coffee from a chain grocery store, a winter blend of ground coffee and spices. It’s not a “flavored” coffee, with an overpowering pumpkin spice or whatever, it’s just a subtle mix of some spices that makes us think of winter, and makes the cold and snow more bearable.

But the coffee itself isn’t all that great, and it’s pre-ground, probably weeks before it even reaches the stores, so it’s absolutely not fresh. It’s just about the spices, in spite of the coffee.

So why not just add the spices to coffee we already drink?

After a bit of (delicious) experimentation, we came up with a perfect wintry mix of spices with a heavenly aroma and taste. You can take whatever coffee you usually drink, and add this to the grounds before you brew, and you’ve got a cup of coffee that will simply make you happy.

A little goes a long way, to be sure. We added a scant 1/4-teaspoon to a full pot — you might want a bit more, or a bit less. Our retail packet will have enough mix for 10-12 pots of coffee. (Note that you shouldn’t add it to the beans in the grinder, as the flavor will carry, just a bit, through several pots.)

One of the best things about this mix is that you can use it with whatever coffee you like, either pre-ground or whole bean that you grind yourself. Tale to Table carries a variety off roasts from our favorite local roasters, Kuva (hi Tim!) and Stringbean (hello, Peter!). And we have a grinder so we can set you up.