Seasonal coffees and recipes with a taste of spring

Coffee with the scent of spring! Or spring with the smell of coffee? Either way, it's here, so what does the spring season mean for coffee roasters? What are the spring trends in gastronomy (including coffee shops) + recipes for spring coffee drinks. Read on!

Seasonal coffee production.

If you don't happen to know, coffeeis harvested year-round. That is, if we take it throughout thecoffee belt. If you don't know what the coffee belt is, fill in the info by reading the article about growing countries. If we go by the harvesting seasons in each coffee producing country, the coffee harvesting calendar varies due to the climate. So the harvest is from the north of the coffee belt to the south.

In terms of the calendar year, the first harvests are in Mexico and Central America, which continue through spring. This is joined by coffeefrom Africa such as Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya. Still later Peru or Indonesia. To make it less easy, the climate of the growing country, as well as the microclimatic conditions of a particular area, and other aspects determine the harvest. Thus, coffee farmers from one country may harvest coffee in a different month.

You know that flowering and ripening is gradual, so there can be both ripe and immature fruit on the same branch and yet to flower.

Spring season coffee roasters' offers

So what to expect in the spring season from roasters? If I confused you with a note about microclimates after the obvious table, the coffee harvest calendar, I'll shuffle the cards even more now. There really is a long timeand a lot of work between picking time and the moment we roast thecoffee and the moment you drink it.

As a result, it means that what is harvested on the farm now, you will be drinking in some 9-15 months. And this is where we get into the fact that the coffee harvesting calendar is different from the one sold at roasters. It's usually a month behind. So you can still look forward to the latest flights fromEthiopia, Guatemala, as well as new arrivals fromRwanda, Burundi, Kenya this spring. Of course Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and then Indonesia as well as Peru and other coffees of South America.

The green coffee selection itself is so full of surprises, sometimes we can stumble upon unexpected treasures. Depending on the weather during the year, the picking season can also deviate, so it is never definite what good things will be new on the coffee shelves of our shop and what coffee flavours will be in your cup in the spring time.

We'll have to wait for this year's spring coffee crop.

Spring Coffee Flavour Wheel

The foodservice industry, however, works with other information to make good predictions about seasonal fashions in flavors. It predicts annual trends, but some flavours and aromas are already classics for spring. Above all:

light and bright floral notes,
herbal flavours,
sweet and nutty
and juicy fruity flavours.

Spring coffee drinks

What is the typical taste of spring? The answer varies according to each person's subjective perception . Often the thought of spring is associated with memories of youth and childhood. Of the flavours he or she enjoyed in those times.

For one person it is oranges, another associates spring with the taste of strawberries and, for example, a native of Tijuana, Mexico, when asked answered that spring tastes like pineapple.

Seasonal flavors for spring 2023 include:

Strawberries,
caramel and salted caramel,
Mango,
raspberries,
Tangerine,
milk chocolate,
blueberries,
cherries,
limes,
peaches,
marshmallow,
white grapes,
yuzu,
coconut,
almonds,
macchiato,
affogato,
matcha,
hibiscus,
vanilla.

The trend for spring flavours can be seen in the seasonal flavours offered by coffee syrup manufacturers. The French Maison Routin 1883 has prepared syrups with the following flavours: red chocolate, cherry blossom, cayenne pepper, raspberry with vanilla, hibiscus, madeleine, or perhaps with the flavour of pandan.

The French Monin syrups , known again by all bartenders - and baristas, then report trends in flavours: mint mojito, cherry blossom, vanilla, blueberry, orange, red fruit, but also strawberry with rose, lemon with lavender, honey with jasmine.

Why an overview of spring flavours? Seasonal offers are always a temptation. But making Pumpkin Spice Lattes in May just isn't kosher. The palette of spring flavors projected into prepared recipes is something that gets attention.

Coffee recipes for spring

Wildflower Coffee Lemonade
Mint Cold Brew
Cascara Iced Tea with Blueberries and Basil
Jasmine espresso with coconut foam

Wild Herb Flavored Coffee Lemonade

A luxurious tasting drink made with coffee and herbs as wild as your soul. Lemonade for all the "wild souls" and their "soulmates". You can't think of a more hipster-drink for this spring!

Preparing Wildflower Coffee Lemonade

In an "old fashion" glass mix coffee, lemon juice, tea and sweeten.
Add ice and top up with soda.
Garnish with lemon zest.

Ingredients

30 ml Cold Brew Concentrate (coffee and water 1:5)

30 ml herbal tea

10 ml simple syrup (liquid sugar)

10 ml lemon juice

150 ml soda water

Mint Cold Brew

This easy mint cold brew is so refreshing and perfect for the spring season!

Preparation of Peppermint Cold Brew

Drop mint into a tall glass, and half a lime cut into quarters
Drizzle with mintsyrup
Rub everything with a muddler
All that's left to do is top with ice, pour in the Cold Brew and stir

Ingredients

mint leaves
Cold Brew [recipe]
mint syrup
lime

Blueberry-basil iced tea from cascara

If there's no coffee in the cup, there'll be cascara. That's how it usually works for us, and this iced tea is an absolutely exquisite springtime drink.

Preparing cascara and blueberry iced tea

Take a tall glass of and add ice as desired.
Followed by a small shot of preferably homemade blueberry syrup
Then, of course, a large shot of cascara concentrate.
Top up with basil leaves and top up with soda or filtered water

Ingredients

4 cl cascara concentrate*

2 cl blueberry syrup

5 basil leaves

soda/water to top up

* Prepare cascara concentrate by simmering 25 g of cascara in 250 ml of hot water for at least 10 minutes. Then strain the concentrated infusion and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Jasmine espresso with coconut foam

An irresistible tea-coffee combination with a delicate coconut puff on top.

Preparation of jasmine espresso

Place an ice cube in a mixing glass
Add coffee and jasmine tea
Stir everything well
Pour the drink into a serving glass
Top with sweet coconut foam*

* Pour coconut milk with syrup/sugar into a whipped cream container, screw on, fill with a bomb, shake

Ingredients

6 cl jasmine tea
4 cl espresso (doppio)
coconut milk foam (sweetened with a teaspoon of sugar or spring botanical syrup)

FAQ's on the subject:

How to choose coffee for spring?

The best advice of all when it comes to choosing coffee is: taste it in person. And then the best method of tasting coffee is ???? cupping. By comparing several coffees side by side, you can better determine their characteristics and thus which coffee you like best for your spring coffee drinks.

Spring coffee drinks and their service

Spring in coffee shops is also a time for inspections. Whether internal or visits from hygiene. It's also a good time to review your coffee china and get new ???? coffee cups, perhaps in spring colours, instead of the worn cups (which threaten injury and fines).