The Flavors of Winter
Within the coffee industry, it’s well known that winter is a popular time for special limited time offerings with seasonal ingredients. Throughout the season, nostalgic and well-loved flavors take center stage, creating decadent, comforting, and eye-catching café drinks.
For many customers, the winter season is closely connected with holiday fare and comforting treats. Flavors such as peppermint, holiday cookie, and white chocolate are trending this winter season.
Peppermint
Candy canes and peppermint hard candies are ubiquitous during the winter holidays. With iconic red and white striping, and fresh mint flavor, peppermint is well-suited to making a comforting winter beverage with an appetizing visual element.
Peppermint pairs well with hot & cold espresso drinks, as well as tea & hot chocolate. Crushed peppermint is often used as a garnish for a pop of color.
This winter, many national coffee chains prominently feature peppermint on their seasonal menus. Starbucks and Dunkin both offer a Peppermint Mocha, and Black Rock Coffee Bar has brought back their Peppermint Bark White Mocha. Dutch Bros offers a Peppermint Mocha, which can also be ordered in cold brew form.
Cookies
Cookies are another holiday staple wrapped in tradition. For many people, baking and decorating holiday cookies evokes nostalgic memories of spending time with family.
This winter season, many café menus feature flavors such as cookie butter, gingerbread, and sugar cookie. Some creative drinks even feature whimsical garnishes such as sprinkles or cookie pieces.
The popularity of cold drinks has soared over the past few years. This past quarter, Starbucks reported that a whopping 75% of beverage sales have been cold drinks. In alignment with that trend, many featured drinks are designed to be prepared and consumed cold this season.
While the nostalgic draw of holiday cookies may be focused on a warm, fresh baked aspect, cafés and national coffee chains are leaning into the cold trend for their cookie beverage offerings.
Two national chains feature cookie-flavored cold brew – Dunkin with Cookie Butter Cold Brew, and Black Rock with Christmas Cookie Cold Brew – while Starbucks offers an Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte topped with red and green sprinkles.
White Chocolate
White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids. In contrast to dark chocolate and milk chocolate, white chocolate does not contain cocoa solids.
Both Starbucks and Dunkin offer Toasted White Chocolate mochas and lattes, with caramelized notes adding depth of flavor. The Black Rock Peppermint Bark White Mocha, mentioned earlier, features white chocolate for a double layer of holiday connection.
Alt Milks
When it comes to preparing a hot or iced latte, cafés today feature more variety than ever. Real dairy milk and dairy alternatives such as oat, almond, coconut, macadamia, and soy cater to the dietary needs and preferences of any customer.
Some menus even feature alternative “oat nog” this season, providing a plant-based option for an indulgent holiday favorite.
Houston’s Has It
Houston’s carries a full portfolio of syrups, sauces, and shelf stable milks to provide the wide palette of ingredients for winter beverage creation. Our trusted vendors like Torani, Monin, 1883, DaVinci, and Barista 22 offer the essential holiday flavors of Peppermint, Cookie Butter, and White Chocolate, among others.
Houston’s also carries hot tea, hot chocolate, espresso supplies, cleaners, drinkware, and even Pirouline chocolate hazelnut cookies for garnish.
For a suite of offerings to bring winter delight to your customers, Houston’s is your source.
