How to Seasons: Keurig

Look, we get it. Making your coffee by the cup makes your morning SO much easier, so how about you meet us halfway? Instead of drinking bad coffee out of something you throw into a landfill, how about you drink great coffee out of something you can throw into a dishwasher? Check the video below and streamline your morning the right way!

Videography & Film Production: Sea Stand Productions

Posted on November 14, 2015 .

How To Seasons: The Chemex

Look, we'll put it simply: If you properly brew coffee with a Chemex, then your coffee will taste awesome, and you will look super cool while brewing it. Thanks to our friends at Sea Stand Productions, you can watch this instructional video and learn how to perfectly use a Chemex Coffee Maker. 


Posted on July 21, 2015 .

Behind the Seasons: Episode 2

 "Behind the Seasons"  is a post series we're doing to shed some light on what we do backstage. With BtS, you'll get insight into the inner thoughts and workings of Seasons Coffee. 

 The following BtS post is by Benza Cox Lance, Director of Coffee and Co-Owner of Seasons Coffee

 

BtS 2: Why no retail coffeeshop? 

This is a question that we get often, and it's a valid one at that. Coffeeshops are an essential part of the social fabric of any neighborhood. For centuries, cafes served as the local meeting place for everyone to gather to celebrate, philosophize, learn, and share. This is an undeniable fact, and one that we embrace wholeheartedly. 


When it came time for us to decide on a brick and mortar location, the immediate thoughts were enwrapped in where and how, which are obvious questions. One of the main aspects of the retail coffee experience that we just couldn't get around was the "standing in line" factor. It was at this point, after years of working in, managing, and opening my own coffee bars, that the fear crept in. 


"We're not going to be able to do anything different than the standing in line on this budget. Even if we did have the budget, are we inventive enough to take this cafe and take it to 11?"
Unfortunately, the answer is "well,...not yet". 

The overwhelming feeling of relief and anxiety was now at the forefront. No barista staff, no milk deliveries, no pastries...and also no walk in traffic. No immediate "Hey, a new coffeeshop!" sensation. 
This allowed us, however, to shift our focus to our website, coffee quality, and various avenues to share our coffees through. We spend our hours coding, sample roasting, and doing quality tastings; instead of having to deal with running a coffeehouse, we can simply deal with getting the best coffee to you in any other way possible.


To this extent, most of our work is done via the web and our marketplace. This is our main hub for coffee, and we try to lay things out simply and tastefully. Our second agenda is slinging coffee to wholesale customers that share our same thoughts of high quality product, preparation, and execution. Thirdly, we're going to start doing pop up events shortly; hopefully we can still have that one-on-one engagement in unique environments that helps us convey how we do things. 

Conclusively, the lack of a retail location gives us the freedom and creativity to do out-of-the-box engagements. Our future probably holds a retail location at some point, but for the time being, we're just focused on slinging awesome coffee.

 

 

 

Posted on July 5, 2015 .

Behind the Seasons: Episode 1

 "Behind the Seasons"  is a post series we're doing to shed some light on what we do backstage. With BtS, you'll get insight into the inner thoughts and workings of Seasons Coffee. 

 The following BtS post is by Benza Cox Lance, Director of Coffee and Co-Owner of Seasons Coffee

BTS 1: What does "V1" mean?

 

When the Seasons idea started to percolate in my mind, one of the main factors I wanted to focus on was the lifestyle of the coffee professional. The specialty industry has always had a disconnect in truly  being able to convey why and how specialty coffee is different from, say, Starbucks. Our culture, in our level of coffee, is much akin to specialty bartender or beer brewer cultures; we're so geeky that's it's kinda cool, and we produce awesome tasting product as a result. Unfortunately, because of the standards set on the "traditional cafe system," much of our industry has been maligned to the side of "snooty hipster baristas." This was one of the main focuses that I wanted to extrapolate on: we're much more than sniveling tattooed skaters making $4 cups of coffee. Our focus with Seasons is bringing you the depth of culture that our industry has. We're not the first to do this, but we're the one's solely focusing on this issue. 

Seasons is not reinventing the wheel here: we're just putting on 22's and giving the ride a bumpin' soundsystem.  

You've probably noticed that specialty coffee folks love rocking tees, hats, hoodies, and mugs from other specialty companies. We dig the style and flow: that's part of what makes us specialty: Style and Flow.  

Every season, one of our goals is to bring you appropriate themed fashion and gear. Things that both coffee professionals and the everyday consumer can enjoy. Right now, we're naming them Versions .

Version V1 is our first package, and we've just completed it. It's perfectly themed as a solid introduction to specialty coffee: T-Shirt, Lid, Mug, and the GFA Chemex Wrap.  Each were designed with beautiful aesthetic balanced with simple functionality. Our collaborators so far have been Findaly Hats (Lid) and GFA Aprons (Chemex Wrap), both small independent companies that share the same focuses that we do. 
 

Now, since we are a seasonal company, these items wont be around forever. Come Autumn time, a new package, V2, will be available. Each Version has a limited run, so it's super imperative to get on that as soon as possible. Plus, you don't wanna be behind the times, do you?

Head to our shop now! 

 

 

Posted on June 20, 2015 .

Foodie Tuesday: Cinnamon-Sugar-Coffee Crusted Muffins

Holy Cow! canyoustayfordinner.com released this excellent recipe for cinnamon-sugar crusted coffee cake muffins, which has to be the best 6 word combination we've ever heard!

Their recipe creates 12 of these bad boys, which are described as tasting like old fashioned donuts. As you know, we loooove donuts! Andie's original recipe brings out coffee cake flavor, but does not call for coffee; we tweaked it a bit by adding a tablespoon of our Raos Decaf, so that we could enjoy it any hour of the day.

For full baking instructions, head to Can You Stay for Dinner's website by clicking here.

  • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup milk
     
  • For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 Tablespoon of chocolatey Raos Decaf
Posted on June 9, 2015 .

Dub Nation: Free 1/2 Pound of Golden State Blend with any Order

(via Golden State Warriors Instagram)

(via Golden State Warriors Instagram)

Suckas? NOPE!

Splash Brothas? YUP

We're pretty stoked about the Warriors making it to the NBA finals for the first time in 40 years so we have a special deal in honor of their championship run!

While the Dubs look to bring rings back to the Bay, our customers will get a FREE 1/2 pound of our Golden State blend with ANY order from our web store!  This special only lasts while the Warriors are in the Finals race so get your coffee now! 

Posted on June 4, 2015 .

Locals Only: Join the Bold Crew

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We ship our 1 pound bags of fresh coffee all over the U.S.A., U.S. Territories and Canada, so we are excited to launch our first Locals Only project, exclusive to Sacramento.

Allow us to introduce you to our cold brew, Bold Crew! (See what we did there?) 

Starting June 8th you can sign up for Bold Crew delivery, where we will drop off a 64 oz growler of delicious cold brewed coffee on your doorstep each week, milk man style! 

This summer's Bold Crew is a 50/50 blend of our Colombia El Mango and Ethiopia Aricha, coffees that respectively recieved 93 and 94 ratings from Coffee Review! The coffees are brewed with 100ppm water over 16 hours, ensuring a silky smooth drink that brings both fruity aroma and refreshment. You'll be able to enjoy it growler after growler, all summer long. 

the delivery process will officially launch on June 20th, with more details to come. Sign-up for our newsletter for the most up-to-the-moment details on how you can join Sacramento's Bold Crew. 

Posted on June 2, 2015 .

Foodie Tuesday: Market Dip

 

1/2 pound of sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 pound of cream cheese

1 pint of fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon of freshly ground coffee

For Foodie Tuesday we put together a well-rounded cheese dip featuring a wide variety of flavors that blend better than you could imagine!

To start, you'll need to grate 1/2 a pound of sharp cheddar cheese. Place the cheese into an oven safe pan, then add half a pound of cream cheese. This would be a good point to preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the two cheeses together then add a pint of fresh blueberries. Fold the blueberries into the cheese with a spoon until well mixed. 

Now we're working with a lot of intense cheese here, so we added a tablespoon of our chocolatey Raos Decaf coffee to help balance and tame the strong flavors. Everything blended beautifully! If you make this dip be sure to tag any pictures with #howiseasons!

 

Before the oven

Before the oven

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Posted on June 2, 2015 .

Foodie Tuesday: Homemade Coffee Creamers

Sara over at reclaimingyourcastle.com put together a master list of homemade coffee creamers that just can't be beat. For Foodie Tuesday, we've decided to highlight some of the tastiest ones.

Sara recommends you start with 14oz of sweetened condensed milk, then add 1 3/4 cup of milk or cream as your base. The more fat, the more creaminess; so, you can choose your preference from whole to skim to almond or flax! Be sure to use your creamer by your milk's expiration date. Once you've made your base, you can then add the ingredients below to make excellent coffee creamer!

In all of these recipes, anything that has a dry or thick ingredient (like cinnamon or honey) should be heated up with a small amount of your milk/cream from the base recipe so it can dissolve properly.

Head to reclaimingyourcastle.com for the complete list ;)

 

French Vanilla Creamer

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract OR vanilla coffee syrup

Vanilla Bean Coffee Creamer

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

Chocolate

  • 2-3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
  • (1 tsp vanilla extract, optional)

Irish Cream

  • 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee
  • 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

Samoa (like the Girl Scout Cookies)

  • 2 teaspoons coconut extract (or sub coconut milk or cream of coconut, heated & strained, for the milk/cream)
  • 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
  • 2 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping

Chocolate Hazelnut

  • 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
  • 2 teaspoons hazelnut extract

 

Posted on May 26, 2015 .

Foodie Tuesday: Honey Coffee Croutons

Brush your croutons with some honey, then add some ground coffee and sea salt. Bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes or until ready. 

Brush your croutons with some honey, then add some ground coffee and sea salt. Bake at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes or until ready. 

This week for Foodie Tuesday we decided to bring coffee to our salad game by adding some coffee grounds to our croutons. 

We had a small cut of leftover gluten free bread from Pushkin's Bakery and we decided to turn it into some croutons for a steak salad. Once we got the croutons lined up we brushed them with honey and sprinkled on some of our Ethiopia Konga, a lighter roast with balanced berry sweetness. We then added some ground up sea salt. Both the honey and the coffee can go a long way, so less is more with this recipe. 

Posted on May 12, 2015 .

Foodie Tuesday: Chewbacca Cocomocha

Ingredients

3/4 tablespoon of sugar
3/4 tablespoon raw cocoa powder
pinch of cinnamon
1/3 coconut milk
2 parts coffee 

We got home a little exhausted from launching our company the day before, but were still inspired by the goodness that is Star Wars Day.

This recipe was quick and easy, and the thickness of the coconut milk made it super easy to throw ground coffee and cocoa powder on top of the drink, so how could we resist laying down a Rebel Alliance Starbird?

Posted on May 5, 2015 .

Seasons Coffee is Open for Business

Editor's Note: This post was written on May 4th. Our free coffee sample promotion ended several months ago. We apologize for any inconvenience! Do NOT send us your street address. Thanks!

-Greg Cotta

Director of Marketing

 --------- original post --------------

We’re Seasons Coffee Roasters, and we would like to announce to the public that we are officially open for business as of today, May 4th.

Seasons Coffee Roasters is a web-based premier specialty coffee subscription service based in Sacramento, California. We roast the world's finest coffees, and deliver them to your doorstep one fresh pound at a time.

We have over a decade of experience in specialty coffee, and we have the wealth of knowledge, resources and connections to ensure your seasonal coffee is always fresh and excellent. “We are beyond excited to launch this new, web-based concept here in Sacramento,” said Benza Cox Lance, founder of Seasons Coffee. “Sacramento is a city that has proven its love for specialty coffee time and time again. Our goal is to make sure your first cup of coffee every morning is perfect, and I believe our city is going to be a big help toward making that happen.”

We provide our subscribers with single source origin coffees, and we rotate our coffee selection with the seasons, hence our name. We will also provide 4 consistent house blends that range from light and tea-like to dark and chocolatey. No matter how you enjoy your coffee at home, we’re your answer.

Subscribers receive their fresh pound of specialty coffee once a week, every other week, or once a month. Once you order your coffee, you can decide it you want it whole bean or we can grind your coffee for you free of charge.

If you aren’t sold yet, we offer free 2 oz samples of our coffee through our website, seasonscoffee.us. If you want to try a sample of our coffee, all we need is your email address to confirm, and your street address so we know where to send it.

Feel free to reach out to us on any of our social media platforms for anything at all. We love questions!

Twitter
Instagram
Facebook

Posted on May 4, 2015 .

We'll Grind Your Coffee The Way You Like, Free of Charge

We want your first cup of coffee in the morning to be perfect, so the customization of your order is really important to us. So when we started brainstorming on how to make sure your coffee comes the way you like, we realized all of you probably don't want the same thing. Some of you love grinding your own coffee every morning, while some of you don't own a bean grinder and keep a spoon in your coffee bag so that you don't have to keep washing it. Either way, it's all good and we've got you covered.

Once you become a subscriber, you can order your coffee either whole bean, or one of three grind options, fine, medium, or coarse. This will not change the price in any way, and is our gift to you. We've put together an infographic with our grind recommendations based on the various ways to make coffee, but, as always, the choice is yours.

Posted on April 29, 2015 .

Foodie Tuesday: A Coffee Date with Dates

Cup Ingredients

1/2 cup of coconut oil
1/2 cup of tahini
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 date

Cream Center Ingredients

2/3 cup of bold coffee
2/3 cup of mashed & pitted dates
(optional) 1 tablespoon of butter

For Foodie Tuesday this week we made some tahini coconut date cups!

Start off your kitchen session with a half cup of melted coconut oil, half a cup of tahini, a teaspoon of cinnamon, and an optional date (for sweetness). Blend it all together in a food processor. If you added the date, blend until date is no longer chunky.

Once the initial mix is made, pour 1/2 of your tahini coconut blend and pour it into six muffin tin cups. Place the tin flat in your fridge for 15-20 minutes, or until the cups have solidified.

As your cups cool in the fridge, set aside your leftover tahini coconut mix — you’re gonna need it later. 

Now you’re going to make 2/3 cup of bold coffee (We used our Ethiopia Aricha because of its fruity aromas and chocolatey finish!) and 2/3 cup of mashed, pitted dates. You can also add an optional tablespoon of butter for extra creaminess. 

Blend these ingredients together in a separate container. Once the coconut tahini mix has solidified in the fridge, add a spoonful of the coffee date blend to the middle of each cup. Make sure to leave some space around the edges of the cup.

Now head back to your tahini mix and pour it over the the coffee dates. Your cups will come out a bit prettier if you flatten the date cream mix before adding the top coating.

Place the tin back in the fridge for another 20-25 minutes until everything is solidified and you’re done! If you're strong enough to skip the tablespoon of butter, you've just made yourself a raw, grain-free, vegan snack!

 

 

Posted on April 28, 2015 .

So, What is Seasons Coffee?

We at Seasons Coffee are a team of individuals, coming from the fields of specialty coffee and social media. Our passion is to roast the world's finest specialty coffees to perfection, and deliver them to your doorstep one fresh pound at a time. 

At Seasons, we embrace the specialty coffee lifestyle. You wake up with it, take it anywhere with you throughout your day, and sometimes it's the last thing you think about before you fall asleep at night. Our product changes with the year's seasons. Every quarter, or season, we curate the best, freshest crop of coffee that we can find. Each season also offers appropriately themed goodies, such as t-shirts for summer or hoodies for winter. We love to collaborate with different folks that share our same overall vision. We have some really amazing mashups with great brands that are being finalized and shipped to us as you read this.

howiseasons.jpg

Our coffees are packaged in 1 lb bags, and are available via subscription or one-time buy. With a subscription, you have the option of our 1 lb bag every week, every two weeks, or every month.

Once you subscribe to our coffee, you have the option of either ordering a house blend or a single farm origin. If you want that same cup of trusty coffee every morning, we got you covered with any of our four house blends, Piccolo, Golden State, Joyride, or Slate. If you want to take your pallet on an adventure, we will bring you rotating single origin roasts. With the rotating single origin subscription, you will be able to enjoy the coffees from the finest farms our world has to offer. On one shipment you can enjoy fruity overtones from Ethiopia, and on the next you taste the chocolatey, tobacco aromas from Sumatra. The choice is yours, and our website allows you to change your preferences at any time.

By now, you've probably seen our hashtags. #seasonscoffee is us, of course. #seasons365 is also our Twitter handle; this is the fastest way to reach us for anything and everything, literally every day. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about anything Seasons related, a tweet will give all of our phones buzz. 

#seasonsvibe is our way of showing you the coffee lifestyle; we'll use this hashtag to feature coffee recipes, the music we are listening to while roasting your coffee, or simply what we're doing while enjoying our coffee. 

#howiseasons is the most important of our hashtags, as it is your way of showing us how you enjoy Seasons Coffee. Whether you're hiking while wearing our signature hat, or simply enjoying a cup on a foggy morning, we love to see people enjoying our product we love so much!

Seasons Coffee is here to serve you, however you like. We're here 365. 
 

Posted on April 21, 2015 .

Foodie Tuesday

Seasons Coffee loves to infuse coffee into everything we do, and that includes food. Every Tuesday, we'll be bringing you different recipes for drinks, baked goods, and entrees where coffee is an essential ingredient. All of these recipes originated in the Seasons Kitchen, and have passed our tests to be worthy of publishing. You can find all of our recipes on our Pinterest page, and of course here on Petrichor.

 This week, we bring you a classic from the cowboy days, Coffee Dry Rub Steak. For this recipe, we used short ribs, but this rub works well on any cut of steak if you want an earthy, spicy rub that brings depths of flavor to the kitchen table. For thinner cuts, we suggest using 1 tablespoon of rub per steak instead of 2, and of course adjust cook times accordingly. 
If you use the recipe, remember to post and use #HowISeasons! Enjoy!
 

Posted on April 21, 2015 .