Hassle Free Holiday Hosting: A Dessert and Coffee Party with Bruvi

We love the holidays. The festive decor. The yummy seasonal foods. Seeing friends and family. Shopping for the perfect gift.

But let’s face it, with all the holiday hustle and bustle comes a lot of stress. That’s why we’re also big fans of finding ways to take the hassle out of holiday celebrations.

Rather than a full on holiday party, how about keeping things simpler with a coffee and dessert party? You can showcase a range of seasonal flavors like gingerbread, apple, pumpkin and cranberry in bite size or easy to serve desserts, all made ahead and set out for guests to help themselves. Adding a coffee bar with a Bruvi brewer and our eco-friendly coffee pods makes it even easier to offer a variety of coffee options without a fuss. Take it a step further with coffee and dessert pairing suggestions. Here’s how to put it all together. 

Creating a Bruvi Holiday Coffee Bar

A Bruvi coffee bar allows guests to make their favorite brews, leaving you time for more mingling. Set up a Bruvi brewer on a counter or bar cart. For a festive touch, place it on a holiday placemat and add a small holiday plant as part of the display. 

Display an assortment of B-Pods for your guests to choose from. 

• Include a range of roast levels and both coffee and espresso options. 

• Add matcha pods for an interesting twist or decaf for guests who prefer to keep it caffeine free.

• Pick holiday colored pods for a festive display (red and green themed: Equator Blend, Mulholland Tenango coffee and Poppy Hill Full Bloom espresso. Go blue and gold with Joe Coffee Amsterdam, Klatch Crazy Goat, Mulholland Colombia coffee and LAMILL Bliss espresso)

• Display B-Pods in holiday bowls or glass hurricane lamps 

Complete your coffee bar with delicious complements, arranged on a tray.

• Add flavored syrups (caramel, vanilla and hazelnut are crowd pleasers) and milk/creamer options in attractive bottles or decanters. Brown or white sugar cubes look great in a small bowl.

• Display holiday mugs or your best all white cups, plus spoons or stirrers

• Pro Tip: Don’t forget to include a small trash bin or other container to help keep things neat 

Coffee and Dessert Pairings

Another conversation starter is pairing individual coffees with specific desserts. You can arrange your desserts with little note cards and a sample B-Pod that you suggest to your guests. Here’s some of our favorite desserts and recommended coffee and espresso pairings.

Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Minor Monuments Coffee or Causu Espresso

Balance the sweet and spicy flavors of gingerbread with a cup of Go Get Em Tiger Minor Monuments Blend coffee. It’s a medium-dark roast with notes of molasses, caramel and chocolate. Or brew an espresso or Americano with Mulholland Causu espresso. This blend of Colombian and Indonesian coffees is medium roast, with notes of orange, chocolate and spice. Yum.

Apple Pear Crisp with Equator Blend Coffee

Equator Blend includes coffees from Sumatra, Kenya and Colombia is a medium dark roast with notes of cedar, apricot and nutmeg. It’s a great accompaniment to the sweet and slightly tart apple and pear. 

Peppermint Brownies with Joe Coffee Amsterdam

The ooey-gooey deliciousness of peppermint brownies pairs well with Amsterdam, a medium roasted Brazilian coffee with notes of dark chocolate, walnut and caramel.

Holiday Sugar Cookies and Snickerdoodles with Bulletproof, The Original

One classic deserves another. As your guests enjoy traditional holiday cookies, we suggest a cup of Bulletproof The Original coffee. A classic roast made with Central and South American coffees, it offers notes of cinnamon, plum, orange and cocoa hazelnut in a comforting medium roast.

Pecan Pie Cookie Bars with Spellbinder D.C.A. French Roast

The rich sweetness of pecan pie cookie bars begs for a strong cup of coffee! We suggest this extra dark French Roast from the dark coffee experts at Spelllbinder D.C.A. This deep and complex blend of Latin American coffees offers notes of smoke, wood and dark chocolate.

Sticky Toffee Pudding with LAMILL Black Onyx coffee or Bliss Espresso

Black Onyx coffee is a best selling dark roast coffee with notes of toffee, dark chocolate and oak and will stand up to the sweet richness of toffee flavors. Espresso and Americano lovers will enjoy Bliss Espresso. This blend of Brazil, Guatemala and Ethiopia coffees is roasted to a medium profile and seamlessly balances caramelized sugars with understated fruity hints. 

Pistachio Biscotti with Spellbinder D.C.A. Espresso Forte

For some of us at Bruvi, it’s not the holidays without a batch of homemade biscotti cookies. And that calls for a cup of rich espresso for dunking. We suggest Espresso Forte, a blend of Latin American coffees roasted in the Southern Italian style for a deep, dark espresso.

Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes with Happy Camper Poppy Hill coffee

Who can resist a bright red cupcake with rich cream cheese frosting (maybe some holiday sprinkles)? Happy Camper coffee is a perfect pairing, with its accessible medium roast profile, and mellow chocolatey notes. 

Cranberry Cheesecake Bites with Tenango coffee

We love the creamy richness of cheesecake bites plus a little cranberry tang. It’s a great match for Mulholland Tenango coffee - a blend of coffees from Ethiopia and Guatemala, roasted to a light medium profile- with subtle fruity notes of mandarin and raspberry plus a hint of chocolate. 

However you celebrate, we hope your holidays are filled with good friends, good food and great coffee.