Winter is here — what can we expect from Q4 and Christmas sales in the coffee industry?
X° Robusta Coffee
Festive flavours, longer seasons, and a fresh wave of coffee creativity
The UK winter season is here again and coffee shop owners turn up the heat with their most creative blends of the year. The festive period remains the busiest time for the industry: the city’s getting dressed up for Christmas, with locals and tourists queuing for hot drinks.
While the classics still hold their ground, consumers are curiously reaching for spiced, nutty, and aromatic profiles that add a sensory twist to familiar flavours. It’s exactly what we believe in at X° Robusta Coffee: not breaking traditions, but quietly reimagining them, giving the classics a new character for the season ahead.
Best-selling drinks during the Christmas season
In recent years, the UK’s favourite festive flavours have remained consistent: cinnamon (36%), chocolate orange (34%), gingerbread (34%), and salted caramel (33%) (YouGov). They’re warm, comforting, and easy to love. Big players know this well: their peppermint mochas and caramel-nut lattes keep queues stretching out the door for the last hit of the year..
However, independent coffee roasters are no longer just following the tried-and-true formula. They’re charactering by smoked spices, roasted nut tones, and layered textures that give those classic notes new life. Sometimes they experiment not only with flavours, but also with forms — serving drinks in edible cups, just like we do. It still tastes like Christmas, but feels more refined and experienced.
Last year’s trends and 2025 outlook
Despite higher costs and cautious spending, 2024 was a strong year for UK coffee: the branded market hit £6.1 billion (+5.2% YoY), while independents reached £4.6 billion (+4%) (World Coffee Portal). Early launches, limited editions, and loyalty perks helped extend the Q4 season, proving that storytelling and ritual still win over discounts.
In 2025, the same momentum is fully ready to keep dominating. Expect growing demand for richer, more complex coffee profiles, along with a stronger focus on origin storytelling, sustainable sourcing, and digital convenience. Today, value means more than just a price, it’s about craftsmanship, quality, and the experience behind every cup.
Knock knock! X° Robusta’s new collection: #47 and #64
So to fully adapt the market in this season, we’ve proudly introduced two brand new market blends that interpret the festive coffee trends in our own way: through contrast, texture, and sensory depth.
#64 Guji Hambela°, meanwhile, offers the lighter side of winter — a floral, citrus-bright Ethiopian single origin, roasted as beans that cut through the season’s heaviness with clarity and warmth.
#47 Sweet Tea Brulee° leans into indulgence — your perfect match for winter weekends. This drip coffee is silky, caramelised, and softly dessert-like, with black tea, crуme brulee, and preserved fruit. Crafted through Anaerobic Natural and Washed processes, it’s rich yet balanced, perfect for milk-based drinks.
Together, they reflect what this season truly means for X° Robusta — not chasing trends, but shaping them through balance: light and warmth, clarity and comfort, ritual and reinvention. As Q4 unfolds, we’re reminded that coffee isn’t just a drink — it’s a small ritual that slows things down. May every cup make winter feel a little brighter.
Looking forward to see you all in X°-mas.
#WinterBlend #ChristmasCoffee #CoffeeTrends2025 #X°RobustaCoffee #X°traExperience
