Coffee Spotlight: Specialty brews and roasters bringing seasonal blends

As the leaves begin to turn and cooler air rolls in, coffee drinkers around the world shift their palates from iced lattes to rich, comforting seasonal blends. But in today’s specialty coffee scene, the seasonal menu is more than just pumpkin spice—it’s an evolving art form curated by roasters who understand the terroir, timing, and taste profiles of the beans they roast.

From Tokyo to Toronto, and from Nairobi to New York, independent coffee roasters are leaning into the rhythms of harvest seasons across hemispheres to bring unique, limited-time offerings that reflect both craftsmanship and connection to origin. Among these innovators, one standout comes from Chicago, offering a taste of Midwestern precision with international reach.

Seasonality as Craft, Not Gimmick

Seasonal coffee is not a new concept. Coffee beans, like wine grapes, have harvest windows depending on the country of origin. For example, Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees typically reach peak freshness in late summer and early fall, while Central American beans shine in winter and early spring. Roasters who pay close attention to this calendar can rotate offerings based on crop cycles, ensuring both freshness and flavor integrity.

What’s changed is the intentionality. Today’s specialty roasters don’t just bring in seasonal beans—they build flavor profiles around them. Whether it’s a bright, floral Ethiopian heirloom or a rich Guatemalan bourbon varietal with notes of dark chocolate and dried fruit, seasonal coffees are now expressions of time, place, and palate.

Chicago’s Metric Coffee: Midwest Roots, Global Influence

Photo: Wix Media

Among the leaders in this space is Metric Coffee, a Chicago-based roaster that’s gained national and international acclaim for its approach to sourcing and roasting. Founded in 2013 by Xavier Alexander and Darko Arandjelovic, Metric has become a staple in the U.S. specialty coffee scene and a quiet powerhouse in global sourcing ethics.

Each season, Metric releases a limited series of coffees known as the "Single Origin Seasonal Selects". These feature micro-lots from farms they’ve partnered with for years, often involving direct trade relationships that support sustainable farming practices.

This fall, Metric’s standout is a washed Ethiopian from the Sidama region, with tasting notes of blood orange, jasmine, and black tea. Roasted lightly to preserve its natural brightness, it’s a nod to the floral and citrus-forward profiles that define high-elevation East African coffees.

More than just a coffee, Metric packages each release with a short profile of the producer, harvest conditions, and brewing recommendations—a reminder that specialty coffee is as much about people as it is about flavor.

National and Global Trends

Across the U.S., other roasters are embracing similar seasonal philosophies:

• Verve Coffee Roasters (California) recently launched its Autumn Equinox Blend, a combination of Colombian and Burundi beans, designed to mirror the transition between summer’s brightness and fall’s depth. With tasting notes of fig, hazelnut, and golden raisin, it has become a fan favorite.

• Onyx Coffee Lab (Arkansas) is rolling out its Harvest Series, focusing on washed and honey-processed coffees from Central America. The lab’s emphasis on transparency—publishing sourcing prices and roast curves—has set a new bar for traceability.

• Tim Wendelboe (Oslo, Norway) and Toby’s Estate (Sydney, Australia) are exporting the seasonal ethos globally. Wendelboe’s fall lineup includes a juicy Kenyan AA that took two years to develop in collaboration with a co-op in Nyeri. In Sydney, Toby’s Estate has introduced a Southern Hemisphere Spring Blend, offering fresh Rwandan beans that contrast the Northern Hemisphere’s autumnal shift.

From Local Cups to Global Conversations

What unites these roasters is a shared belief that coffee can be a seasonal, ethical, and elevated experience—one that brings both baristas and customers closer to the origin story of each cup.

It’s also worth noting that the rise of seasonal blends has fueled interest in manual brewing methods. Sales of pour-over kits, French presses, and home grinders continue to climb as consumers look to unlock the subtle flavors that seasonal coffees promise.

Moreover, cafés across the country—from third-wave shops in Portland to high-end counters in Tokyo—are building seasonal tasting menus that rival wine pairings in complexity. Flights of single-origin coffees, brewed multiple ways, offer drinkers a sensory journey that few other beverages can match.

Looking Ahead

As climate change continues to affect global agriculture, seasonality in coffee will likely become even more significant. Unpredictable weather patterns are already impacting harvests in Latin America and Africa, pushing roasters to diversify sources and build more resilient supply chains.

For now, though, the 2025 fall season brings with it a bounty of exceptional coffees. Whether you’re sipping a Sidama from a café in Chicago or a Guatemalan honey-process from a boutique roaster in Paris, one thing is clear: the seasonal coffee movement is no longer just a trend, it’s a global standard for quality and care.