It’s no secret—we love holiday blends! Every year we search high and low for the very best holiday blends available for a delicious gift guide. This year we were taken aback by the incredible holiday design execution from Equator Coffees. A departure from their bold solid-red branding, the Holiday Blend is bright and light and full of patterns reminiscent of latte art. Equator Coffees is calling this year’s collection “Better Together,” and the Holiday Blend is complemented by a raft of gifts—vessels and wearables—all designed by San Francisco-based designer and illustrator Ayca Kilicoglu.
We spoke with Director of Coffee Culture Devorah Freudiger and Director of Marketing Shelby Colley to learn more.
Tell us more about teaming up with Ayca Kilicoglu and their design work with this holiday collection! Where can we find more of their work?
Shelby Colley: Ayca has been a fantastic collaborator and is a long-time regular at our Downtown Mill Valley location. We specifically reached out to her because of her vibrant, joyful approach to creativity. She’d done several big cat designs and we were so excited for her to draw a version of our tiger. We love working with artists to bring the concepts behind our seasonal blends to life, and Holiday Blend was really something special. Ayca’s designs are the core of her brand Mur by Ayca.
Tell us about the other products available with this collection.
SC: The coffee is the cornerstone of the collection, of course, but we also have the Better Together Tumbler (The Fellow Carter), Crewneck Sweatshirt (created with fellow B Corp, KnownSupply), and an Enamel Pin featuring Ayca’s interpretation of our iconic tiger. We also have a 12 oz. notNeutral Lino—the iconic mug beloved by baristas everywhere—with a festive nod to our Happier Camper trailer, illustrated by Brenna Dickinson. We’re so proud of each of these items, especially because they were thoughtfully created and support the International Women’s Coffee Alliance.
We were delighted to find the blend’s components online! Coffees from Zambia, Ethiopia, Kenya… what does the Holiday Blend taste like to you?
Devorah Freudiger: I’m such a fan of holiday blend coffees, I think most brands play with this offering. For us it’s a time for roasters to really shine and make a crowd pleasing coffee to share. I think this coffee is nicely floral with a sweet malic acidity. The red apple and floral notes are complimented by a nice buttery round mouthfeel. I want to drink this coffee and eat cookies on these dark winter days.
5% of sales benefit IWCA—tell us a bit about Equator’s work with this organization.
DF: As a women-founded and owned company Equator’s been a long time supporter of the IWCA. We do periodic fundraising and awareness campaigns at our cafes and with various coffees. We’ve also hosted various chapter members at our roastery and to our offices to talk with our teams about the power of women coming together to work towards common goals. Maureen, our EVP, was a board member for many years our relationship runs deep.
Beyond online, where else is the coffee available?
Holiday Blend can be found at all of our cafes now through January 8th. We brew it on batch brew until 11:00am, and our shelves are stocked with the merchandise.
How long will this be available?
The Holiday Collection will be available until January 8th, or while we have inventory!
Thank you!
