HARVEST MOON

Tastes Like: Persimmon, Black Cherry, Baked Apple, Cinnamon Stick

Why I'm Obsessed: I was so excited to enjoy this year's fall blend from Goshen! It's one of my favorite annual releases for good reason: Harvest Moon is Pure. Fall. Vibes. This light-medium cup opens with a nice rounded fruit: you'll taste the baked apple and honeyed persimmon right away, then a distinct cinnamon spice (I LOVE a cinnamon spice note in a fall coffee), all resting on a delicious black cherry depth. Soft and sweet as a moonlit autumn night. Maybe a little spooky? Decide for yourself! And the persimmon deserves a spotlight here, because it's one of my favorite tasting notes and one of the rarest: that honeyed, almost cinnamon-sweet fruit flavor that only shows up when a coffee's sweetness and spice hit just right. The blend brings together coffees from Colombia, Honduras, and Mexico, including a Bourbon Aji, a rare varietal literally named for chili peppers ("aji") thanks to its signature spicy aromatics, which might be exactly where that spicy, fruity punch comes from. Leave it to Goshen: their seasonal releases are some of the most creative in the business, and this one carries their signature of expressive fruit, real depth, and zero gimmicks. Fun timing bonus: the actual harvest moon, the full moon closest to the fall equinox, rises later this month, so you can brew a cup and toast it in real time.

If you don't know Goshen, here's the short version: they've been roasting in the St. Louis area since 2002, family-owned and female-led, with a trophy shelf that includes multiple Good Food Awards and 13 Golden Bean medals. Their "cultivated trade" sourcing goes beyond Fair Trade pricing, working directly with each farm to figure out what they actually need to thrive. Good energy in, good coffee out: that's the Goshen way.

Bottom Line: You'll love Harvest Moon if you love baked apples and cinnamon, rare varietals sneaking into your morning cup, or being first to fall's best seasonal blends.

Oh! and did you know our 12-year birthday celebration is in full swing?? Make it two bags and you'll clear $49, which means $12 in Coffee Cash is yours. Just enter CELEBRATE12 at checkout to redeem it, through tomorrow at midnight PT. Every $1 earns 12 entries toward a Year of Free Coffee and eleven more prizes, too (including a super cool tee shirt designed by me, just sayin).