A Cozy, Festive Holiday Coffee Bar with Starbucks® Peppermint Mocha Flavored Coffee & Albertsons

This Holiday coffee bar post has been sponsored by Nestlè Coffee Partners. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

From small moments to larger celebrations, there are so many holiday traditions and activities to love. They all make this season so magical, but the one thing I love most about the holiday season is that it gives me the chance to gather with the people I love. And when those celebrations happen at our house, it’s bliss! Which is why I’m so excited to kick off this special season of gathering with a cozy holiday coffee bar tutorial for you built around the festive coffee blend that fills my cup and my heart with joy throughout the holiday season: Starbucks® Peppermint Mocha Flavored Ground Coffee at Albertsons! Rich mocha flavor with a hint of peppermint? Dreams do come true!

Hosting and connecting with those special people in your life and filling your home with holiday cheer, all in the name of showing and giving love, has a special kind of sparkle to it, doesn’t it? This charming little coffee bar is one of our very favorite festive entertaining tricks for small holiday get-togethers and bonus, it’s a total crowd-pleaser and it’s as easy to throw together as it is fun for everyone to enjoy, all season long. You guys know by now that I start the holiday season celebrations as soon as Halloween ends and November 1st hits – I just can’t help myself! It’s my very favorite time of year and I’m not even a little bit afraid to admit it, and this felt like the perfect way to start the holiday season celebrations and inspiration off right here on the blog. I mean, what could be better than tasty, holiday-inspired coffee creations? Holiday happiness!

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As you guys know, all of our entertaining tips and tricks—no matter the season—start from the same place: minimal effort, maximum impact. Our priorities for any entertaining tip, trick, or element that we share here—especially during the jam-packed holiday season—are as follows: it has to be easy to execute, it has to be fun and creative, and it has to allow you to spend more time enjoying the company of your guests—not less. Which is exactly why we’re so in love with this particular holiday entertaining idea! Throwing this fun little coffee bar together is so effortless because not only can we grab the star player of this coffee bar, Starbucks Peppermint Mocha coffee, at our neighborhood Albertsons (our love for our neighborhood Albertsons runs so deep—from customer service; to organization; to depth, quality, and variety of offerings; it has our hearts) but while we’re there, we can also grab all of the other coffee bar accoutrements you see here, too! And during the holiday season, we all know that convenience is key.

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What’s even better about this setup is that this particular Starbucks blend comes in ground coffee and K-Cup® pods. So no matter what coffee brewing tool you use, you’ll be able to bring the magic of this coffee bar to life in your own home this holiday season. No one’s left missing out on the chocolatey, minty goodness! We leave no man behind in our pursuit of holiday coffee bar greatness and the dissemination of holiday cheer, ok friends?! We stand together! And just one more little pro tip as you prep your own happy holiday moments in your own homes: I use the Albertsons mobile app to score coupons when I stock up on all my holiday essentials for my home, so I’m always saving when I shop. How awesome is that?

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I think it important to note that I absolutely love this particular Starbucks coffee blend because it’s so perfect for the holiday season on it’s own at any moment. (Who says you can’t have a festive coffee bar set up the whole holiday season long to ignite the cheer whenever you need it?) But, the beauty of this coffee bar is that it serves the needs of every kind of coffee drinker you entertain—whether they like it black with no frills, with just a little cream, with a festive sweet treat on the side, or elevated into a unique holiday coffee creation they’ll never forget! And if that last one makes you feel slightly out of your depth as a home barista, have no fear. There’s an easy, totally delicious, holiday-perfect recipe for a delightful Starbucks Double Chocolate Peppermint Mocha outlined on the side of the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Flavored coffee bag; the ingredients for which we included on our coffee bar, here, so guests can choose their own coffee adventure. And again, I grabbed all of the ingredients you see on our holiday coffee bar in one quick trip to our neighborhood Albertsons when I grabbed the coffee—so this was all fuss-free as can be!

As you could have probably anticipated, we decked our holiday coffee bar out with a few sweet, simple, cottage-cozy holiday decor details from our stash. This created the slightly rustic, warm, simple holiday vibe we love so much, and we set it up so our guests can be totally self sufficient and have fun enjoying their own coffee creation at their leisure. When we host gatherings, big or small, we love creating fun, crowd-pleasing “stations” throughout the house that guests can dive into as many times as they want or just whenever they feel ready while they’re hanging out in our home. I think that’s such an inviting way to entertain and bonus: it’s so much less work for you as the host, so you can focus on connecting with the ones you love instead of “working” and serving.

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How to Create Your Own Starbucks Double Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Holiday Coffee Bar

1. Include a convenient coffee mug display so guests have easy access. You can hang them on a mug tree if you have one or if you have room, arrange at the side of your coffee bar like I did.
2. Include cream or milk and sugar in small, easily identifiable vessels of your choosing so guests know where to find what they need.
3. If you’re utilizing the ground coffee like we did here, you can use a large kettle/thermos/pitcher to keep coffee hot when it’s out and displayed, which allows guests to quickly and easily pour their own cup whenever they like. If you’re using the K-Cup® pods, you can simply set your coffee maker up next to your coffee bar and guests can brew at their leisure.
4. I love adding a plate of tasty sweet treats that pair perfectly with the chocolatey, minty flavors of the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Flavored coffee so guests can grab coffee and a little desert if they so desire—spiced cookies of all kinds and biscotti are two of my favorites.
5. Inspired by the super fun Starbucks Double Chocolate Peppermint Mocha recipe included on the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Flavored coffee bag, we included one small plate of chocolate syrup and one small plate of crushed candy cane so guests can dip their coffee mug rims in one or both if they’re feeling extra festive!
6. Another optional component of this coffee bar that was inspired by the Starbucks Double Chocolate Peppermint Mocha recipe? Whipped cream! I love to use a small vessel that I’ve chilled in the freezer or refrigerator so my whipped cream stays fluffy while we have guests over. So tasty!
7. Also inspired by the Starbucks Double Chocolate Peppermint Mocha recipe on the bag, we added a small cup that houses candy canes or other fun, festive stir stick options for guests to enjoy with their coffee creation if they’d like!

Do Starbucks’s festive holiday coffee drinks make you as happy as they make us when the holiday season rolls around? There’s just something so magical about spreading the love and joy of the holiday season through those small, intimate moments at home with the ones we love and a yummy hot drink in our hands, isn’t there? We’re dying to hear how you do holiday gatherings in your homes and what your go-to holiday season coffee creations are. Tell us all about it in the comments section so we can share in the cheer!

Keurig, Keurig Hot, K-Cup and the K logo are trademarks of Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., used with permission.