Coffee 101
Meet Rise & Shine: The Story Behind Our Morning Blend
Coffee Crate's flagship everyday blend: medium-dark, Guatemalan and Colombian specialty beans, caramel and toasted almond, smooth enough to drink black.
The short answer. Rise & Shine is our morning blend: a medium-dark roast of 100% arabica beans grown high in the mountains of Guatemala and Colombia, both certified specialty grade and roasted fresh in small batches. It tastes like caramel and toasted almond over a deep, smooth body, sweet enough to drink black and rich enough to feel substantial. It comes in 12 oz and 5 lb bags, whole bean.
Every roaster has one coffee that tastes like the whole brand. Ours is Rise & Shine, and yes, the name is a not-so-subtle nudge that mornings are worth getting excited about. Mostly, though, it's just really good coffee. Here's the rundown.
What's in the bag
Rise & Shine is a medium-dark roast built from 100% arabica beans grown high in the mountains of Guatemala and Colombia, two regions famous for coffee with depth, balance, and natural sweetness. Both are certified specialty grade, cupped and graded to standards grocery-store coffee never sees, then roasted fresh in small batches before it ships.
What it tastes like
Caramel, toasted almond, and a deep, smooth body. The medium-dark roast carries that caramelized sweetness forward without ever crossing into ashy or burnt. It's the cup that tastes like comfort: rich enough to feel substantial, sweet enough to drink black, smooth enough that cream is a choice and not a rescue.
How to brew it
Rise & Shine is happy in just about anything, and each brewer draws out a slightly different side of it:
| Method | In the cup | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Drip machine | Creamy caramel sweetness, balanced nutty finish | Drip guide |
| Pour over | Brighter caramel tones, clean and smooth | Pour over guide |
| French press | Bold richness with a deeper almond note | French press guide |
| Cold brew | Syrupy, mellow, gently sweet | Cold brew guide |
Who it's for
Rise & Shine is the everyday cup, the one for hurried Tuesdays, slow Saturdays, office coffee bars, and the first quiet minutes before the house wakes up. It's what most of us on the team brew first thing. If you only stock one coffee, make it this one. It comes in 12 oz and 5 lb bags, both whole bean and roasted fresh.
We hope it makes your morning feel a little brighter. Grab a bag of Rise & Shine, or check out its espresso-loving sibling in Meet Resurrection Espresso.
Terms in plain English
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Medium-dark roast | Roasted past medium for deeper caramel and body, stopped well before ashy or burnt. |
| Arabica | The mountain-grown coffee species behind nearly all specialty coffee. |
| Specialty grade | Coffee scored 80 or higher out of 100 by certified graders, with almost no defects. |
| Cupping | The formal tasting process graders use to score a coffee. |
| Whole bean | Unground coffee, which holds its flavor for weeks instead of days. |
Coffee after the guide
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