Green coffee?! What does it taste like? Does it actually taste good? Why should I make it? This is a naturally colored Christmas drink I’m calling The Grinch Coffee.

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You’ve just come across this post called The Grinch Coffee and you may have a lot of questions running through your head. Yes, the Grinch I’m referring to here is that Grinch, the Christmas stealing Dr. Seuss character who happens to be green.

A little backstory…

I was looking for some Christmas inspired cocktails to make this year and came across a Grinch cocktail. Most versions of the cocktail are a bright green due to green liqueurs like Midori or for a non-alcoholic version, Mountain Dew. I thought, why not create something with coffee.

Now I just had to figure out how to color it and make it taste good.

I think it does look a little weird, so I imagine this as a drink for a Christmas party or better yet, a Grinch themed party. Or if you just want to try something different in your morning cup.

To make it green, I used a powder called spirulina.

What is Spirulina?

Spirulina is a greenish supplement that’s made from algae. It contains a ton of nutrients (I won’t list them all, but you can check out this article from Healthline) and its color works well for naturally dying foods.

It does smell a little weird and fishy in my opinion, but I add just a small amount in my Grinch coffee and add a lot of white chocolate mocha to add flavor, but keep the green shade.

So if you’re curious about what this Grinch Coffee tastes like, it’s really just a vanilla white chocolate mocha. If you find you can taste a little of the Spirulina and you don’t like it, I recommend either using green food coloring or adding more white chocolate sauce.

Here’s how to make this holiday drink:

The Grinch Coffee Ingredients

¼ cup coffee
1 ½ cup vanilla oat milk
¼ tsp spirulina
2 tbsp white chocolate sauce
Red sanding sugar sprinkles
Toppings: Whipped cream, green sanding sugar sprinkles

Tips for Making The Grinch Coffee

The Coffee

I used coffee brewed with a moka pot.

Feel free to use any of your favorite brewing methods. I chose a moka pot because it’s easy to use and it also brews a concentrated, espresso-like coffee.

Vanilla Oatmilk

I used Planet Oat vanilla oat milk.

You can use your preferred milk or milk alternative of choice. But I chose a flavored milk alternative since I’ve been able to taste even the tiniest amount of spirulina when mixing it in a smoothie or other drinks. I don’t want to be able to taste it in this coffee. We’re just using it as a coloring. So I wanted to put enough flavor to mask it.

Plus, the creamy vanilla oat milk tastes delicious with white chocolate sauce.

Spirulina

Spirulina is commonly sold as a powder. You can find spirulina powder at your local nutritional supplement store, at some grocery stores, or conveniently online on Amazon.

A little goes a long way in terms of using spirulina for color. For this Grinch coffee recipe, we’re not really using spirulina for its health benefits. We’re just using it to add that green color to the coffee naturally. If you prefer using food coloring, feel free to use that too.

White Chocolate Sauce

I used Torani White Chocolate Sauce.

I use this brand when using flavoring sauces for most of my coffee recipes. It’s really versatile to mix with cold or hot beverages.

The white chocolate goes well with vanilla oat milk and coffee. Plus, it’s white so it won’t make the drink any darker like the coffee already does (there was no way around it!)

Decor and Toppings

It’s a holiday drink, so we’re adding red and green sprinkles!

I added red sanding sugar sprinkles on the rim of my glass mug. To stick the sprinkles on, I used a little white chocolate sauce to act as the glue.

Then I topped the drink with whipped cream and added green sanding sugar on top. A truly festive holiday drink!

How to Make The Grinch Coffee

Brew coffee. I used a moka pot.
Meanwhile, heat oat milk on the stove. Stir in spirulina and use a whisk to combine.
Pour white chocolate sauce and coffee into the green oat milk.
Put white chocolate sauce on the rim of a mug. Stick red sanding sugar on the white chocolate sauce.
Pour coffee into the mug and top with whipped cream and green sanding sugar sprinkles.

In pictures…

Step 1

Brew coffee. Use your preferred brewing method. I used a moka pot.

Step 2

Heat oat milk on the stove. Stir in spirulina using a whisk to combine.

Step 3

Stir in white chocolate sauce and brewed coffee into the oat milk.

Step 4

Put white chocolate sauce on the rim of a mug. Stick red sanding sugar on the white chocolate sauce.

Step 5

Pour green coffee into the mug. Top with foamed milk or whipped cream and green sanding sugar sprinkles.

The Grinch Coffee Recipe

Yield: 1

The Grinch Coffee

Green coffee?! What does it taste like? Does it actually taste good? Why should I make it? This is a naturally colored Christmas drink I’m calling The Grinch Coffee.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Active Time 5 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Difficulty Easy