Fall seems to be the best time of year for delicious contemplative flavors. From pumpkin to cranberries, and all of the marvelous pairings of those flavors, both sweet and savory dishes prepare us for settling in to the rhythms of seasonal life. We prepare for winter's rest and slower pace as we cuddle under warm blankets and wait out the plummeting mercury.

This fall, we've been tinkering with coffee concoctions for the season. With a new baby around, we've been relying a little heavily on our daily cups of joy (aka coffee) and have worked to spice them up a bit to celebrate the season. Here are our top three fall coffee hacks:

Pumpkin Spice

Yes, we went there. In all fairness, doesn't everyone go there? We promise ours is better than the one with a green siren on the front, if that's any consolation.

Our pumpkin spice latte starts with two tablespoons of freshly roasted pureed pumpkin (or you can use canned, if you're into that), a hefty dose of 100% maple syrup, heavy cream (we love ours straight from the farm), and a liberal sprinkle of pumpkin pie spices on top. We could drink this all day!

Homemade Coffee Creamer

Technically you can make and enjoy homemade coffee creamer any time of the year, but we just now discovered it and it's fall, so it made the cut (judge if you will). This concoction is a simple blend of one can of sweetened condensed milk, one(ish) cups of whole milk, and a healthy dash of vanilla extract. You can, of course, use any type of milk and flavor combination that you prefer. To make it extra fall-like, add some pumpkin pie spice or a cinnamon stick. Either way, one batch of this creamer will last you until the milk's expiration date (usually about a week) in a mason jar in the refrigerator. Shake well, add to coffee, stir, and enjoy!

Coconut Butter Coffee

We recently discovered something new (to us) and absolutely divine: coconut butter. It may or may not have flown from the shelf in Wegman's to the cart and "accidentally" end up on the conveyor in the checkout line. We also may or may not need to keep it behind lock and key to keep from eating the whole jar with a spoon.

Inspired by a concept from Keto diets, which advocate the addition of all sorts of weird fats to coffee in place of the traditional cream, we decided to add coconut butter to a mug of coffee just to see what it was like. The creaminess was very good and developed almost a latte-like foam on top however, the texture was also slightly grainy. We'd recommend melting the coconut butter fully before adding it to coffee or sending the entire mixture into the blender for a few seconds before consuming for best results.

We hope you're inspired to try one of these fall twists on your favorite coffee and find a new favorite. Have another recipe you'd like us to try? Let us know in a comment below.

Happy brewing!

Great coffee relies on the alignment of several factors: start with amazing beans, add a trusted brewing method, a solid grind, some great water, and the right drinking vessel, and you're on your way to the perfect cup. In the Brew for You home, we're constantly looking for ways to improve our coffee game beyond the roast. Obviously, we're obsessed with our beans and the roasting process, but we're equally obsessed with the other factors that play into our morning (or afternoon) cups.

We want to share with you our current favorite roasts and coffee paraphernalia, as well as a few items we're crushing on and wish to soon add to the collection:

Sure, we're open to roast anything and everything for our clients, but what are we roasting for our own collection? Right now we're swooning over Papua New Guinea single origin and blended roasts. These beans can be a bit on the unpredictable side, which makes roasting and blending a lot of fun. We've been taking it pretty dark, which makes us smile, and you'd better believe that these scrumptious beans can take the heat. Whether on its own or mixed with another variety or two, Papua New Guinea is almost certain to make an appearance in our morning cups!

Most mornings we're pretty chill with our cups and prefer to use the French press. We grind fresh before each brew, using our Hario Skerton, which is an absolute game changer (seriously, try it out!).

Turkish Coffee - The allure of an hours-long coffee-centric evening repartee that is characteristic of the traditional Turkish coffee experience has got us swooning! We're looking into purchasing a set of Turkish coffee pots (cezve) and trying our hand at this exotic brewing style. Give us a shout out if you've tried Turkish coffee before and have any brewing tips for us!

Hand Thrown Ceramic Mugs - We're always looking to expand our mug collection and have fallen hard for the delightfully unique look of hand thrown ceramics. We *may* have tried once to throw a mug of our own and it was... well, let's just say we're leaving that to the pros from now on! Etsy has a great collection from a variety of talented artists and we're sure to be placing an order any day now.