Garden State & Fjord create festive coffee candle
Each holiday season, we select a unique coffee (or two) to celebrate as a special holiday release. This year, we decided to be even more festive with the release of both a Holiday Coffee and a special, collaborative candle.
GARDEN STATE & FJORD COFFEE CANDLE
Founded in 2017, Garden State began as a passion project in a Berlin apartment, evolving into a vibrant brand with a heart and focus on specialty, handcrafted wares.
Founder Maya’s passion lies in collaborating with local artisans, offering vegan, handcrafted candles made with plant-based ingredients. In the years since creating Garden State, her attention to detail has caught the eye of industry leaders, making her business a beacon of creativity, compassion, and community.
For the holiday season in 2023, we wanted to create something that allowed our community to enjoy the quality, sensory experience that comes with specialty coffee – but enable them to enjoy it in another way. We approached Maya and Garden State with the idea for a 'coffee candle', but one that was inspired by the specific tasting notes of a special coffee from Ethiopia. 
The coffee we selected – which we are also releasing as our Holiday Coffee – is a washed Heirloom coffee from Samii Aricha washing station, in the Gedeo region of southern Ethiopia. When brewed either as a filter or espresso, we have enjoyed notes of butterscotch, vanilla cream, peach and sultana in this clean and vibrant coffee.
To create a candle inspired by this coffee, Maya and her team worked with several samples of our coffees, and used the notes from the Samii Aricha to match them with specialty ingredients from across the world to create six potential candles.
Following this, our team worked with Maya to determine which of the six variations Garden State had created best matched the essence of the Samii Aricha. Our selection was our favourite from both evaluation sessions, and best captures the essence of this exquisite coffee. 
We are extremely proud to have worked with another Berlin-based, specialty business to create something special for the holidays, that reflects our passion for what we do and the communities we serve.
This 180mL, natural soy wax candle has notes of butterscotch, peach and sultana, with an undertone of vanilla, cedar, tea and freshly brewed coffee. We believe it's best enjoyed with a coffee in hand, and with loved ones by your side.
Read more here.
HOLIDAY COFFEE - SAMII ARICHA
A special holiday-themed coffee that expresses festive flavours from one of our favourite origins.
Each year, our team selects a coffee to roast and share as a special, holiday-themed release. We look for several things – tasting notes that remind us of the holiday season, clarity of flavour, and a coffee that is able to be used for a variety of purposes and brewing techniques.
For the holidays this year, we are excited to share a special washed heirloom lot from the renowned region of Yirgacheffe (Yirga Che'fe) in southern Ethiopia. The Aricha washing station is located at 1900 masl, close to Yirgacheffe Town in Gedeo, and is well known for its floral and citrus-driven character. This specific station buys cherries from approximately 750 farmers all located in the area. Their farms are on average 2 hectares in size and sit between 1900 and 2100 masl.
The location of this washing station is close to the river and smallholder farms, which means that no farmer needs to transport their cherries for more than 40 minutes before reaching the station. This is uncommonly convenient for these farmers, as many farmers across Ethiopia have to transport cherries for hours and many kilometres.
We selected this lot for festive notes of vanilla cream and butterscotch, a sweet note akin to sultanas and raisins, and for its brightness both when brewed as a filter or espresso. Roasted as an omni-roasted coffee, it can be easily prepared in a variety of brewing methods.
From our team to yours – we wish you a happy holiday season, and that this coffee enables you to enjoy it just that little bit more.
Read more here.
