Browsing our coffee lineup, you’ll notice that our packaging features a spectrum of bright, bold colors. Over time, you’ll see the same colors appear again and again. As our graphic designer, I’d love to explain why — and to show you how our colors can help you choose the coffees you’ll love.
How we build our lineup
Our coffee lineup includes both blends and single-origin coffees. Simply put, blends are a combination of coffees from different farms, regions, or countries, while single-origin coffees come from a single, traceable lot — often from one processing station or even one farm. At any given time, Blueprint’s menu might include our four core blends, a decaf offering, five single-origin coffees, and a Boutique Series feature, and a seasonal special.
We craft our blends with intention so that even as their components change through the year, each blend presents a consistent flavor profile and price point year-round. You’ll always see our four core blends on the shelf, but over time they’ll be comprised of different coffees. (Read more here!) Single-origin coffees are different: each coffee is a limited release, typically in our lineup for only 2–3 months at a time. The coffee’s availability depends on many factors: the timing of its harvest (since coffee-growing countries follow their own seasonal harvest cycles), the time it takes to process it, transit across the globe, and ultimately, how much of the coffee we choose to (or are able to) purchase.
When we’re deciding which coffees to buy, we want to make sure our menu always features a broad range of coffees, so that all kinds of coffee drinkers can find something they enjoy. So we identified five distinct flavor profiles: Round, Floral, Fruity, Nutty/Chocolatey, and Tangy. As we build our coffee lineup through the seasons, we select one single-origin coffee at a time for each profile. This approach helps us maintain variety and consistency — simplifying things both for us and for you.
What’s color got to do with it?
Color is a powerful tool to communicate, especially intangible qualities like flavor. In our packaging, each blend and each flavor profile is represented by its own color. Our retail shelf is beautiful, but it’s also practical: these colors empower you, the customer, to confidently choose a coffee you’ll love every time you visit our coffee bars or online store. If you liked the coffee with the yellow card the last time you came in, you’ll probably like the new coffee with the yellow card this time.
That doesn’t mean a new single-origin coffee won’t surprise and delight you! Each coffee has a distinct character, and we take it on its own terms. For each coffee in our lineup, we carefully calibrate a unique roast profile to bring out the best in that coffee. Think of these five flavor profiles as a starting point for your expectations — a way to narrow down the choices and find the next coffee you’ll love. Below, you’ll find a guide to all the colors you’ll see in our coffee packaging, along with a description of the flavor profile that each one represents.
Our color guide
Penrose is our espresso blend. It’s made with our balanced and natural blend components. We taste chocolate, graham, dried fruit, toffee, and berries.
Tektōn is our foundational filter blend. It’s made with our bright and balanced blend components. Taste notes include brown sugar, citrus, florals, stone fruit, and chocolate.
Drupe is a fruit-forward filter & espresso blend, made with our natural, balanced, and bright blend components. We taste cherry, plum, berry, apple, nectar, and wine.
Linear is our signature cold brew blend (but it’s also great when brewed hot!). It’s made with our balanced, natural, and bright blend components. We taste rich chocolate, caramel, and dried fruit, with a heavy body.
Our decaf offering is decaffeinated using ethyl acetate (EA), a sugarcane byproduct. This process helps preserve the coffee’s intrinsic sweetness and complexity. We taste graham, apple, brown spice, nougat, and malt.
Our Boutique Series features limited, special offerings our team selects to showcase what we love most about coffee. Each Boutique Series label features its own color palette that represents that individual coffee’s distinctive flavor notes.
Our Round profile features coffees that are balanced, sweet, and very well-rounded. Notes often include chocolate, raisin, graham, apple, and brown sugar.
For our Floral profile, we look for coffees that are light-bodied and bright, with sweet stonefruit and floral qualities. Usually this is a washed process coffee. We often taste peach, jasmine, rose, black tea, citrus, and berries.
The Fruity profile is heavier and juicier. Usually this coffee is naturally processed, a method that helps impart a full body and lots of rich, fruity character. Flavor notes often include dark berries, molasses, caramel, citrus, and pomegranate.
The Nutty/Chocolatey profile features coffees with low acidity and lots of nutty and chocolatey sweetness. We often taste toasted almond and hazelnut, milk and dark chocolate, cinnamon, graham, and caramel.
Tangy coffees are bright and citrusy, balanced by sugary sweetness and often an earthy depth. Flavor notes often include lemon or lime, vanilla, honey, maple, and green tea.
Still have questions? Want to know more about Blueprint’s graphic design? Or have an idea for what we should write about next? Reach out — I’d love to hear from you!
