I love my morning coffee and I love the holidays. It's only natural that I should love any instance where the two converge. Keurig K-Cups come in a flurry of seasonal flavors but after testing more than 30, it's clear that not all winter and holiday K-Cups are created equal.
Some were great, while others were a little cloying, but most were drinkable and proved an easy way to inject these cold mornings with some festive flair. Below you'll find my rankings and a definitive list of the best holiday and seasonal K-Cups for 2025.
I brewed all the holiday coffee pods to find the 10 best. Joey Skladany/CNET
Oh, and if you're not into sweet or spiced coffee, here are the best K-Cups (nonholiday edition) out of the 40 we tested.
How I tested and evaluated holiday K-Cups
For this K-Cup showdown, I gathered as many seasonal blends as I could find, from fall-centric coffee pods with pumpkin spice notes to deeply Christmas-themed pods, such as sugar cookie and peppermint. While this list relies on my personal preference, I used my expertly trained taste buds to relay the flavor profile as objectively as possible.
I also brewed each pod using the same machine on its 8-ounce setting and finished the resulting brew with a tablespoon of creamer and half of a packet of sugar.
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10 best holiday K-Cups: The Nice List
Starbucks 10. Starbucks Smoked Butterscotch The notes were more caramel and toffee-like but this was a huge hit and practically demanded spiced rum and whipped cream. $65 at Amazon
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