The easiest holiday gift to get right is one that comes from a place the recipient can actually go back to. Three Sacramento shops — a coffee roaster in Midtown, an artisan chocolatier on J Street, and a roastery with a handful of neighborhood cafes — have items small enough to wrap and specific enough to feel like a real choice.
Old Soul Co.
Old Soul has been roasting in Sacramento since 2004, and the selection at oldsoulco.com/shop is wider than most people realize. The 4-ounce Ethiopia Demeka Becha Station bag — there are two processing lots, white honey and layered fermentation — lands at $12 each and is a good size when the recipient already has a preferred roast at home. The 20th Anniversary cold cup in white or moss green is $20 and holds up well as a simple year-round item.
Gift cards run from $10 to $100 and can be used at any of the five Sacramento-area cafes: The Alley at 1716 L Street (rear alley entrance), Weatherstone at 812 21st Street, 40 Acres at 3434 Broadway, 555 Capitol Mall, and Fair Oaks Village at 10239 Fair Oaks Boulevard. All five are open daily; The Alley and 40 Acres open at 6:30 a.m. The shop page is updated with current availability.
Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates
Ginger Elizabeth Olson opened her Midtown Sacramento shop in 2010 after training in France and working in New York kitchens. The shop at 2413 J Street is closed Mondays; Tuesday through Thursday it runs 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday to 9 p.m., and Sunday to 6 p.m. The Folsom location at 2770 E. Bidwell Street keeps similar hours.
Four items on the shop at gingerelizabeth.com come in under $25:
- 6-Piece Chocolate Box: $20.50
- Chocolate Candied Almonds: $14.00
- Vanilla Bean Toffee Almond Dessert Bar: $10.00
- Vanilla Bean Marshmallow: $9.50
The 6-piece box ships, which makes it practical for anyone not close enough to pick up in person. The candied almonds are sold as a pantry item, but they translate well as a small wrap. The dessert bar and marshmallow are single-item gifts at the lower end — better in a stocking than standing alone, but each is specific enough to feel considered.
Chocolate Fish Coffee
Chocolate Fish has roasted at its East Sacramento cafe since 2012. The shop at chocolatefishcoffee.com/shop lists single-origin and blended roasts at the time of writing:
- Espresso: KORU: $20.95
- Joconte Estate, Honduras: $22.50
- Tumbaga Decaf, Colombia: $21.50
The Honduras and decaf Colombia both come in around $22 and are strong options for a coffee drinker who already has a preferred brewing method. The KORU espresso blend is an approachable starting point for anyone with a machine at home. All three are roasted at the East Sac facility at 4749 Folsom Boulevard, where the daily hours are 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Land Park location at 2940 Freeport Boulevard keeps the same hours.
The Details
- Old Soul Co. online shop: oldsoulco.com/shop — ships; gift cards redeemable at all five Sacramento-area cafes
- Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates: 2413 J Street, Sacramento; gingerelizabeth.com — Tue–Thu 10am–8pm, Fri–Sat 10am–9pm, Sun 10am–6pm; also ships
- Chocolate Fish Coffee online shop: chocolatefishcoffee.com/shop — East Sac Cafe & Roastery at 4749 Folsom Blvd, daily 6am–5pm
Bottom Line
All three of these shops sell online, so the gifts can arrive before December even if picking up in person doesn’t fit the schedule. Old Soul’s 4-ounce coffee bags and Ginger Elizabeth’s single-bar items are the easiest entry points for a mixed holiday gift bag; the chocolate box and full-size coffee roasts work better as a standalone wrap. For more holiday shopping options around Sacramento, see the Sacramento holiday markets guide, the local chocolate and bakery gift guide, and the independent coffee shops guide for more on where Old Soul and Chocolate Fish pour their roasts around town.
