THE sweet smell of cinnamon mixed with nutmeg usually means one thing - hot cross bun season.

But while you only ever catch that familiar smell wafting through bakeries once a year, Coles have just dropped some news that will either delight you or rock you to your core.

That's right, from today, customers can score a four-pack of hot cross buns at the Australian retailer all year round, totally disregarding centuries of traditional Easter eating like it's no biggie.

"Some things are just too good to not enjoy all year round. For many people, that includes a delicious hot cross bun," Coles category manager for in-store bread, Freddie Hancock, told news.com.au.

The controversial introduction of hot cross buns to the store outside of the Easter season was the result of "customer demand", he added.

"For weeks - and in some instances for months - our bakers were being asked by customers if we were still baking hot cross buns. So, we've made the decision to meet this demand by trialling a four-pack of hot cross buns available throughout the year," Mr Hancock said.

"From today, people whose desire for a rich, buttery bun packed with 100 per cent Aussie fruit didn't disappear on Easter Monday can grab a four-pack of buns for just $3 from Coles supermarkets with in-store bakeries."

The move is likely to cause a stir, with customers being vocal in the past about when seasonal items should become available in stores.

If you're firmly in camp "hell no", Coles also shared the result of a hot cross bun survey with us, revealing more than half (53.6 per cent) of customers had enjoyed and wanted to tuck into one outside of the Easter period.

And if that doesn't convince you that there's definitely people wanting this bread-like delight/monstrosity, we conducted a quick scan on Twitter where it seems people have been begging and pleading for their fave buns to be available 365 days a year for yonks.

Coles customers enjoyed more than 12.5 million packs of hot cross buns from the end of 2018 through to Easter Monday 2019.

But when hot cross bun products became available on Boxing Day in Coles, there was a huge wave of complaints from customers.

It sparked a huge divide, with Studio 10 host Sarah Harris even weighing in on the controversy, stating hot cross buns are "delicious and deserve" a place on shelves all year round.

Others were outraged, calling it "too much" and asking if it was an April fool's joke come early.