Do you remember in times’ past when you would sign up for a magazine subscription (or two)? Well, a coffee subscription service works much the same way… only it deals with coffee, not magazines.
What Are The Benefits Of A Coffee Subscription Service?
Coffee subscriptions, also known as coffee boxes, can be found everywhere these days. If you have a local coffee roaster, chances are, they also have a coffee subscription program. These subscriptions are similar to a club, and each month, you are sent a certain amount of coffee right to your door.
Now, you may be wondering why even bother with a subscription if all you’re doing is ordering coffee and having it delivered to your home.
That’s a really good question!
There are several advantages to signing up with a coffee subscription that everyday ordering and delivering miss.
- You can set it up and forget it. Place your order just once, and there’s no need to reason to worry about forgetting to order it again.
- Prices for coffee subscriptions are extremely competitive – even better than if you placed an individual coffee order. Best of all, most subscriptions offer free shipping.
- Subscription services tend to offer member perks such as access to micro-lofts (minute batches of rare coffee), coffee information cards and occasional gifts.
- Subscription services offer an array of different coffees for members to try. (This is something we’ll get into more later on).
What To Look For To Choose The Right Coffee Subscription
Variety
One of our favorite things about coffee subscription services is the variety you get. It’s like traveling the world through coffee. One month you may get African coffees with the next month being dedicated to South American coffees and the month after that are coffees from Asia. You have the opportunity to explore all kinds of coffee varieties, which means you’ll never become bored with the service.
You’ll get to know each country by the way the coffee tastes – and the differences between each countries’ coffee. You’ll get an idea of what an Ethiopian coffee tastes like and how it differs from Kenya or Panama coffee. A coffee subscription service is a great way in which to develop your coffee palate.
As every new month begins, the excitement begins. What goodness will await you – what tastes will you get to enjoy in your next box?
I challenge you not to burst from excitement when you see that coffee box on your doorstep!
Single or Multi Roaster
When you’re searching for a coffee subscription service, you may notice there are two main categories.
The first option is operated by the coffee roaster themselves, and the service is for the beans they roast. It’s a great option because, in most cases, you’re going to like every bag you receive from them. Of course, this is only possible if you choose a good roaster who has coffee you enjoy. You want to trust them into sending you something you’re going to enjoy every month.
The second option is the services that send out coffees from more than one roaster. Every month, you will receive coffee from a different roaster (sometimes more than one roaster). These roasters are chosen via continent. For instance, Kafflebox and Bean Bros choose only European roasters whereas Creama uses only American roasters.
The big advantage of the multi-roaster approach is the variety. You get to see what’s available on the market (and in the world). Not only do you get to taste coffee produced from different parts of the world, but you also get to see and taste each roasters’ approach to the art of roasting.
Filter or Espresso
This is an option most services provide.
A coffee that works great as an espresso might come across as bitter or harsh as a filter coffee. Similar to the way in which filter coffee might taste weak or lack espresso’s boldness. It typically comes down to how coffee is roasted.
Espresso coffees are often roasted darker, meaning they’re roasted for longer than filter coffee.
You can use an espresso roast for a filter (the way on roaster roasts their espresso coffees may be the same way in which another roaster roasts their filter coffee) by sticking to the roaster’s recommendations. This gives you a clearer idea of why they chose this coffee in the first place.
They may taste some incredibly delicate notes of orange blossom and jasmine when brewing coffee as a filter, which could be lost in an espresso.
Roast Options
Coffee can be roasted to various degrees of development, and how developed the roast is will have a huge impact on how a coffee tastes. The longer coffee is roasted, the darker it becomes and the heavier and more bitter it will become as well.
- A light-roasted coffee (coffee that’s been roasted for less time) will have a vibrant acidity with fruity and floral characteristics.
- A dark-roasted coffee will have far less acidity and more of a chocolatey, earthy or roasty kind of thing happening.
This leaves medium in the middle with flavors of caramel, dark berries and a mellow but still present acidity. Bear in mind that this is a generalization (unfortunately, not all medium-roasted coffee is going to taste like caramel and berries, as it’s usually dependent on variety and origin).
No one roasting style is better than another – only different. And, it truly comes down to your personal preference.
Subscription Customizations
Coffee is a complex thing, as are some of the coffee subscriptions you will learn about. Some of them let you customize every aspect of the package, which will eventually end up in your V60; others you’ll have to trust to let them do their thing.
Ground Coffee or Whole Beans
Some roasters will grind the coffee for you if needed. However, before you go with this option, you should know a few things.
Pre-ground coffee isn’t ideal. Ground coffee will oxidize too quickly – more so than a whole coffee bean. By the time the coffee reaches you, it will lack aroma, flavor and be dull.
It’s absolutely worth picking up a grinder – and it doesn’t have to be expensive either. Just the best that you can afford or don’t mind spending. A grinder is the most important bit of coffee gear you can own and will make a huge difference in your coffee’s quality (in the cup). For some worthwhile options, check out our guide to coffee grinders.
Decaf
A few subscription services offer decaf coffee, which is nice as an option. It’s not easy to find a good decaf coffee, but it’s not impossible.
Frequency
All coffee subscription services operate on a recurring order cycle, which means the company charges you and delivers the coffee to you at an agreed-upon frequency. How frequent this is varies from one company to the next.
Monthly shipments are normal, but some subscriptions offer fortnightly or weekly shipments. Who can resist fresh coffee every week?! Hell yeah!
Customer Service
The customer service of a coffee subscription is very important.
This isn’t just a one-off order. You’ll be dealing with the company for as long as you stay signed up with the subscription service. Be sure you read customer reviews before you settle on a particular one. Check out each company’s social media pages. Reach out to them, and if they don’t reply back in a timely manner or at all, then this is a warning sign.
It’s also a good idea to read the company’s frequently asked questions and see what their guarantees are. Some companies will resend a package or refund you if a package doesn’t turn up after 30 days. Others will offer a small discount on the next order.
Coffee Subscription Reviews
There are literally hundreds (probably thousands) of coffee subscriptions available to choose. Here, in our reviews, we have included the ones we’ve noticed have a good record in choosing great coffees to work with and have outstanding customer service.
Angels' Cup
Angels' Cup is a multi-roaster subscription service that offers something a little different over the typical “a bag of coffee” subscriptions. Be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Jeff Borack, co-founder of Angels' Cup.
- Angels' Cup calls this the “cupping flight” - This will give you four 32g samples of different coffees to try.
- “The Black Box” – four 77g samples of different coffees.
- Standard 340g bag of Angels Cup’s choosing.
Price
- Cupping flight: $10.99
- Black box: $22.99
- 340g bag: $19.99
Freshness – Cupping Flight and Black Box arrives 7-10 days after roast, 340g bag: 3-5 days after roast.
Frequency – Angels Cup offer weekly, fortnightly or monthly shipping.
Ground or Whole Beans –Whole beans, ground for French press or ground for filter.
Roast Options – Light, medium or dark.
Shipping Cost – Free U.S shipping, $11 to Canada. Worldwide shipping is not offered.
Decaf and Instant Coffee Available – No.
Atlas Coffee Club
Atlas Coffee Club roasts and ships their own coffee, which they source from all over the globe. Every delivery comes with a postcard of the coffee’s origin as well as brewing and tasting notes. It’s the little things, right? The coffee they send changes every month.
Atlas Coffee Club offers three options:
- Half Bag – 170g
- Full Bag – 340g
- Double – two 340g
Price
- Half – $9
- Full – $14
- Double – $28
Freshness – Atlas’ roasts and ships on the same day. Shipping takes 3-5 days for U.S. customers; 5-12 days for Canada.
Frequency – Every two to four weeks.
Ground or Whole Beans – Whole bean and ground.
Roast Options – Light to medium, medium to dark, or let Atlas choose and they’ll send whatever they think you’ll like.
Shipping – Atlas charges for shipping; dependent on your specific area. No international shipping at this time.
Decaf and Instant Coffee Available – No.
Crema.co (Best for U.S Coffee Geeks)
Crema is a multi-roaster subscription that sends out coffee from some of the top U.S. roasters. The company puts a unique spin on the subscription box. To get started, you will answer a few questions, which gives them an idea of what you like. This will generate your coffee “playlist.” You choose how often you want a shipment – from every three days to once a month). The next coffee box you get will come from this playlist. Be sure to also check out our exclusive interview with Emily McIntyre, co-founder of Crema.
Cream mostly ships 12oz bags of coffee. Roasters do have the option to offer 8oz, but the decision is up to the individual roasters.
Price - $15 to $22; price is dependent on the next coffee of the list.
Freshness – The coffee is roasted to order and shipped out, landing in your hands within a few days of roast.
Frequency – Shipments can range from every three days to once a month.
Ground or Whole Beans – Whole beans only.
Roast Options – Light all the way through dark.
Shipping – Free U.S. shipping; No international shipping.
Decaf and Instant Coffee Available – No.
Driftaway
Driftaway is another coffee subscription service that mixes up the way they do things. When you sign up for a Driftaway subscription, your first delivery is a tasting kit – a collection of four 56g bags of different coffees. The idea is to taste the coffees then log into your Driftaway account and rate them. This gives the company an idea of what you like and what coffees you would want in future boxes.
Each month, you’ll receive coffee from a different origin. Driftaway roasts and ships their own coffee.
Price
- 310g – $17
- 450g – $18.86
Freshness – Driftaway roast their coffee every Sunday. They have an average shipping time of around three days. This is certainly an acceptable window.
Frequency – Weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Ground or Whole Beans – Whole beans.
Roast Options – Light, light-medium, medium, medium-dark.
Shipping – Driftaway ships to the U.S only and is free.
Decaf and Instant Coffee Available – Not as a regular offering, but do contact them as decaf may be possible.
Kurasu (Best Asian Coffee Subscription)
Kurasu, which is a coffee roaster originally based in Kyoto, Japan, will roast and shop out their own coffees and run a traditional subscription service for specialty coffees of other Japanese roasters. The company offers both 200g and 400g options with domestic and international shipping available.
Price
- 200g - $33
- 400g - $47
Freshness – The coffee will be shipped out within two days of the roast date, and can take up to three weeks. You may or may not find this acceptable.
Frequency – Monthly.
Ground or Whole Beans – Whole beans only.
Roast Options – The coffee roast is up to the particular roaster and their specialty.
Shipping - International shipping is included in the price and could take between one and three weeks to arrive.
Decaf and Instant Coffee Available – No.
Kaffebox (Best for Non-U.S Coffee Geeks)
Kafflebox is a multi-roaster subscription service based in Scandinavia, offering a 250g to 1kg of filter-roasted specialty coffee or espresso with some of them coming from the country’s top roasters.
The subscription service’s prices include global shipping. For every bag of coffee purchased, Kafflebox will donate one month’s supply of clean water to someone in need.
Price
- 250g – $21.05
- 500g – $33.41
- 750g – $48.89
- 1kg – $61.13
Freshness – The coffee is packed the night of roast and shipped out the following morning.
Frequency – Monthly.
Ground or Whole Beans – Whole beans only.
Roast Options – Espresso or filter.
Shipping – Shipping is included and can take up to eight days to arrive.
Decaf and Instant Coffee Available – No.
Mistobox
The Mistobox coffee subscription service is one of the more customizable services available. They are one of a handful of subscriptions that offer various roast degrees and blends. You can choose from an array of options or have them decide for you. Mistobox is a multi-roaster service that provides specialty coffee from some of the best U.S. roasters.
Mistobox has two pricing tiers
- Deluxe – This option gives you one 340g bag of coffee.
- Exclusive – This option opens up rare and small batches of coffee.
Price
- Deluxe - $14.95.
- Exclusive - $17.95 (includes one bag of 340g of coffee with the ability to choose from rare batches of coffee.)
Freshness – Coffee will arrive up to seven days later.
Frequency – one 340g bag every one to four weeks.
Ground or Whole Beans – Both.
Roast Options - Light, medium and dark. They also offer espresso, blends and decaf.
Shipping – U. S. shipping only. Shipping is $5.
Decaf and Instant Coffee Available – Decaf, yes. Instant, no.
The Coffeevine
The Coffeevine is a multi-roaster subscription service that offers European coffee roasters. What really makes Coffeevine stand out is that their offering of three different roasters per month. Therefore, if you choose the three-bag option, you get a bag from all three roasters. It’s said that variety is the spice of life.
Coffeevine offers three different subscription plans:
- Small – 250g
- Medium – 2x 250g
- Large – 3x 250g
Price
- Small – $22.05
- Medium – $36.40
- Large – $50.70
Shipping costs are added to international orders.
Freshness –The coffee is roasted to order then shipped out. Delivery takes up to five days in the EU. Worldwide shipping times is unknown but no longer than 30 days.
Frequency – Once per month.
Ground or Whole Beans – Whole beans only.
Roast Options – The Coffeevine offer espresso or filter roasts (You can opt for a mix and get a bag of each).
Shipping – Free shipping to EU countries. Worldwide shipping available $5.50.
Decaf and Instant Coffee Available – No.
Beanbros
Beanbros is another multi-roaster coffee subscription service that ships out the best coffees from European and Nordic countries every month.
The company offers three size options that can be shipped around the world.
- Little Box – 1 250g
- Standard Box – 2x 250g
- Big Box – 3x 250g
Price
- Little Box - $20.95
- Standard Box - $35.28
- Big Box - $51.82
These prices do not reflect shipping, which is dependent on your location.
Freshness – Coffee will ship within three days of roast.
Frequency – Monthly.
Ground or Whole Beans – Whole beans only.
Roast Options – There are no options. You get whatever they send each month.
Shipping - Beanbros offer worldwide shipping with times between three and 24 days, depending on where you live in the world.
Decaf and Instant Coffee Available - No decaf, but they do offer a specialty capsule coffee subscription.
Trade Coffee
Trade Coffee runs its service similar to Driftaway and Crema— they want to match the coffee drinker to their perfect coffee. They start things off by asking you a few questions such as how experienced you are with coffee, your roast preference and what things you like to taste. The service will use this information to match you up to the right coffees.
Go to your account and rate the coffees you receive. Trade will use the feedback to send you your next coffee.
Trade Coffee has two pricing tiers:
- Classic – This offers blends and good “every day” coffees.
- Hookup – This offers rarer, single-origin coffees.
Trade Coffee is based in the U.S. and ships only to U.S. addresses.
Price
- Classic - $12.50 to $14.74 per 340g bag.
- Hookup - $15 to $22 per 340g bag.
Freshness – Roasters will ship within 24 hours of roast. Shipping takes approximately three days.
Frequency – Every one to three weeks.
Ground or Whole Beans – Both.
Roast Options - Light, medium or dark.
Shipping - U.S shipping only, which is free.
Decaf and Instant Coffee Available – Decaf is available but not a part of the subscription. Blends are available on a subscription basis.
Instant Coffee Subscription Services
Swift Cup
Swift Cup subscription service offers specialty instant coffee per order or subscription. They offer blends, single-origin coffees and decaf. Be sure to also check out our exclusive interview with Nate Kaiser, founder of Swift Cup.
There are three different subscription sizes:
- 10 cups
- 20 cups
- 30 cups
Price
- 10 Cups - $22
- 20 Cups – $42
- 30 Cups – $59
Swift Cup offers free shipping on $30 or more orders. For orders under $30, shipping is calculated based on your location.
Frequency – Monthly.
Shipping – Worldwide shipping available.
Coffee Options – Blends, single-origin coffees and decaf.
Sudden Coffee
Sudden coffee, a U.S.-based company that creates single-origin specialty instant coffee offers four plans to choose from. Their order frequency is also extremely flexible from one to six months.
Price
- 24 cups – $42
- 48 cups – $84
- 72 cups – $126
- 96 cups – $168
Frequency – Every one to six months
Shipping – Three to five days shipping time – U.S. shipping only.
Coffee Options – Light or medium roast single-origin coffee.
And, there you have it! If you love coffee and want to try coffees from various locations around the globe, a coffee subscription service is what you need to invest in. The idea that a roaster has specifically chosen your coffee to be the first taste of what you do is just nice,
We see coffee subscriptions as something exciting. What do you think? Do you love them as much as we do? Are you not a fan of them? We love hearing from our fellow coffee lovers, so leave us a comment below and tell us what you think. Is there a service we overlooked? As coffee lovers, it’s unlikely to happen but let us know and share the love.
Want to learn more about specialty coffee or the gear used to make a brew, be sure to check out other buying guides below: