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Has your love of coffee outgrown the typical grocery store varieties? You crave a richer coffee experience yet you’re unsure where to begin to find the best beans to customize your cup.
You’re in luck! Subscription services exist for people just like you who love coffee but want more out of their brew than the standard cup of joe. These companies employ coffee connoisseurs that gather information about your taste preferences and create a unique coffee experience for you that arrives at your doorstep on your schedule, usually via free shipping, to give you the cup you desire.
Here are the top six coffee subscription services worth investigating if you are ready to step up your coffee game. These were chosen based on online reviews of coffee fanatics who have used the service and whose love of java compels them to share only the very best. Let’s get started!
Angels’ Cup: Perfect for Roast Dabblers
Do you enjoy sampling a variety of roasts? Angels’ Cup is for you!
Angels’ Cup delivers four samples of coffee on-demand to your doorstep. They have an app available on iTunes and Android (see below) where you rate the brands you experience and post a review, and then compare it with professional reviewers who offer their opinions on each bean.
Why You Should Try: They never ship the same sample twice which means over the course of a year you will receive over 200 different roasts of coffee. Yes, that’s right, 200 different coffee experiences. If you don’t like a sample, they have a no-cost return policy and will issue a 100% refund.
What You Buy: Their subscription service is based on your grind (whole bean, coarse grind for French press and fine grind for drip), you choose either a light or medium roast, and how often you want to receive it (either weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly). For those with coffee-loving family and friends, there is a gift option as well.
Cost: They offer three divine subscription options: The Cupping Flight that includes four 1 oz. samples for $9.99 a month, The Black Box that includes four 2.75 oz. packages for $21.99 a month, and the All-Stars package includes one bag for $19.99 a month.
Verdict: If you like trying new beans, Angels’ Cup delivers the coffee experience you crave.
Craft Coffee: A Great Place to Start
If you are just beginning to venture out of your coffee comfort zone, Craft Coffee is the best subscription option for you.
Craft Coffee’s website can help you decide which beans to try based on your current store-bought preferences. They offer French-roasted coffee for the same price you pay at the grocery store, but their beans are shipped free within 72 hours of roasting to ensure the best coffee experience.
Why You Should Try: What do you have to lose? Their website helps match your taste to a similarly priced bean you can find in a grocery store, and it will be a fresher and more refined coffee experience than traveling to the store to pick up that same bean yourself. With craft coffee, U.S. shipping is always free, they promise to match the price you pay in the store, and there’s no commitment.
Cost: Craft Coffee costs between $10-$25 based on your selection, and comes in either 12-ounce bags or a 3-coffee sampler of three, 4 oz. bags.
Verdict: Reviewers rave about the quality of this coffee when compared to their store-bought preferences, and they appreciate the convenience of having their coffee delivered. If you would like to try new beans but are unsure about how to pick the best ones, this service is ideal.
Driftaway: A Coffee Purist’s Dream Service
If you don’t know what a Chemex is, how to use a grinder, or why you should care about the amount of oil on your beans, then this subscription service isn’t for you. For the rest of you bean fanatics out there, this service is worth considering.
Driftaway offers whole bean varieties of specialty coffee. The first delivery in every subscription is a sample of four single-origin beans to help buyers decide which roasts to try: a light fruity roast, a medium classic or medium balanced roast, or their bold dark roast.
Why You Should Try: If you already love coffee and want to create that ideal cup for you, Driftaway can help you customize your cup. They only offer whole bean (since brewing immediately after you grind the bean produces the most flavorful experience), and each bag comes with the story behind the coffee providing additional information behind the bean.
Once you have tried the four different roasts and tailored your subscription based on your taste preferences, you set the delivery schedule which you can skip, pause, or cancel anytime. They will also remind you 12 hours before each shipment just in case you want to make any last-minute changes.
Cost: Driftaway offers three size options: $12 for a 7-oz. bag, $16 for 11.-oz., or $34 for 32 oz.
Here is what their pricing structure looks like:
Verdict: If you know your beans, or care to know more about them, this is the coffee for you.
Collected Coffee: Global Flavors Delivered to Your Cup
Collected Coffee began in 2016 when founder Lynette Lee wanted to share the best coffee she experienced during her worldwide adventures as an art editor and former design consultant. The beauty of this brand is its simplicity; the subscription service features one coffee a month selected by Lee, and subscribers only must decide how many bags to order.
Why You Should Try: Each shipment includes information about the source, roaster, tasting notes, and instructions on how to brew the best cup based on your brewing method. This service is perfect for coffee enthusiasts that want to experience the best coffee from different cultures but don’t want to hop on a plane to do so. There is also an accompanying online journal that Collected Coffee fans enjoy that chronicles the coffee’s journey from farmer to roaster to your home.
Cost: Each 9-oz. bag (250 grams) sells for $25.
Verdict: Collected coffee is like having a personal coffee connoisseur to advise you on the best beans. Unless you can travel the world to create your own cultural coffee experience, this bean is worth a try.
Mistobox: For Coffee Lovers Without Control Issues
Mistobox receives high praise from customers for its easy-to-use website and variety of beans available.
Here is how it works: As a new customer, you must fill out a questionnaire to place an order.
First, you select your favorite roast level (light, medium, dark, or “not sure”), favorite type (single-origin, espresso, blend, or “not sure”), and how often you would like to receive a shipment. Here is where they lost me a bit. They then asked me to commit to a “deluxe” for the best coffee available or the “exclusive” plan that features the “best of the best”:
I’m sure anyone buying coffee wants the best. From a marketing standpoint, this needs work. How about listing a range of prices or price per cup?
That aside, after selecting the deluxe option, three different payment plans appear, and then I’m asked what payment plan I prefer before I hit a “go to checkout” button. At the checkout screen, they tell me one of their experts will send me a 12-ounce bag based on my selection from one of their 30+ artisan coffee roasters. This is slightly different from other coffee subscription services that provide details about the coffee before shipment so you know what to expect. With Mistobox, you are trusting their recommendation with be a good match with your taste buds.
Why You Should Try: Mistobox is perfect for coffee enthusiasts that love a good recommendation based on their taste preferences. This subscription service can help customers find new brands to love expanding their selection exponentially based on the number of roasters Mistobox engages.
On the other hand, if you need greater control over your cup by knowing more specifics about what you are ordering, this service might not be a good fit. Either way, their website is full of useful links and informative videos about how to get the most out of your coffee experience.
Cost: Depending on your subscription, it costs between $15-$30 a shipment.
Verdict: For all you trusting souls out there that are open to going with a café connoisseur’s recommendation, give Mistobox a chance!
Bean Box: When You the Want Seattle Coffee Experience Without the Green Logo
Bean Box delivers Seattle’s best whole-bean coffee, fresh. They work with twenty world-renowned roasters to hand-pick roasts every month to send to your doorstep. Each box ships free within 48 hours of roasting, and each box includes tasting notes, roaster profiles, brewing tips, and an artisan treat. You can either subscribe to the Bean Box Coffee Sampler featuring four 1.8 oz. roasts, or the 12-oz. coffee of the month.
Why You Should Try: Seattle’s independent coffee roasters are known worldwide for selecting the highest quality beans to create a unique coffee experience. Bean Box takes freshness very seriously and claims their coffee is never bitter. Here is how they make sure it arrives fresh:
Bean Box makes it simple to customize your experience through their easy-to-use website, and while plans automatically renew, you can cancel at any time.
Cost: Between $17-$20 a month depending on your selection.
Verdict: Bean Box is perfect for those that want to experiment with different roasts and flavors with the help of expert roasters at an affordable cost. You don’t have to buy Starbucks to experience Seattle coffee! Give Bean Box a try.
In Conclusion
Coffee subscriptions are a convenient and fun way to experience a variety of coffee beans at an affordable cost. Say goodbye to the moody barista you previously asked for recommendations and hello to a new, easy customized coffee experience!
