Do you find yourself running out of coffee beans pretty often? Do you have a taste for artisanal coffee?
You should consider getting a coffee subscription box. Or, gift a subscription to the coffee lover in your life.
We’ll take a look at the best coffee subscription options to consider. These are increasingly popular and for good reason. Many subscription boxes answer to the tastes, preferences, and (sometimes) even eccentricities of their subscribers.
As an example, you could choose to get the coffee delivered monthly or weekly. You could get your preferred, freshly roasted single-serve coffee. Or, let the subscription surprise you! Or, get regular packages from the best coffee growing regions around the world.
From the exotic to the “I just want coffee delivered”, the subscriptions often offer something for everyone.
Editor’s Pick – Lifeboost Coffee Subscription
Lifeboost Coffee Subscription offers single-source, high-quality beans that, according to the company, are amongst the top of the global coffee supply. The beans are grown in the mountains of Nicaragua. The minimum elevation for these beans is 4000 feet, though a fare share grows at more than 5500 feet above sea level.
To ensure high-quality and standards, Lifeboost flaunts its USDA Organic and Fair Trade certification. The beans also undergo third party testing to check for toxins and harmful chemicals. They’re non-GMO, low in acid, and high in flavor.
Roast options available for the beans are light, medium, and dark. You can get them as whole bean coffee or ground coffee. A medium roast decaf offering is also available, though only available as ground coffee.
Multiple options are available for coffee quantity and delivery frequency. Coffee delivery is available every 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks. It’s also relatively easy to modify, cancel, or skip your subscription/delivery.
Overall, convenience, excellent coffee, and good service make this a lovely coffee subscription box to pick.
Top Coffee Subscription Box Options For 2021
- Drinktrade
- Craft Coffee
- Atlas Coffee Club
- Driftaway Coffee
- Bean Box
- Peet’s Coffee
- Un’kuppd Pour-over Coffee
- Blue Bottle Coffee
- Mistobox
- Angel’s Cup
1. Drinktrade (Trade Coffee Co)
Drinktrade, also known as Trade Coffee Co has a pretty interesting offering for subscription. The offering includes more than 400 coffees. Of course, they’re not all different coffees as such, but they’re the work of different roasters.
They work with roasters across the US to bring their skills to Trade’s subscribers. You can pick the coffee you prefer best, but rummaging across 400 options can be overwhelming.
The company makes things easier with a quiz. As you answer questions, the choices are whittled down and you get to choose coffee tailormade for your needs. Trade coffee puts a premium on quality control and user feedback to ensure that users always get good value and quality.
Their selection of coffee for cold brew is as good as the regular coffee offering. The customer can decide whether they want beans or have the freshly roasted coffee ground to suit their coffee maker. If you just want to stick to cold brew, they’ve got a specific subscription to that as well.
Trade Coffee offers excellent flexibility with your subscription. The customer has the freedom to decide the frequency of delivery, adding and changing payment methods, or pausing the delivery as necessary.
Learn more about Trade Coffee subscription plans
2. Craft Coffee
Craft Coffee pairs economy with great tasting coffee. Sure, we want specialty coffee, but we’d prefer not to pay an arm and a leg for it! Well, Craft Coffee handles the price aspect quite elegantly. Their basic subscription starts at just about $12, doesn’t need a commitment, and comes with a price-match promise.
There’s always room to go higher and buy more, but I like the low entry-threshold. The no-commitment idea is a good look too and makes it easier to give this coffee subscription box a shot.
There is a fairly wide range of coffee options available here. Like the Trade Coffee, customers can take a quiz to whittle down the number of options and only see coffees most relevant to them. Being adventurous and enjoying a wide variety of coffee tastes and options is a good idea too.
For beginners, the best pick is perhaps their 3-coffee sampler pack. There is variety in these packs, and there are options based on roast and origin of coffee. Hey, more choices and better coffee for you!
Get your craft coffee subscription
3. Atlas Coffee Club
Atlas Coffee Club is perhaps the best-known coffee subscription box. The concept and execution of this box are just fantastic and subscribers often look forward to the next box. It isn’t just the quality of coffee that’s at work here.
It is the anticipation of the coffee from different parts of the world. Often, the box will also include stories related to the coffee (a postcard from the country of origin). Other staples in the box are taste notes and brewing guide along with suggestions on recipes.
Take the plunge and enjoy their coffee of the month club. Freshly roasted coffee from a different part of the world every month is about as good as it sounds. To clarify, while the coffee is sourced from all over the world, it is roasted in Austin. That ensures that subscribers always get freshly roasted coffee.
Delicious coffee from around the world is a high-point here. For a touch of customization, users get to pick their choice of roast. The options include light to medium, and medium to dark roasts. Another choice is to pick all roast types. Users can pick for whole beans or ground coffee.
As for delivery options, you get to choose between two weeks and four weeks. It’s worth remembering that the coffee box changes every month. So while a four week subscription will bring a new coffee, the two week subscription will repeat itself at least once before the new monthly coffee comes into play.
Get adventurous with an Atlas Coffee Club subscription
4. Driftaway Coffee
Driftaway Coffee has a touch very similar to Atlas Coffee Club, though there are some twists and turns that set them apart. Available as a subscription, Driftaway ships coffee from around the world.
Each shipment also includes notes on the source of the coffee and about the farm where coffee is/was sourced. According to the company, they prefer working with smallholder coffee farmers and have sustainability programs for the benefit of farmers.
Users can’t know what coffee they’ll receive for the next shipment. However, they make their preferences heard. You can like/dislike the coffee beans you received with each shipment. If you so prefer, there’s also room to add more detailed comments and notes. They’ll try to keep shipments in line with your taste preferences.
So if you weren’t particularly fond of coffee from a specific source, you’re unlikely to receive it again. If you enjoyed a specific coffee, it is possible to order more quantities of the beans you enjoyed.
The delivery options are fairly flexible. Users can change the frequency of shipment, skip a shipment, or change quantity at will.
Driftaway’s first delivery is a tasting kit with four bags. Subsequent orders follow the subscription quantity. It is possible to skip the tasting kit for accounts that are renewed or becoming active again. Similarly, it is possible to order the tasting kit again, if you so prefer. The company only offers whole beans – there is no option for ground coffee.
Overall, it’s a fairly interesting and well-executed concept. Adventure with coffee flavors from around the world with this subscription!
Subscribe to Driftaway Coffee
Get your Driftaway Coffee subscription through Amazon
5. Bean Box
Working with some of Seattle and Portland’s best coffee roasters, Bean Box makes a serious play at getting the best coffee to their subscribers. This is one of the most successful and popular monthly coffee subscriptions and it delivers stunning coffee.
With Seattle and Portland being in the driver’s seat of the coffee scene, and Bean Box working with the top roasters of the city, it is only natural to have high expectations from this subscription. Each box includes four gourmet coffees and an artisan “treat” from the roasters. Usually, this is a very delicious bar of chocolate. It is worth it to look forward to this treat as much as you look forward to the delicious gourmet coffee that will accompany it.
Bean Box claims that they thoroughly vet the source of the coffee and ensure it has been grown ethically. That’s a good move – and something more businesses and consumers should consider. There are real problems with the way coffee is grown and more ethical sourcing is the way to go.
Users get a fair bit of flexibility and choices in building their coffee subscription box. You’re free to pick the roast you prefer (or choose all roasts). Other options include picking ground coffee or whole beans, and choosing a delivery frequency. Subscribers can receive their Bean Box weekly, every other week, or monthly.
It is possible to modify or skip deliveries at will.
Get your Bean Box subscription
Look at Bean Box subscription options on Amazon
6. Peet’s Coffee
This well-known coffee brand has also thrown its hat in the ring for quality coffee subscription box picks. They have the advantage of building on a trusted brand and having the infrastructure to offer an unprecedented number of options.
Customers can get pretty much all offerings of Peet’s Coffee on subscription, including K cups and Nespresso pods. However, for a more authentic experience of the subscription options, look at their Curated Subscriptions offering. This is where the action is, and it does remarkably well in the coffee and choices on offer.
They’ve divided this offering into three categories:
- Small Batch Series: This series is reserved for the somewhat rare coffees that the company encounters. There’s limited availability, which gives it the name of being “small batch”. In a sense, this could be considered exotic and adventurous.
- Single Origin Series: This option is great for getting gourmet coffee delivered to your doorstep. They focus on the best coffee growing regions of the world to get quality coffee.
- Signature Blend Series: Peet’s coffee as you know it. The Signature Blend Series highlights the blends that made Peet’s famous. If you’ve previously enjoyed their blends, this might be the choice to make.
Peet’s coffee offers excellent flexibility in subscription and delivery frequency. Subscribers can have their coffee delivered in increments of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, or 8 weeks. I don’t know what they have against 5 and 7, but there is enough flexibility to ignore that. The subscription can include whole beans or a customized grind suited to the subscriber’s intended brewing method.
See Peet’s Coffee subscription options
7. Un’kuppd Pour-over Coffee
Un’kuppd Pour-over Coffee is a somewhat unique entry on our list. This is a single-serve coffee subscription, though it isn’t made for Keurig or Nespresso. This is a pour over coffee with filters included.
When you’re ready, just bring the coffee out of the sachet/packet, place it on the cup, and pour water as you would with a pour over coffee. Un’kuppd claims its “origami” filter design makes things simpler and retains the goodness of pour over.
They offer coffee sourced from different regions of the world and roasted by American or European artisan roasters. Rather than choosing the weight, as with conventional subscriptions, you’ll pick the number of packets (or servings).
It is worth noting that though they offer a few roasts and coffees, subscription boxes usually contain only two variants. Don’t expect it to be a variety pack! I’ll suggest getting a smaller box first to see if the coffee (and brewing method) is up to your taste and preferences.
Un’kuppd is available for subscription on the company website and Amazon. There are differences in subscription options depending on where it’s sold, so double-check your purchase.
See Un’kuppd Pour-over Coffee subscription website
Un’kuppd Pour-over Coffee subscription on Amazon
8. Blue Bottle Coffee
Another famous coffee subscription box, this one likes to deal in top-of-the-line coffee. Blue Bottle Coffee claims to offer the best quality beans, roasted no more than 48 hours before shipping. They claim that all coffee is sourced from ethical, sustainable farms.
Blue Bottle Coffee subscription is offered in three variants:
- Single Origin: The box contains single origin coffee sourced from Latin America, East Africa, or the Pacific Islands. This is the most expensive offering from this service and highlights high-quality coffee.
- Blend Assortment: Coffee beans here are one of the brand’s blends. They’re carefully balanced and well-managed to deliver a great experience. These are priced lower than single origin and same as the espresso assortment.
- Espresso Assortment: This selection of beans is picked from Blue Bottle’s single-origin and blend offerings to be the most suited for brewing espresso and espresso-based beverages.
If you can’t make the choice yourself, they offer a quiz to make it easier to take a pick. Interestingly, Blue Bottle tries to stay away from the “gourmet coffee” label.
Instead, they market themselves in a simpler style. It’s marketed as coffee you’d buy from a store, except you get this at your doorstep. Interesting style, and perhaps a reason for the success of this coffee subscription box.
See Blue Bottle Coffee subscription options
9. Mistobox
MIstobox is one of the older, bigger players on the coffee subscription box block. They’ve learned, evolved, and they still offer great coffee. There are more than 300 coffees on offer. To make it easier to pick a favorite, they offer subscribers a quiz.
Rather than having an automated system suggest coffee based on the answers, Mistobox apparently has a coffee curator consider the answers. The curator then makes suggestions and recommendations on the coffee to pick. It isn’t a long or complex quiz, but it covers all the basic requirements for coffee.
For example, you can make your choice of ground coffee or whole beans and how often you’d like the coffee to be delivered. The quiz will also offer a choice between the regular and deluxe offerings, which in turn affects the price tag.
That seems like a great way to get coffee that’ll fit your expectations and requirements. I know I would be excited to see how good the curator’s recommendations really are. Coffee delivery frequency can be chosen from between 1-4 weeks in one-week increments.
See details on Mistobox Coffee Subscription
10. Angel’s Cup
Everything goes up to the curator when you pick the Angel’s Cup subscription. You don’t pick a coffee and they don’t expressly tell you what coffee it is. Subscribers receive a coffee without any clearly identifying marks. The idea is that subscribers enjoy the coffee without being bound by preconceived notions of flavor and expectations.
There are three options to pick here:
- All Stars: One large bag of coffee
- The Black Box: Four large sample packs
- Cupping Flight: Four small sample packs
Coffee is available in the form of whole beans, coarse grind, and fine grind. Users can have their subscription box delivered every 1, 2, or 4 weeks.
As noted, the coffee packaging is not distinguishable. However, each package has a corresponding number. If you like a batch (or pack) of coffee well enough, you can use the number on the company’s app to find the corresponding coffee.
That way, you can know more about the coffee that caught your attention, and order more of it if you prefer. I like the simple style of this approach. It isn’t a mystery, but you don’t necessarily start with expecting the coffee to be gourmet that must fulfill preconceived (even if well-founded) notions.
Read more on Angel’s Cup subscription
What You Should Know When Selecting A Coffee Of The Month Club
Does The Subscription Work With Your Preferences And Expectations?
The coffee subscription box you choose should be flexible and capable of meeting your expectations. There are multiple aspects to this:
- Flexibility: A freedom to change, schedule, and skip deliveries is necessary. You may not want another delivery of coffee, you may be headed for a vacation, or there could be any other reason. Point is, rescheduling must happen easily. Skipped deliveries should continue once resumed, rather than being lost.
- Freshly Roasted Coffee: Half the reason anyone subscribes to these boxes is the hope of getting freshly roasted coffee. Most responsible sellers will roast the coffee about a day or two before shipping. The faster the coffee gets to the user, the better.
- Quality and Variety of Coffee Beans: Only high-quality coffee beans should be used for the subscription. Of course, this depends on the expense and the cost, but you should look for a good deal. A subscription box should offer something unique. An example here is boxes that offer a variety of beans sourced from different regions. This could be a monthly practice or at another frequency, depending on the terms of the subscription.
Subscribing To Have Your Coffee Delivered
The article here lists some of the coolest and best-known coffee subscription boxes available. Of course, several more options can suit user requirements, including getting a subscription from a retailer. Amazon, for example, has a subscribe and save feature.
This isn’t quite the same as a coffee subscription box, but it offers an easy way to get your coffee delivered at fixed times. Plus, available options make easy room for various coffees available on Amazon, including K cups and Nespresso pods. Other retail locations may have similar options or offers available.
Interestingly, many coffee subscription boxes are available on Amazon as well. This can be useful for people who prefer not to give their payment/card info to another website.
Does The Roaster Matter?
Yes! Artisan and specialty coffee is affected by the roaster. Quality and flavor are dependent on the roaster’s skill. But, users can also decide on the subscription-based on how it interacts with roasters. There are two major cases in this scenario:
- Single Roaster Coffee Subscription: As the name implies, this means you receive coffee handled and roasted by a single artisanal roaster. You may have different coffees or roast levels, but they will essentially be handled by a single roaster.
- Multiple Roaster Coffee Subscription: Again, the name is descriptive enough. This means that the subscription either has multiple roasters working together, or they’ve been brought together by a brand.
Both of these approaches have their advantages. There is no reason to call one better than the other, but the buyer may choose to make a distinction.
FAQs Related To Coffee Subscription
How Long Does Ground Coffee Last?
Unopened and in factory packaging, ground coffee can last 3-5 months or even a year. However, once the package has been opened, it quickly loses its freshness. Once you’ve opened the box, it is best to consume ground coffee in 1-2 weeks.
Coffee beans last longer and can retain the best of their flavor for a month or more after roasting. This is why buying coffee beans is often recommended. Grinding coffee beans right before brewing is the best choice. Freshly ground beans should be consumed within 20 minutes.
What Is A Coffee Subscription?
A coffee subscription means that a service will deliver coffee to your doorstep at a fixed frequency, often monthly. Several subscription services offer flexibility and more customizable delivery frequency options.
A coffee subscription may involve a single roaster. In this case, you buy coffee directly from the roaster. In other cases, several roasters may be working for a company (or as a unit) to deliver coffee subscription orders.
Are Any Subscription Boxes Worth It?
As long as you’re economical with your order and frequency, yes. The point of getting the best coffee subscription is to add convenience for your regular purchase. It isn’t supposed to go far beyond your regular coffee consumption.
Similarly, before you subscribe, check your expectations for quality, roast, grind, and gourmet coffee. A subscription box is definitely worth it, but it’s not a purchase to be made blindly.
Wrapping Up This Coffee Subscription Box
If you enjoy coffee and consume a good amount regularly, getting the best coffee subscription would be the choice. Regular deliveries of high-quality freshly roasted coffee from around the world – or a preferred single source destination – are definitely worth the spend and effort. Subscriptions are convenient and have proven themselves to be worthy of the attention of coffee lovers.