Whether you prefer a perfect french press or regular ol’ drip, when it comes to the morning time, it’s really about getting some form of caffeine into your bloodstream ASAP. To make your early a.m. routine the best it can be, we’ve rounded up 14 of the best subscriptions that do practically everything except brew the coffee. From single-origin offerings to blind tastings, read on to find your new cuppa joe.
The Best of Coffee Tasting
Bean Box partners with small-batch, award-winning roasters throughout the U.S. Choose between the Coffee Tasting Subscription, which features four specialty roasts (1.8 oz. each) delivered once each month, or the Coffee Bag Subscription (12 oz.), delivered weekly, biweekly or monthly. The coffee is guaranteed fresh and comes with tasting notes, roaster profiles, roasting tips, and a treat. Bean Box also offers unique coffee gifts, including a World Coffee Tour Box and a Coffee and Chocolate Tasting Gift Box, as well as add-on purchases such as cold brew and gourmet chocolates.
Why You’ll Love It: Bean Box survives and thrives in the land of Seattle, so you know these folks are the real deal.
Cost: $16.50/mo for the Coffee Tasting Subscription, $24/mo for the Coffee Bag Subscription
Subscribe at BeanBox.com (Sign up now and start tasting for only $5!).
The Pro Selection
Lady Falcon Coffee Club was founded by master roaster Buffy Maguire. With over 30+ years of experience in a typically male-dominated industry, Maguire put in thousands of hours in her garage to perfect her skills. What started as a single coffee truck in Alamo Square in San Francisco, CA, has become a successful DTC online business with products launching in Nordstrom's this holiday season.
Why You'll Love It: This artisan coffee is unique to Maguire's skill and knowledge. She's traveled all over the world for her beans and has even added a rare cáscara tea (a superfood) to her repertoire.
Cost: The Fan-Club Coffee Subscription comes every 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 weeks, starting at $34.50 & up. You can pick your two bags on your own or let them choose for you.
Subscribe at ladyfalconcoffeeclub.com.
The Choice Maker
A Mistobox subscription means you'll get a coffee expert who personalizes your monthly coffee selection of over 605 coffees worldwide and to fit your specific taste buds. When you subscribe, you are supporting local farmers worldwide, with many brands also certified as fair trade.
Why You'll Love It: With cost options that start at $10.95 for 24 cups of coffee, this subscription is an affordable choice for still getting personalized coffee options.
Cost: $10.95+
Subscribe at mistobox.com.
The Match Maker
Launched in 2018, Trade Coffee is uniting coffee lovers and top roasters to offer over 400 roasted to order blends. Take the company's coffee quiz to get matched with the best brew for your palette and enjoy tons of picks for both cold and hot brew.
Why You'll Love It: Coffee lovers will jump over the diversity Trade Coffee has to offer. Enjoy tons of unique options, while continuing to update your taste preferences so that you get the perfect roast that's meant for you.
Cost: Starting at $12.50 for two bags per order or one bag for $15-$22 for premium roast coffees. Subscriptions always get 15% off and free shipping!
Subscribe at drinktrade.com.
For On-the-Go Parents
LA-based and female-owned business, Copper Cow Coffee is officially on our radar. The sustainably sourced and all-natural brand is all about Vietnamese coffee––and they're darn good about it. Copper Cow has designed filters and coffee that are biodegradable, compostable and are just like traditional Vietnamese coffee and the Vietnamese phin. Enjoy your freshly made java at home or on the go, and if you're feeling it, you'll want to check out the company's Thai Iced Tea or Coffee and Tea Trio bundle!
Why You'll Love It: The single portion packets of both coffee and milk make enjoying your morning cup a breeze––a must for parents. Just add water!
Cost: Starting at $30 for 20 classic coffees and $37 for 20 coffees + 20 milks!
Subscribe at coppercowcoffee.com.
The Brew With a Purpose
Verve Coffee is committed to seeing its product through, from "seed to cup" and when you buy their coffee, you're helping support the Farmlevel Initiative which impacts communities at the local and global level. The company pays farmers premiums for quality coffees using direct trade relationships which exceed Fair Trade minimums, so your morning cup of joe does more than just bring you joy. Originating in Santa Cruz, California, Verve Coffee not only produces and delivers coffee for free, but they also have several cafés!
Why You'll Love It: Coffee subscriptions from Verve allow you to pick out your roast, grind and frequency. They also have canned Nitro flash brew and on-the-go drip kits so you never have to leave your fave coffee at home.
Cost: Starting at $19.75 for one 12 oz bag, you decide the frequency!
Subscribe at vervecoffee.com.
The World Traveler
This java startup might be based in Austin, Tx, but Atlas Coffee Club's goal is to take customers on a trip around the world—one cup at a time. Each month highlights a new country’s unique culture and coffee. From Tanzania to Burundi to Congo, you won't be disappointed. You’ll receive coffee from the chosen country in a bag design inspired by local textiles and landscapes, a postcard from each country, a card with coffee facts, tasting notes, and the recommended brewing method. For a true coffee connoisseur who thinks they’ve tried it all, you can't go wrong with this one!
Why You'll Love It: In addition to serving up a killer cuppa Joe, this subscription gives customers access to coffee gear giveaways, as well as other perks.
Cost: Select between two or four-week deliveries, and $9 half bags, $14 single bags or $28 double bags
Subscribe at atlascoffeeclub.com.
No Bad Cups
Crema's motto is "life's too short for bad coffee." Each month (or however frequently you want your coffee), you'll get a bag of coffee from around the world—and you rate it. As you continue to try and rate different coffees, Crema will learn your preferred tastes and start sending you recommendations. With a system like that, it's almost impossible to have a bad cup of coffee.
Why You'll Love It: Not only does Crema give customers the option to give their coffee as a gift (via emailed gift card), but they also have a subscription service for offices. See you later K-cups!
Cost: 12 oz. bags start at $16.
Subscribe at crema.co.
The Fresh Maker
Unlike most services that ship within 48 hours, Moustache roasts their beans and ships their coffee the same day. Each bag even comes with a "Start Drinking On" date on it to ensure you don't brew your coffee too soon after the roast. Moustache was started over the frustration of having to pay a premium for "two-week-old" coffee. Also, they will rarely send you the same coffee twice, which means you're guaranteed new and interesting coffee in every shipment.
Why You'll Love It: To support small businesses, Moustache Coffee Club will let you redeem your Starbucks gift cards on their website. They also offer a "try it for free" option; they'll send you one 2 oz. bag at no cost.
Cost: $13—$22 every two weeks.
Subscribe at moustachecoffeeclub.com.
The Risk Taker
If you want to give your palate superpower-like abilities when it comes to telling where your coffee comes from, a subscription to Angel’s Cup is the answer. Each week, four new samples arrive at your doorstep; you can conduct blind coffee tastings and use the accompanying app (available on iTunes and Android) to make tasting notes and compare findings with the pros. If there’s a sample you don’t like, the 100% refund guarantee and no-cost return policy mean you’ll get your hard-earned cash back without any stress.
Why You’ll Love It: The same sample is never shipped twice, which means you’ll be able to taste upwards of 208 different roasts.
Cost: There are three subscription options: The Cupping Flight includes four 1 oz. samples for $10.99, The Black Box includes four 2.75oz samples for $22.99 and the All-Stars for $19.99 for one large bag.
Subscribe at angelscup.com.
The Can't-Go-Wrong Deal
Blue Bottle Coffee roasts your coffee to order and ships it to your home within 48 hours, so you know your morning cup will always be fresh. But that's not the best part. Blue Bottle lets customers try their coffee for free for the first time—all you need to cover is the cost of shipping. Choose from their famous coffee blends or espressos; it's completely on them. Now that's a win-win.
Why You'll Love It: In addition to their coffee and espresso selections, Blue Bottle also sells some pretty sweet products on their site, including a carafe for making cold brew at home. They also periodically offer events, classes, and seminars. Check their website to see what's brewing in your area.
Cost: A changing selection of their blends starts at $8 for whole beans; single-origin selections start at $9.50.
Subscribe at bluebottlecoffee.com.
The Die Hard
Not everyone wants their coffee delivered to their house ground—or even as a freshly roasted whole bean. Some coffee fanatics like to do the roasting themselves. Enter Roast Coffee Company, which delivers green, unroasted coffee beans in bags ranging from one to five pounds. You need a coffee roaster if you're going to go this route, but hey, if anything is going to take your coffee game to the next level, it's this.
Why You'll Love It: Not only is it pretty dang cool to roast and grind your coffee, you'll save tons of money cutting out the middleman (Also, Roast Coffee has great deals on roasted coffee, as well.).
Cost: $4.99 for a one-pound bag of unroasted coffee; $9.99 for a one-pound bag of roasted coffee.
Subscribe at roastcc.com
The Best Bang for Your Buck
If you want to try a new and exciting coffee but don’t know where to start, let Craft Coffee do the work. Get started on the website by choosing your normal store-bought beans from a list, and they’ll suggest one of their roasters as a comparable choice. Do you like Major Dickason’s from Peet’s? Try the Streetlight Blend! There’s an option to choose their famous three-coffee sampler (each month, the expert tasting panel evaluates over 50 coffees and each month, only three make their way to your door), which will give you 4 oz. of three similar roasts. There’s no commitment, you can choose your plan, and shipping is always free. Craft Coffee is also fierce about freshness. They roast their beans in Brooklyn and ship them off to you within 24-72 hours.
Why You’ll Love It: Craft Coffee has a price match guarantee, which means they’ll match the price of your grocery store beans to the penny.
Cost: 12 oz. bags start at $6.99, the three-coffee (4 oz. bags) sampler is $24.99.
Subscribe at craftcoffee.com.
The Cool Brew
Started by three guys who love java, Grady's recipe is a New Orleans-style cold brew made with coffee, chicory and spices. There are several ways to get your Grady’s. You can choose from a pour-and-store pouch, a bean bag can (DIY brew kit) or a bean bag single—whether you drink it straight, water it down or add milk is up to you.
Why You’ll Love It: You can do so much with a cold brew. Be sure to check out the online section with recipes for tasty eats like coffee cake, coffee popsicles, chocolate shakes and more. Yum!
Cost: Start with 12 ready-to-drink black coffees for $40, or save by ordering a 3, 6 or 12 month supply. Bonus: New York City residents can also order single servings or concentrate brew to be delivered for free.
Subscribe at gradyscoldbrew.com.
— Nicole Fabian-Weber, Gabby Cullen & Karly Wood
All images courtesy of retailers.
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