Your Guide to Coffee Subscriptions, Including the Best Options for Getting Fresh Beans Delivered to Your Door
Originally published on marthastewart.com
For many of us, coffee is an important part of our morning rituals, and a really good cup of joe can help make any day start off a little bit better. Since so many people are still working from home, grabbing a cup at the coffee shop near work may no longer be an option. If you're not used to making your own morning brew, or else you're ready to try something new, a coffee subscription is a great place to start.
The good news: There are so many excellent brands to explore. Browse the sites highlighted below and decide how you're going to expand your coffee palate. Plus, many of these subscriptions support small businesses (like artisan coffee roasters), so you're making an impact with every purchase.
Related: How to Clean a Coffee Maker
The Best Coffee Subscriptions of 2022
Best Single Origin Coffee: Oakland Coffee
Best Small Roaster Coffee: Trade Coffee
Best International Coffee: Atlas Coffee Club
Best Specialty Coffee: Bean Box
Best Flavor Selection: Super Coffee
Best Organic Coffee: Chamberlain Coffee
Best Artisan Coffee: MistoBox
Best Charitable Subscription: Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co.
Best Espresso Coffee: Blue Bottle Coffee
Best Vietnamese Coffee: Nguyen Coffee Supply
Best Sustainable Coffee: Driftaway
Best Female-Driven Coffee: Bean & Bean
Best Pour-Over Coffee: Copper Cow Coffee
What to Know About Coffee Subscriptions
There's usually no fee to sign up for a coffee subscription, and most allow you to cancel at any time, change the frequency of delivery, or swap out the coffee you've been getting for something different. The important thing to note is that you'll want to have a coffee grinder at home, as most services recommend you order whole bean coffee because coffee degrades once ground. The larger subscription services also offer a variety of frequency: Do you need a bag of coffee delivered every week, every two weeks, or every month? Maybe you need two bags of coffee every week! Whatever you need, there's a subscription service that can—quite literally—deliver.
Ready to Explore the World of Coffee?
We found a number of coffee subscription services that help you hone what you want in coffee through a questionnaire or a quiz, which helps you think about what you like (and don't) in coffee . Are you a fan of light roast or dark? Do you prefer citrus flavors or chocolate? Your answers to these types of questions help each company suggest coffee for you to try. There's a lot of flexibility in their offerings, and the subscriptions vary in price depending on types of coffees chosen (for example, blends are generally cheaper than single-origin coffee).
Related: Be Your Own Barista: How to Make Your Favorite Coffee Drinks at Home
Best Single Origin Coffee: Oakland Coffee
Created by the band Green Day as an ode to their favorite city, Oakland Coffee celebrates single origin blends. Instead of big, bold flavors, the brand focuses on the smoothness of the blend. When you join the Oakland Coffee Club, you can opt to receive a pre-selected mix or build your own box. Subscriptions start at $9.50 per month (for 10 single-serve cups). You can also order larger amounts (60 or 80 cups) as well as ground and whole bean coffee. Customize your delivery schedule, payment frequency, and more.
Shop Now: Oakland Coffee Subscription, from $9.50, oaklandcoffee.com.
Best Small Roaster Coffee: Trade Coffee
Trade Coffee works with more than 55 small roasters in regions across the U.S.—including Kuma Coffee (Seattle, Washington), Novo Coffee (Denver, Colorado), and Portrait Coffee (Atlanta, Georgia), among many others—to bring you premium beans and grounds. You're prompted to take a short quiz, which asks you about your preferred grind and roast level, whether you take any additions like cream and sugar, and what your favorite flavors are, to help the brand make recommendations on what coffees to try. There are two price levels: more attainable blends for $14.75 per bag and high-end blends for $15 to $22 per bag. You can manage your subscription at any time and all deliveries come with free shipping.
Shop Now: Trade Coffee Subscription, from $14.75, drinktrade.com.
Best International Coffee: Atlas Coffee Club
For a taste of coffee from around the world, look to Atlas Coffee Club. This international coffee subscription allows you to try brews from South America, Africa, Asia, and beyond, with a different country featured every month. The subscription also comes with tasting notes, brew information, and a postcard from the highlighted region. Customize your order by selecting the quantity, roast type, grind preference, and delivery frequency. Prices start at $9 per shipment for half a bag.
Shop Now: Atlas Coffee Club Subscription, from $9, atlascoffeeclub.com.
Best Speciality Coffee: Bean Box
Bean Box specializes in microlot coffees, which are coffee beans produced in a small batch away from the rest of the crop to ensure a unique flavor. If you want to give coffee subscriptions a try, go for the tasting subscription ($16.50 per month): four 1.8-ounce bags of coffee in every box, perfect for sampling. More seasoned coffee drinkers may prefer the regular coffee subscription, which comes with 12-ounce bags in weekly, biweekly, or monthly intervals, starting at $20 per shipment. Personalize your order, which includes free shipping, by selecting the roast and coffee type.
Shop Now: Bean Box Subscription, from $16.50, beanbox.com.
Best Flavor Selection: Super Coffee
Super Coffee is known for its vibrant flavors like caramel, hazelnut, and seasonal favorite maple pumpkin. This coffee subscription offers pods, fresh grounds, ready-to-drink coffee, and creamers for added taste and smoothness. Prices start at $16.99 for the creamers, and increase to $28.89 for a 12-pack of the ready-to-drink coffees. Subscriptions offer flexibility in terms of pauses and cancellations, and you can add single items to any order.
Shop Now: Super Coffee Subscription, from $9.99, drinksupercoffee.com.
Best Organic Coffee: Chamberlain Coffee
For the purest organic coffee, look no further than Chamberlain Coffee, a champion of certified USDA organic blends. Using a short quiz, this company will assess your preferences and give you specific recommendations about which flavors and blends to try. Chamberlain Coffee also lets you build your own subscription, allowing you to choose from coffees like The Family Blend, Early Bird, Careless Cat, Sleepy Sloth, and more. These whimsical-sounding blends range from light to dark roast, decaf to espresso, and classic to bold flavors. Prices start at $14 per shipment with steeped, ground, and whole bean options.
Shop Now: Chamberlain Coffee Subscription, from $14, chamberlaincoffee.com.
Best Artisan Coffee: MistoBox
MistoBox works with about 50 artisan roasters around the country—and offers more than 500 different blends—so a subscription gives you the chance to taste coffees that smaller roasters are excited about. Select the one you want or be guided to a great blend by the brand's quiz, which offers up recommendations from a "coffee curator." Coffees are roasted to order and shipped directly from the roaster, ensuring optimal freshness. There are different levels of coffee subscriptions, depending on how much you'd like to pay, including basic, deluxe, and exclusive. A basic subscription starts at $11.95 a month for one 12-ounce bag (if you sign up for six or 12 months, the price drops to $10.16 per bag).
Shop Now: MistoBox Subscription, from $10.16, mistobox.com.
Best Charitable Subscription: Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co.
If you want your morning cup of coffee to mean a little more, check out Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co., where every coffee subscription contributes to animal rescue initiatives across the U.S. Made from the classic arabica bean, Grounds & Hounds coffee is a high-quality and delicious product. You have complete control over your order, with the ability to select the type of coffee, quantity, and delivery schedule you want. The coffee club prices start at $12.99 per shipment for a 12-pod box, with options of up to 48 pods, ground, or whole bean coffee. Since its founding, Grounds & Hounds has provided more than 2.1 million shelter meals to animals in need.
Shop Now: Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. Subscription, from $12.99, groundsandhoundscoffee.com.
Best Espresso Coffee: Blue Bottle
Considered the Apple of coffee, Blue Bottle's is known for its precision. Their coffee subscriptions allow you to choose from a mix of can be Blue Bottle blends, single origin coffees, or all espresso. The cCoffee is roasted to order and shipped within 48 hours of roasting. A subscription starts at $9.50 a month for one six-ounce bag, but there are several different options available. They also offer large bags or multiple bags delivered once a month. To determine your best coffee match, take the company's quiz and receive recommendations of products for which coffees you should add to your subscription.
Shop now: Blue Bottle Subscription, from $9.50, bluebottlecoffee.com.
Related: From Bean to Cup: At Work with Two Female Coffee Roasters
Best Vietnamese Coffee: Nguyen Coffee Supply
Nguyen Coffee Supply has worked hard to represent Vietnamese coffee across the industry. As the first specialty Vietnamese coffee company, the brand creates coffee with both the arabica bean and the robusta bean—which is grown abundantly in Vietnam. When choosing a subscription, you'll be presented with three blend varieties: the Moxy (medium-strength), the Loyalty (strong), and TrueGrit (extra-strong). You can request the type of coffee you prefer, the amount of coffee you want, and the frequency of your delivery. Prices start at $19 per shipment for one bag of TrueGrit and vary depending on the size of your order and the blends you choose.
Shop Now: Nguyen Coffee Supply Subscription, from $19, nguyencoffeesupply.com.
Best Sustainable Coffee: Driftaway
When you sign up for a subscription at Driftaway, you can be sure your coffee is both premium quality and completely sustainable. Using ground transport, compostable packaging, and carbon neutral practices, Driftaway is an environmentally conscious company that works to improve the sustainability of coffee production. Your first order will be an "explorer" package in which you're given different coffees to try and asked to report back on your preferences for a more curated experience. You can also skip this starter package if you know which coffee you like. Other specifications include the amount of coffee you want delivered and billing and delivery frequency. Prices start at $16 per shipment with lowered costs for longer subscriptions.
Shop Now: Driftaway Subscription, from $16, driftaway.coffee.
Best Female-Driven Coffee: Bean & Bean
Started by mother-daughter duo Rachel and Jiyoon Han, Bean & Bean offers flavor combinations like chocolate and nutty, floral and delicate, and fruity and bright that'll delight your taste buds. The company puts an emphasis on female empowerment, using female roasters to produce many of its coffee selections. Prices start at $16.20 for biweekly deliveries. You can also opt for three-, six-, or 12-month subscriptions featuring Bean & Bean's five signature coffees.
Shop Now: Bean & Bean Subscription, from $16.20, beannbeancoffee.com.
Best Pour-Over Coffee: Copper Cow Coffee
Copper Cow Coffee offers a wide variety of pour-over coffees with rich flavors like lavender, caramel, and churro. When you subscribe, you save 20 percent on all orders—prices start at $11.20 for one box of coffee. To further personalize your box, you can take Copper Cow's short quiz to determine your coffee preferences and get a more curated selection. The brand makes it easy to manage your subscription through your account, and free shipping is available for orders over $30.
Shop Now: Copper Cow Coffee Subscription, from $11.20, coppercowcoffee.com.