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The Best Retail Subscription
Trade Coffee Subscription
The Best Retail Subscription for Decaf
Swiss Water Decaf
The Best Gift Set
Bean Box Perfectly Paired Chocolate + Coffee Tasting
The Best Single Origin Roaster
Atlas Coffee Club
A cup of coffee in the morning is not just about the caffeine (though that’s certainly important). It’s the ritual that starts the day. There’s the whir of beans grinding, the toasted smell as it brews—even waiting for your finished cup is a part of the fun. It’s time to start creeping toward wakefulness like the sun peeking over the horizon in an old-timey Folgers commercial—all fuzzy and warm and full of promise. Unless that is, you’re out of coffee. Then it’s dull, gray, and cold.
One of the best ways to avoid running out of beans is a coffee subscription. You choose how many times a month (or week, if you drink a lot of coffee) you’d like fresh-roast coffee beans delivered straight to your home, sign up, and never have to worry about running out of coffee again. Over the years we’ve tested dozens of coffee subscription services, and here we’ve broken them down into two major categories for your perusal: coffee roasters and coffee retailers. Which is which? Read on!
Be sure to check our other coffee buying guides, including the Best Espresso Machines, Best Latte and Cappuccino Machines, and Best Coffee Grinders.
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Updated March 2024: We added a section explaining the difference between roasters and retailers, updated the name of Quintal to Origin Roasted, and added Bean Box and Swiss Water subscriptions.
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Photograph: Trade Coffee
The Best Retail Subscription
Trade Coffee Subscription
Trade Coffee’s specialty is bringing coffee from small roasters to the forefront. The company doesn’t roast its own beans; it partners with roasters and makes it simple for you to get beans from boutique roasters around the US.
Trade Coffee has everything you want from a coffee subscription, including a simple questionnaire to help match your tastes to its coffees, and a helpful website to browse new coffee and make notes about coffees you like (or don’t). Trade’s selection is huge, too. At the time of writing, there are more than 400 possibilities to choose from (this is why the smart questionnaire is so helpful), and the selection is split pretty evenly between blends and single-origin options.
Retailer. Delivery options: One, two, three, four, or six weeks. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Swiss Water
The Best Retail Subscription for Decaf
Swiss Water Decaf
Swiss Water, the company behind the Swiss Water decaffeination process, offers its own subscription service to bring you the very best decaf roasts from across the US. I had a chance to sample Swiss Water’s offerings recently, and as a longtime fan of decaf I came away very impressed.
The coffees were all full-flavored and robust, and managed to retain both delicate floral notes and richer chocolatey notes despite the decaffeination process. They also all passed the smell test. If a coffee is decaffeinated improperly, you can tell from the way it smells. You shouldn’t be able to tell a coffee is decaf just from the aroma; if you can, you should pick something else.
Retailer. Delivery options: One, two, three, or four weeks. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Bean Box
The Best Gift Set
Bean Box Perfectly Paired Chocolate + Coffee Tasting
A lot of coffee subscription providers offer some kind of seasonal gift option, but Bean Box’s Perfectly Paired Chocolate + Coffee Tasting set is the first one I found myself wanting to reorder. It’s a tasting flight of 1.8-ounce coffee bags, each paired with a different artisan chocolate to bring out the depth in both items. I’m not always a big breakfast person; my favorite foods are breakfast foods, but I don’t usually get hungry until I’ve been awake for a while. Having a little snack with my morning coffee was a fun tweak on my usual ritual, and I have to say, the pairings are perfect. Each chocolate brings out flavors in the coffee I’d otherwise have missed, and each coffee reveals flavors in the chocolate that I just couldn’t taste without it.
There are two versions available: regular and deluxe. Regular comes with four coffees and four chocolate. Deluxe comes with eight of each.
Retailer. One-off purchase.
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Photograph: Atlas
The Best Single Origin Roaster
Atlas Coffee Club
Atlas delivers great single-origin beans from all over the world. Unlike Trade Coffee, it roasts those beans itself in Austin, Texas, and gets them to your door shortly thereafter. The subscription options are simpler than Trade. You can choose between light-to-medium or medium-to-dark roasts—or if you feel like exploring, choose both. We did the latter and have now sampled beans from six countries. Each arrived on time, nicely packaged, complete with some notes about the country of origin. WIRED reviews editor Julian Chokkattu subscribed to Atlas for more than two years and very much enjoyed his experience, even if he’s run through nearly all of its countries more than twice over.
You may get some beans you aren’t as fond of, because Atlas is an exploratory experience. To us, this is part of the fun, but if you’re looking for a subscription that’s very dialed-in and exactly matches your tastes, this may not be the best choice. That said, we have yet to encounter a coffee we thought was bad—even beans some of our staff aren’t fond of, like a medium-roast Guatemalan, were still excellent quality beans and well roasted.
Retailer. Delivery options: Two or four weeks
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Photograph: Bean and Bean
The Best NYC Roaster
Bean & Bean Coffee Subscription
Bean & Bean coffee roasts one of my all-time favorite coffees: the Guatemala MWP Decaf. It’s rich and chocolatey, with delightfully fruity notes. Honestly, you’d never know it’s decaf. And I can say that with absolute certainty because more than once I’ve mistaken a full-caff coffee for it and only noticed once my knee started bouncing.
Bean & Bean is owned by a mother-daughter team who went into business together for two reasons: to roast great coffee and to improve the working conditions for women in the coffee industry. From farm to roaster, women earn significantly less than men. They’re not offered the same business opportunities or training that small coffee farms owned by men are often offered by big coffee buyers. Rachel and Jiyoon at Bean & Bean saw this and decided they needed to do something. You can read more about how they ensure their coffees are ethically sourced and uplift women all over the world here.
Roaster. Delivery options: Two-week and four-week delivery options. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Tostado
The Best Portland Roaster
Tostado Coffee
Tostado is one of my favorite coffee roasteries of all time. The coffee is roasted to perfection. Whether you like light, medium, or dark roasts, Tostado’s small-batch beans grown in small farms in Mexico produce rich, full-bodied, and flavorful coffee. My personal favorite is Tonala, a medium dark roast from Chiapas, Mexico. It has a chocolatey flavor and warm roasty smell that fills my whole apartment when I grind it.
Each bag carries one of Tostado’s signature pompoms, made by Indigenous women from Tenejapa village in Chiapas, Mexico. It’s a symbol of Tostado’s commitment to supporting Indigenous communities. A portion of profits and tips are donated to Indigenous microproducers in Chiapas and Oaxaca, Mexico.
Roaster. Delivery options: One, two, three, four, and eight weeks. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Origin Roasted
The Best International Roasters
Origin Roasted
The Origin Roasted folks must have some amazing connections with the growers down there, because each month they send a 12-ounce bag of specialty beans that are roasted, packed, and shipped directly from the same part of the world where the coffee was harvested. Shipping straight from the origin within one to three days of roasting means the coffee is going to be as fresh as possible when it arrives. A side benefit is that more of the proceeds from the coffee sales go directly to the growers and roasters in their home countries.
After drinking Origin Roasted coffee since the service launched in the summer of 2021 (when it was known as Quintal), I’ve found all the selections to be just superb, with floral and fruity notes that I’ve rarely tasted in store-bought coffee. I’ve also done internet searches for some of the names on the labels of my favorite bags (Jalapa Producers from Guatemala; Azahar from Risaralda, Colombia), and these beans are pretty special. Even if you can find them stateside, they command higher prices than what you pay through Origin Roasted. This subscription service is brought to you by the same people who make the VacOne coffee brewer, which we gave high marks to when we reviewed it. But you don’t need a special brewer to fully enjoy these beans; I drink mine using a pour-over method. —Michael Calore
Roaster. Delivery: Ships on the last Friday of every month. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Grit
Roaster Supporting Farmers Directly
Grit Coffee Subscription
From its roastery in Charlottesville, Virginia, Grit Coffee roasts up some of our favorite blends. The Side Hustle blend has become a daily driver for me. It’s roasty and chocolatey, with just a subtle high note of acidity to balance things out. It makes a great espresso, hot or iced, and a truly stellar pour-over.
The Grit Coffee team not only knows how to whip up a spectacular blend, but they’re also committed to ethically sourcing their beans. Relationships between farmers and coffee roasters are often a bit tenuous. Weather and economic fluctuations can make it difficult for farmers to always hit the same yields that roasters require, and sometimes that means roasters have to buy coffee elsewhere. One of the ways Grit Coffee supports the farmers it works with is by making long-term commitments (around 10 years), so the farmers can rely on continuing to receive orders from Grit, reducing the volatility of their income.
Roaster. Delivery options: Every week, two weeks, three weeks, all the way up to every eight weeks. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Partners
Another Great NYC Based Roaster
Partners Coffee
Partners Coffee is a Brooklyn-based small-batch coffee roaster that offers subscriptions by blend. Partners roasts and ships all orders within two days, so it arrives at your door as fresh as possible. I tested the whole bean Manhattan roast and Ghost Town decaf, and both were excellent. Overall, I would call Partners a great source for those who like light to medium roasts. One thing I really like about subscribing is the ability to manage your subscription by text, allowing you to skip your order, double up if you have visitors coming, or swap your normal blend for something new. You also get regular emails just before your next subscription blend ships, letting you know about any deals and limited-release coffees. —Scott Gilbertson
Roaster. Delivery options: One, two, three, and four weeks. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Marigold Coffee
Woman-Owned, Portland-Roasted
Marigold Coffee
Marigold Coffee is local to Portland, and it’s one of the city’s best-kept secrets. The coffee they roast is rich, varied, and there are always new blends and single-origin roasts to try—even if I do tend to stick with my favorite blend, Squirrel Rhapsody. I also have to mention what a joy it is to see a colorful Marigold Coffee bag in my kitchen every morning.
Marigold Coffee is run by sisters Joey and Cassy Gleason, who pay their success forward through the Buckman Coffee Factory, a shared roasting space that acts as an incubator for other up-and-coming coffee roasters.
Roaster. Delivery options: Every two weeks or four weeks. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Blue Bottle
A Roaster Who Helps You Choose
Blue Bottle Coffee
Blue Bottle is one of the older coffee subscriptions. It’s still great, though its selection is not as extensive as some of the newcomers. Where the company stands out is freshness—it promises to ship your coffee within 24 hours of roasting. Blue Bottle has a 10-question survey it uses to pair you with coffee you’ll love. Its questions aren’t just about coffee; they ask about your favorite chocolate and even salad dressing. It might seem odd, but it works. WIRED senior reviewer Scott Gilbertson got excellent pairings that were among the best coffee he’s tried for this guide. Blue Bottle also has a decaf option.
Roaster. Delivery options: One, two, three, or four weeks. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Trucup
Roaster Reducing Heartburn
Trücup Coffee
Trücup isn’t a traditional subscription service and shouldn’t really be on this list, but it has a really low acid content. That makes it a great option for coffee lovers with sensitive stomachs who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease or heartburn. If you’ve been diagnosed with GERD, talk to your physician before you try Trücup, though.
Trücup is worth your time even if you’re fortunate enough to have a stomach that can handle normal coffee. It’s a top pick for drinking in the afternoon and evenings, as it’s mellow and easier on the stomach. You can subscribe at checkout after you choose a bag or make it a one-time purchase.
Roaster. Delivery options: One through 12 weeks. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Birds and Beans
Bird-Friendly Coffee Roaster
Birds & Beans Coffee
Tropical agriculture—like coffee—is a major source of biodiversity loss. That’s where Birds & Beans coffee can help. The dark roasts are delicious and genuinely dark (Scarlet Tanager is my favorite) and all Birds & Beans coffee is sourced from Smithsonian-certified, bird-friendly farms.
It’s also certified fair trade and organic. That means the coffee comes from coffee plantations that are making an effort to increase tree cover and create more biodiverse farms. A 12-year study in Costa Rica found that even coffee plantations with “modestly higher tree cover” had higher bird diversity, a good indicator of overall biodiversity. Buying your beans from bird-friendly coffee sources like Birds & Beans can help improve the overall biodiversity of tropical farms. It’s a way to have an impact on the long-term sustainability of tropical crops, wildlife, and people, along with a great tasting cup of coffee.
Roaster. Delivery options: every two to 13 weeks. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Grounds and Hounds
Roaster Supporting Animals
Grounds and Hounds
Grounds and Hounds offers small-batch roasted blends and single-origin coffee, with 20 percent of its profits going to benefit animal shelters. The brand has some of my personal favorite coffees, especially the dark roasts. (Try the Snow Day Winter Roast when it’s available.)
There are two kinds of subscriptions at Grounds and Hounds—a traditional plan where you pick what you’d like to try, and a gift plan if you’re buying for someone else. We tested the former, opting for whole bean (ground and single-serve pods are also options), and its “Roaster’s Select” beans, which let us sample a few different varieties. As soon as we found what we liked, we switched the subscription to that bean. When you sign up, Grounds and Hounds will let you know how your money is helping animal shelters. In the case of a single bag, a weekly subscription provides roughly 800 meals per year to shelters.
Roaster. Delivery options: One, two, four, or eight weeks. Priced per bag.
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Photograph: Mistobox
Honorable Mentions
Honorable Mention
There are so many coffee subscriptions out there, and honestly a lot of them are very good. This list would need to be like three times as long to capture each and every one, at the very least! We have way more subscriptions we’ve loved than we have space to talk about them, so here we’ve gathered some past picks that we really like, or who offer very specific services. Have a favorite we haven’t tried? Comment below, or send me an email.
- Angel’s Cup ($17 per bag): Angel’s Cup is more like a distance-learning coffee school than a box subscription service. WIRED senior reviewer Scott Gilbertson strongly recommends giving the Black Box subscription a try. You will learn what you actually like and dislike about coffee, along with some education through the app, roaster’s notes, and notes from fellow tasters.
- Mistobox ($15 per bag): With more than 500 coffees from 50-plus roasters, Mistobox makes a good gift subscription, especially if you don’t know what kind of coffee to get someone. Somewhere in those 500 choices, your coffee fanatic should find something that will make them happy.
- Cometeer ($84 per box of 32 pods): I was skeptical of Cometeer’s flash-frozen coffee capsules, but after trying them out, I’m a believer (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It’s pretty expensive compared to our other subscription options on this list, but it’s important to keep in mind that you don’t need a grinder or coffee machine of any kind to enjoy café-quality coffee from one of these little capsules.
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Photograph: Matusajdos/Getty Images
Roasters & Retailers
Coffee Roasters
All right, so you want to buy a coffee subscription. Here’s the most important information you need up front. There are two kinds of subscription providers: roasters and retailers. There are pros and cons to both, and we’ve laid them out below.
Roasters are the cafés, coffee roasteries, and small-batch producers who actually buy the raw beans from farmers and roast them to perfection. By buying from a roaster, you’re directly supporting the people who make your favorite coffees; there’s no middleman between you and your coffee. The downside is you won’t have as broad a selection available to you. Roasters sell only their own coffee, but that sometimes means special blends and single origins are available from a roaster that you can’t get from a retailer.
Retailers are coffee subscription providers who buy their beans from roasters then ship them to you. That means they will often have a much broader selection of coffees available (from multiple brands) to ship to your doorstep. The downside is that since you’re not buying directly from a roaster, some of that money goes to the retailer, and not all retailers will have access to every blend and roast a particular brand offers.
There’s no wrong answer; they just provide different services. Think of it like buying coffee from your favorite café versus buying coffee at a supermarket. It just depends on what you’re looking for. Since there are fewer of them, we’ve listed our favorite retailers up top, and the rest of the picks are roasters.
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Photograph: Getty Images
Coffee Help
Tips and Tricks
Subscription beans vs. locally roasted beans: These subscription services all produce killer coffee beans, and they all taste great. But none of them taste better than coffee roasted locally. For the most flavorful coffee that has a direct impact on your community, you’re best served by looking up local coffee roasters—whether that’s a café in the same city, state, or geographical region. Coffee is at its best shortly after roasting. The longer it stays on a shelf or on a delivery truck, the less flavorful it’ll be. Plus, ordering coffee locally minimizes the environmental impact of having stuff shipped from across the country (or across the continent). The best way to do that is by heading to your local coffee shop and having a look at what coffee they serve. (They might even roast and sell their own!)
How we tested, and how you should: To test these subscriptions, we brewed each bag in different ways to see which beans were best suited to which brewing method. It’s worth doing the same if you have access to different brewing methods, especially if you opt for a subscription that offers a lot of variety. A roast that makes a great shot of espresso does not necessarily make the best pour-over coffee. In the same vein, take notes on what you like and dislike. Several of these services have very nice websites where you can record your notes and mark particular coffees you liked. Take advantage of these features, because you will probably forget. The coffee never stops coming with these subscriptions, which is both a blessing and a curse. If you’d like some more pointers, be sure to read our guide to brewing better coffee at home.
Let’s destigmatize decaf: Coffee aficionados are a fickle bunch, and they tend to like dunking on people who drink decaf. But here’s the thing: Decaf can be good. Yes, the decaffeination process changes the flavor, and yes, you often miss out on delicate floral notes. It’s unfair to exclude people from enjoying coffee, period, and talking smack about decaf coffee can also be ableist. Drinking caffeinated coffee all day can seriously impact your sleep, and some people can’t tolerate caffeine for medical reasons or just don’t like the way it makes them feel or the way it interacts with certain medications. Coffee is for everyone! There is such a thing as good decaf, and many of our favorite services offer a selection of decaffeinated coffee. Even if you’re a caffeine fiend, it can be nice to unwind with a cup of decaf in the evening—it’s especially well suited for mixed espresso drinks, where typically bold chocolatey and smokey notes can really bring a mocha to life. Even in a French press or pour-over context, decaf (or a blend of decaf and caffeinated beans) is a good pick for afternoon coffee service. No need to worry about afternoon jitters or insomnia.