Coffee’s Ready!

It seems like everything is a subscription box service these days. Subscription shaving kits, socks, gear, fishing tackle box goodies, and even clothing box services are trending. Coffee subscription boxes are not new to the subscription game and with so many coffee subscriptions claiming to be the “best” how is a guy to choose which one to go with? We asked the same question and explored the subscription coffee game to find one that was “the perfect blend” (yes pun intended) of legit coffee, value, and price point. We poured over (sorry- layup) several coffee services and found one we thought was worth a shot (at it again) and asked our new friends at Bean Box Coffee if we could give their brand a go on a review. They said “cool beans” (last one promise) and sent us their coffee to try. 

What exactly is a subscription box?

Great question and probably a good place to set the stage for the review. A subscription box service typically is one where you pay a monthly or yearly fee and in exchange you receive shipments (in set increments) of a company's product or items. Most often the subscription service allows you to pick and choose your specific interests or tastes and then you receive those items in the mail. With regards to coffee subscriptions, most offer a variety of coffee customizations like roast, body, flavor profiles, locations of roasters and even the type of beans (most common are Arabica beans). Subscription boxes usually have a set flat fee/rate which can be adjusted based on the number items wanted, how often you receive a box, and degree of quality (of what’s in the box). So, yeah- you can see how finding the right subscription box, let alone a coffee subscription box, would be hard to decide upon. 

BEAN BOX INFO

Bean Box coffee subscription is a tour of the world’s best artisan coffees, delivered fresh right to your door. You start by choosing your subscription type, roast preference, and payment plan- and as always, everything ships FREE. Subscriptions start at $19 a month.

How the Subscription Works:

• Bean Box hand-picks gourmet coffees from Seattle and Portland's top roasters every month.

  The Current Lineup of Roasters:

• Whole bean coffee then ships freshly roasted to ensure peak flavor.

• Once the box arrives, brew and enjoy while discovering new favorites from world-renowned coffee roasters.

• Free to cancel any time. Skip months or change preferences ongoing.

WE TESTED: BEAN BOX SAMPLER

We gave Bean Box Coffee a “go” and tested out their sampler subscription box. In our review we received:

Bean Box Coffee Sampler Kit with 8 different coffee roasts including:

• Ladro Roasting: Diablo Dark Roast (#130)

  • Tastes: Tobacco, Dark Chocolate, Brown Sugar

  • Roast: Dark

• Fundamental Coffee Vietnam Opal Bold (#819)

  • Tastes: Tobacco, Spice, Cedar

  • Roast: Dark

• Velton’s Coffee Twilight Blend (#137)

  • Tastes: Cherry, Spice, Dark Chocolate

  • Roast: Dark

• Middle Fork Roasters Tough as Nails (#49)

  • Tastes: Pepper, Spice

  • Roast: Dark

• Water Avenue Blue Creek Blend (#644)

  • Tastes: Milk Chocolate, Hazelnut, Naval Orange

  • Roast: Medium

• Vashon Coffee Company Dark Side of the Moon (#294)

  • Tastes: Caramel, Chocolate, Cocoa

  • Roast: Dark

• Stamp Act Milk Money (#684)

  • Tastes: Caramel, Black Cherry, Chocolate

  • Roast: Medium

• Conduit Coffee Westlake Avenue Blend (#9)

  • Tastes: Chocolate, Brown Sugar, Cocoa

  • Roast: Medium

We brewed up each sample flavor and tested with standard drip coffee brew so we could maintain continuity in the testing of each blend. After sampling each of the options, our crew found them all to be unique, delicious, robust, and well roasted. Our crew picked 2 that we felt were the best of the best:

Both Fundamental and Stamp Act were on point with flavor, complexity, roast, and finish.

Stamp Act was light, yet rich enough for milk with a honey-like body of cocoa and caramel, with balanced notes of purple fruits, plums and black cherries.

Fundamental was robust, with an aroma of sweet brown sugar and fragrant cedar, a toasty body like malty dark beer, and a clean finish with a hint of tobacco and cracked pepper. Spicy like an Indonesian and smooth like a Hawaiian brew. Legit AF flavors right here.

VIBE

The box, the branding, the entire experience from Bean Box is stellar. The packaging of each coffee bag is clear, informative, and showcases exactly what you will be grinding up and brewing. The beans are clearly labeled marking when they were roasted, what roast profile they are, information about the roaster, and the back of the bag clearly shows you how to prepare the beans for coffee goodness. Bean Box makes it look so easy and fun to dive into some tasty flavors that you may not have known existed. Bean Box clearly hits their consumers dead on and delivers a great experience with each bag.

STANDOUT FEATURES

We found that this coffee subscription box had some takeaways and standout aspects we thought were notable:

• Each coffee we sampled was perfectly roasted and was delivered fresh

• The flavor variety is unlike any other subscription box we found

• The preference options are very easy to adjust and change as you need

• The flavors were on point, offered variety, and featured some coffee companies not known to many

• The information on each bag was spot on and helpful in learning about coffee beyond just “this is a coffee bean.”

With all the standout features and takeaways we found that for some the $19 price point (to start with) each month may be steep considering other coffee at the store could be cheaper. One thing to consider though is the level of flavor profiles and superb roasting that goes into each bag is unlike what you can find in the store. You truly get what you pay for- amazing coffee from amazing roasters.

Bean Box Overall duuude Factor: Just Brew It!

Want to get your hands on Bean Box? You can visit Bean Box or tap the button below to find out what coffee brew is right for you!