More Coffee Subscriptions WIRED Recommends
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
There are so many coffee subscriptions out there, and honestly, a lot of them are very good coffee. Some are even amazing coffee. This list would need to be three times as long to capture every one of them at the least. I have way more subscriptions I've loved than I have space to talk about them, so here I've gathered some past picks that we here at WIRED like; some of these provide very specific services too. Have a favorite we haven't tried? Send an email to [email protected]
Gento Coffee for $48 for two bags: Gento is part of a new and welcome trend: growers who roast their own coffee and ship directly from the source. In Guatemala, Gento takes this a step further, roasting beans from other local growers that rank among the most esteemed bean farms in the world. But in this case, the beans might only travel down the road to be roasted. The single-origin subscription is really the play, here. Alongside roasts from Gento's own beans from the Prentice family farm, you might find roasts from esteemed Guatemalan growers like Genaro Juarez and Patrona Perez. If those names don't mean anything to you yet, they will after you try them.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Camber Coffee for $20+ per 12-ounce bag: Bellingham, Washington, roaster Camber Coffee slipped under the radar for me for maybe too long—but amid its 10-year anniversary celebrations, I finally remedied this. Camber makes distinguished, aromatic, balanced single-origin coffees and a truly chocolatey espresso blend called Big Joy that lives up to its name: it's like a fudge brownie in espresso form. Subscriptions net you 10 percent off list price on each bag.
Sunday Coffee Project for $27 per box ($45 for two): Portland's Sunday Coffee Project is a roaster without a café, a fun art project, and a home to some of the most distinctive, funky, fruity, interesting coffee I know in this country. This could be a yeast-fermented Thai light roast that tastes a whole lot like Sangria, or an Ethiopian so floral you'll swear you got invited to a spring wedding. Plus, your coffee comes in a little art box, designed to look like a coffee-themed children's cereal complete with games on the back and a little cartoon character on the front: maybe a sheep lifting weights or a snake playing tennis. It's a wee roaster, and they've dialed back their offerings from weekly new roasts to monthly new roasts. But if you like light and adventurous coffee, a box from Sunday Coffee Project may be your favorite thing you get in the mail that month.
Photograph: Trucup
Trücup for $16 per 12-ounce bag: Are you sensitive to the acids in coffee, but you love coffee? Trücup makes unique, low-acid coffee through what it calls a natural steam process, which makes it a great option for caffeine lovers with sensitive stomachs or those who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease or heartburn. (Standard disclaimer: If you've been diagnosed with GERD, talk to your physician before you try any coffee.) Either way, even those with well-fortified stomachs may want to take note. WIRED Reviewer Scott Gilbertson loves this coffee for a more mellow cup in the afternoon or evening.
Wonderstate Coffee for $19 to $21 per 10.5 ounce bag: Wisconsin's Wonderstate, previously named Kickapoo, is quite possibly the nation's first fully solar-powered roaster—and has a long and vocal commitment to providing higher pay to farmers. It's also a quite excellent roaster. The most recent batch of single origins I tried had a tendency toward light, subtle, mild-mannered, and lightly tannic brews—a cosmopolitan palate that's also Midwestern-polite.
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
French Truck Coffee for $18 to $22 a bag: French Truck Coffee got its start in New Orleans and now has a dozen of its signature yellow storefronts scattered around town. WIRED operations manager Scott Gilbertson is a fan of the Big River blend, which has a deep, rich, and very robust flavor profile that's especially well-suited to pour-over brewing. In fact, French Truck has some of the most detailed brewing instructions around.
Birds & Beans Coffee for $18+ a bag: Like birds? Clear-cut coffee farms can be hard on them. But Birds & Beans is a coffee roaster devoted to making sure its coffee is grown in Smithsonian-certified, bird-friendly farms with tree cover that helps birds thrive. The dark roasts in particular are delicious and genuinely dark: Scarlet Tanager is a favorite of WIRED operations manager Scott Gilbertson.
Stone Creek Coffee for $40 (two bags): Milwaukee-based Stone Creek Coffee delivers its fresh, flavorful coffee in big 1-pound bags, with a variety of blends and single-origin options available. The Cream City blend in particular is a delightful medium roast with some warmer flavor notes like chocolate and brown sugar rounded out by some fruity flavors, according to former WIRED coffee writer Jaina Grey, giving the coffee an almost cacao nib flavor. Add a little milk and it's almost like drinking hot cocoa. A monthly subscription delivers two bags a shipment.
Grit Coffee for $17+ a bag: From its roastery in Charlottesville, Virginia, Grit Coffee roasts up excellent blends, including an excellent, roasty, chocolatey Side Hustle blend with a subtle high note of acidity to balance it out. But what really differentiates Grit from other roasters is grit. The roaster makes long-term, often 10-year commitments to its coffee farmers.
Photograph: Jaina Grey; Getty Images
Lady Falcon for $45 (two bags): Lady Falcon Coffee Club may draw you in with the art nouveau-style bags. But the luscious, velvety coffee within is what will keep you coming back, according to former WIRED reviewer Jaina Grey. Each coffee blend is thoughtfully mixed to heighten the flavors present in the contributing coffees, and the flavor notes are spot-on.
Angels’ Cup for $28 a bag: Angels’ Cup is more like a distance-learning coffee school than a box subscription service, and the Black Box subscription is like a blind coffee tasting from afar. 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 for $16+ a bag: With more than 500 different 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.
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