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If you’re a coffee drinker, you know there’s nothing worse than dragging yourself out of bed only to realize you’ve run out of beans. That’s where the best coffee subscriptions come in. These services guarantee that you’ll have a supply of freshly roasted coffee, just the way you like it, at all times. We know coffee preferences can be wide-ranging, which is why we’ve scoured the earth for subscriptions that offer tailored picks for different kinds of coffee lovers, whether you’re a third-wave coffee nerd looking to try a new craft roaster or a decaf drinker on the hunt for some actually good decaffeinated beans. After years of testing, Trade is our top pick—but depending on what kind of coffee you like, we have recommendations for plenty of other options.
The best coffee subscriptions
While each of the following services was subjected to extensive testing by a member of the Bon Appétit staff, there were two guiding principles we followed in selecting which subscriptions to test.
For one, we made sure only to test subscription services that guarantee freshly roasted beans, either roasted to order or within a week or so of shipping. That’s because a coffee’s freshness has a huge impact on its flavor once brewed, no matter if you’re using a fancy espresso machine or a simple French press.
The other major factor in your coffee’s flavor is how recently the beans were ground. We’re big advocates of ordering whole bean coffee and grinding the beans just before brewing, so all of the options we tested at least have that as an option. (Of course, we know that many people may prefer the convenience of ground coffee. Most of the services below offer that as an option, too, although we’ll continue to raise our eyebrows at you until you get a good coffee grinder.)
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The best coffee subscription service overall: Trade
Trade Coffee Subscription
Pros
- A generalized service that partners with over 50 roasters
- Very intuitive interface and flexible ordering options
- Complete trackability so you know when more coffee is coming
Cons
- I would rather try to support more local roasters but can’t always manage to get beans in time or make special trips just to buy them
Price: starting at $15.75/10.93-oz. bag, with free shipping
Delivery frequency: Every 7, 10, or 14 days for the curated subscription, or 1–4 deliveries per month for single variety subscriptions
Our go-to order: The “Most Popular Collection,” featuring fan-favorite coffees like the candy-bar-sweet Compass blend from Common Voice in Nashville, and easy-drinking medium roast Kickstart from Greater Goods in Austin
Tester: Chris Morocco, food director
Best for: Someone looking for great specialty coffee with an interest in trying a number of different roasters, and even in different roasting styles.
Trade is a multi-roaster subscription that pulls in coffee from all over the country. It was lightning-fast to set up, even accounting for my preferences. I liked how easy it was to set up, but also to amend. It is really hard to know how my own preferences will line up with a given company’s descriptions, and as I tasted through different coffees, it was clear it wouldn’t be an issue to switch to a different roast profile if I wanted to. I have tried subscriptions in the past that made it very finicky to switch from light to dark.
This was the easiest subscription I have ever set up, and Trade did such a good job of hitting my preferences right in their sweet spot: medium roast, medium body, medium fruit…just medium all around. I have gotten stuck in the past tasting the same coffees or style of coffee over and over, and after just two bags, I could tell this would be different.
I set up an order for one 12-oz. bag of whole beans every two weeks, which is just slightly less than what I regularly consume. The first bag was Atomic Roasters Space Cadet out of Peabody, MA, and my second bag was Sparrows Coffee, Harmony Series All Seasons Blend from Grand Rapids, MI. I loved the Sparrow in particular because it had just enough roast to it to feel pleasantly dense and weighty on my palate, yet with enough fruit, brightness, and acid to feel lively. When I clicked the box for “medium roast” coffee, this is exactly what I had in mind. I only do pour-over at home, and this was awesome in my Hario V60 coffee dripper.
The bottom line? There is a lot of great coffee out in the world, but finding it and getting it right when you want it can be a challenge. Trade takes care of that for you, making this subscription absolutely worth it.
The best multi-roaster coffee subscriptions
The best single-origin coffee subscription: Atlas Coffee Club
Atlas Coffee Club Subscription
Pros
- Cost is reasonable, considering it’s fair traded, sustainable, and globally sourced
- Thoughtful packaging and information cards
Cons
- For the double bag option, would like to be able to opt to receive two different coffees
- Shipping was on the slow side
Price: $11/6-oz. bag, $17/12-oz. bag
Delivery frequency: every 2 or 4 weeks
Our go-to order: The selection rotates, but the beans from Colombia—with notes of toasted graham cracker and marshmallow—is a definite highlight
Tester: Kelly Janke, director, culinary production
Best for: The globally curious coffee connoisseur.
If you’re a curious coffee connoisseur looking to try single-origin coffee from around the world while directly supporting fair trade and sustainable practices, Atlas is the subscription service for you. Every month, you’ll get a bag of single-origin coffee from a different country that comes with an ID card detailing sourcing information and tasting notes.
The ordering process was easy. It asked me a few questions about my preferences in roast level, brewing type, and coffee quantity, with options ranging from a half bag to four bags per month. The shipping did seem to take longer than I expected, which was my main qualm with the service.
The beans I received in my first month were medium roast from Rwanda. I really enjoyed the cards that came in the box with tasting notes and information on the growing region. I had chosen two bags per month because I drink a fair amount of coffee, but it’s worth noting that this meant I received 2 of the same exact coffee (which wasn’t clear at the time of ordering—I had assumed they would be different). I ground the beans in my Oxo burr coffee grinder to a medium grind, and brewed in a Chemex with a metal reusable filter using a 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio. The coffee definitely tasted on the darker side of a medium with notes of grape, red apple, and roasted almonds. I love to try new coffee varieties and appreciate the difference; if you feel similarly, then Atlas is a great option for you.
For the adventurous coffee drinker: Podium Coffee Club Podium Platinum
Podium Platinum Coffee Subscription
Pros
- Variety of coffees you never would have heard of or tried
- Cool and unique flavor notes and/or experimental processing
Cons
- Only one bag per month
- Expensive
- No customization options
Price: $29.50/10.58-oz. bag
Delivery frequency: Every month
Our go-to order: Podium Platinum subscription
Tester: Noah Kaufman and Alaina Chou
Best for: People interested in discovering unique coffees from a variety of roasters.
If you’re the kind of person who’s always ordering the fun new seasonal pour-over option at your local craft coffee shop, or who hunts down rare varietals of beans like it’s your job, Podium Coffee Club’s Podium Platinum is the coffee subscription for you. Founded in 2023, Podium is a relatively new kid on the block in the world of coffee subs. The concept? A subscription service that solely sends out coffees that have stood on the podium (hence the name) at a major US coffee competition. The brand’s Podium Platinum subscription focuses in on coffees that are unique and experimental in some way, be it flavor-wise, varietal-wise, or through the processing technique used.
In the two months we’ve tested this service so far, we’ve received two bags of coffee that have lived up to that claim. The first bag was a light roast from Royal Flamingo Coffee, a micro-roasted based in Columbus, Ohio. The beans, grown in Colombia, were made using the Black Honey process and mossto lactic fermentation, which you can read more about on Podium’s website. The notes of blueberries, white chocolate, and florals definitely came through in the brewed coffee in both smell and taste, though not too aggressively. We quite enjoyed this one.
The next coffee hailed from Wonderstate Coffee and claimed notes of gummy bear, melon, and cooked berries. That might seem like a crazy flavor profile for a bag of coffee, but the brewed stuff was subtle and highly drinkable.
The bottom line? This is a great coffee subscription to get if you’re looking to explore, nerd out on coffee-making processes, or discover award-winning roasters from across the country. Note that Podium also offers a less expensive Podium Gold subscription option, which does not get you the same unique selection that the Platinum offers.
For people who want to taste a wide variety of coffee: Bean Box
Bean Box Coffee Subscription
Pros
- Absolutely massive selection of expertly curated coffees
- Tremendous support of local, small-batch, sustainably sourced roasters who appear to be putting morality above sheer profits
- Ability to customize order preferences
Cons
- Price: A 12-oz. bag every week will run you $80 a month, and one bag every 4 weeks is a $24 order
Price: $22/12-oz. bag
Delivery frequency: Every 2 or 4 weeks
Our go-to order: Cloud City Blend #935 is fun find infused with graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate
Tester: Dan Siegel, senior director of creative development
Best for: People who tend to leave every cute coffee shop with a full bag of roasted beans to take home, regardless of the price.
Bean Box is focused on the “curation” experience. The service’s tasting team offers what they claim is the largest selection of specialty coffee online with over 600 different brews in its rolodex. The selection is sourced from dozens of small-batch, sustainably focused roasters from around the country—meaning you could likely go years without tasting coffee from the same roaster twice.
Starting my subscription was exceptionally easy and clear. I appreciated the option to tailor the subscription to my own tastes: Bean Box asked me to choose among Light & Bright, Medium & Cozy, Dark & Toasty, Espresso, or Decaf. For this run I selected the Curators Choice option, marketed as the curation team’s seasonal favorites and a mix of new and old coffees. Bean Box ships 12-oz. bags, which it claims are 10% larger than leading competitors (though it’s hard to verify whether that’s true). There is an app available to manage subscriptions and read lengthy details on each roaster or track the origin of your beans.
The subscription offers a choice between one or two bags, delivered every two or four weeks, priced on a sliding scale of $20–$24 per bag depending on your order size and frequency (to get the $20 per bag price, you need two bags every two weeks, which is…beyond my budget). This subscription was not designed to save me money on coffee; this is for enthusiasts. My first bag from “Gimme! Coffee,” out of Ithaca, NY, hit hard on the Bean Box mission: The roaster is employee-owned, shipping fair trade beans from Coopfam, Brazil’s first certified fair trade coffee grower. This was a standout for any time of day as a medium bodied brew, subtly sweet with virtually no bitterness or acidity via my automatic Oxo 8-cup machine or my Hario V60 pour-over. My second bag, La Cumbre from Little City in Austin, was a bit too bright and fruity for my taste, advertising caramel, mango, and green apple tasting notes—but this was the path I chose with the Curator’s Choice option.
