Best Coffee Clubs for Decaf Coffee

What is a Coffee Club?

Many coffee enthusiasts enjoy trying different coffees and discovering the different nuances of each blend and roasting technique. Just like wine, coffee can differ greatly based on where it is from and the terrain in which it grows. A coffee subscription club, which delivers a variety of unique coffees to you each month, is a great way to find out exactly what you like…and don’t like about different coffees. It is also a great way to try some coffee that isn’t available on supermarket shelves.

In this article, we are going to explore choosing a coffee club that best suits your preferences. There are so many different types of coffee on the market it can be a confusing task. If you prefer an overall type, such as decaf versus caffeinated coffee, you will find just as many options. We are going to try to help choose a coffee club, a fun and adventurous endeavor.

Why is Decaf Coffee Gaining Popularity?

Specialty coffees have been increasing in popularity for quite some time, but we are seeing that millennials are the largest consumers of decaf coffee. Millennials today range in age from 20 to 37, and over 40% are parents. They are leaders when it comes to drinking gourmet coffee outside the home. By 2025, they will make up 75% of the workforce. Many of this age group also feel that it is important to reduce their caffeine intake and opt to choose decaf coffee as their drink of choice.

Many coffee shops are now offering even more decaf choices to meet the growing demand, according to PerfectDailyGrind.com.

Benefits of Joining a Coffee Club:

According to DrinkStack.com, there are so many different subscription coffee clubs out there it can be difficult to choose the one that suits you best. Here are some tips to help you make the right selection:

Make sure you choose your preferences.

Most clubs have a questionnaire to be filled out before they start their membership. Answering these questions will provide them with an overview of the types of coffee you like. They will ask if you prefer light or dark roasts. Single-origin coffee or blends? As well as other questions that will help them customize your future deliveries to ensure the selections meet your overall taste.

Do They Send Quality Products?

It is important to find out what types of beans they have sent in the past. By checking out the club's website, you can see what they have sent out in the past to ensure that the products are of the highest quality. You want to make sure that the products are worth your money and offer unique options that you couldn't get elsewhere.

What is the Delivery Frequency?

With some clubs, you can choose your own frequency, and even stop and restart the delivery if you are traveling. Some clubs send coffee beans each week. If this is too frequent, you should choose a club that sends out selections monthly. It all depends on how much coffee your household drinks.

Look at the cost:

Before you join any subscription club, make sure it is affordable. Some that offer extremely unique or small-batch coffees can be quite expensive. Make sure that you are getting the best value for your money before you join a coffee club. Make sure that the recurring cost will not ruin your budget.

Can You Customize Your Selections?

As you begin receiving your coffee, you may find that you enjoy certain nuances in your coffee. It is important that you can provide feedback and customize your coffee selections from time to time. In addition, there are so many different types of decaf coffee you may find that as you try different blends, you are drawn to certain ones. Being able to choose or change your options can ensure that you get your favorite type of coffee with each delivery.

Read the Coffee Club Reviews:

This is a very important step and should not be skipped. You may see a club that offers the types of coffee you enjoy, but reviews mention issues with delivery, poor quality products, and other issues. It is important to choose a coffee club that has good reviews. This will provide peace of mind that you will get good coffee from reliable providers.

Consider the Environment and Fair Trade:

Today, more than ever, we need to ensure that the products we eat and drink are sourced from fair trade enterprises that take care of their workers by paying them a fair wage. Equally important is knowing that the coffee plants are being grown in sustainable environments using the best methods to ensure that the land can be used in the future for coffee or other crops.

All coffee clubs should abide by sustainable farming requirements, so you should do your due diligence and check out how they source their products before becoming a member.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Decaf Coffee Club:

It is important to explore which decaf coffee subscription club is best for you. So you will need to do your homework to see the different types of coffee they produce. After looking at a few different options or talking to friends and family who share your taste for coffee, you should be ready to make a decision.

What is the Quality of Decaf Coffee Beans?

Just like every other type of coffee, you will want to make sure that the coffee beans are high-quality and not the second best. You can do this by looking at the different beans they offer and what type of beans were in previous shipments. Doing a little bit of work can pay off greatly as you will know that your money is being well spent on good quality coffee beans.

In addition, many coffee lovers find that something is missing from their decaf. This can be due to the decaffeination process. In some cases, the taste can fall short of what you would taste in a caffeinated option. Some producers use chemicals and others use a water or carbon dioxide process. Using the water process typically keeps all the flavor and depletes the caffeine, according to TheSpruceEats.com.

Shipment Flexibility:

Shipment flexibility is another key factor, especially for those who travel frequently or those who wish to increase deliveries on occasion. The club you choose should be able to work with your schedule and offer you options for suspending and restarting your shipments when out of town.

In some instances, people join a decaf coffee club with monthly deliveries, but enjoy the coffee so much that they want to increase it and choose weekly deliveries. This is also a nice option if you have house guests that are also coffee lovers. Having several great coffee options can be a great start to the day.

Consider Pricing:

We all want to get great value for our dollar, and it is no different with decaf coffee. Before joining any subscription club, you should see what they offer, what quantity of beans you will be receiving, and the cost. Don't opt for the first club you review and may be missing out on a better value. Just make sure that the producer is offering a fair price for the product you receive.

One thing to be certain of. Remember this is a weekly/monthly subscription that will be deducted from your bank account, so don't forget to add that to your monthly budget.

Roasting and Shipping Frequency:

One of the most important things is getting fresh coffee. This means that the club you choose should be sending freshly roasted beans as soon as possible. This ensures that each cup is delicious, from the first cup to the last.

Shipping frequency is often determined when you join a club. Many have different tiers, with different shipment times. Many clubs let you increase or decrease your frequency from time to time. And it is a good "perk" as demand can ebb and flow.

Customization Options:

Look for a club that will let you customize your options. You may not enjoy the type of coffee that will be sent in your next shipment. You should have the option to choose another one instead, or choose a selection that you previously enjoyed. A club isn't very useful if you don't use or enjoy the products they send.

Some of the Top Coffee Clubs: Review:

Here are some of the top decaf coffee subscription clubs according to Favy.com:

Atlas is considered one of the best clubs as they source coffee beans from over 50 different countries, and they provide tasting notes and information about the region for each type of bean. This club is very popular as they provide a great product and a fair price.

Price: Subscription prices

Roasting and shipping frequency: The club states that the roasting is to your preference, so you will get freshly roasted beans that are shipped once a month for a flat $4.95.

Member benefits and customization: Atlas offers a variety of plans, including the World Tour plan that provides specialty decaf coffees from different countries each month. Customers can choose between whole beans or ground beans to meet their preferences.

Pros:

• Atlas provides freshly roasted beans from a variety of countries. All are high-quality products.
• They are fervent in their choice of working only with sustainable, ethically sourced products.
• Each selection comes along with an info card that details where the coffee is sourced from, brewing tips, and tasting plans.

Cons:

• Some customers would prefer to have more of a choice in choosing the type of coffee they receive each month.
• Some people enjoy blends, whereas Atlas focuses on single-origin coffee.

Driftaway offers a very customizable club. The first shipment is a kit with several different coffees to try. The feedback from this coffee kit enables the company to provide the coffee enthusiast with the coffee they are most likely to enjoy. They also feature small-batch coffees cultivated by small farmers from all over the world.

Price: Subscriptions start at around $16 per month, but they offer a wide range of coffee products. They even have one subscription that pairs chocolate bars with each coffee blend.

Roasting and shipping frequency: Each package is roasted to specification and sent out monthly.

Member benefits and customization: Driftaway focuses on the coffee experience and initial feedback from the customer. They even have kits to conduct a coffee tasting. So they do their best to let the customer customize their deliveries.

Pros:

• Ethically sourced, high quality beans from single origins, across the world.
• The first box is a tasting kit to help determine the coffee nuances you enjoy.
• Helps identify the blends you enjoy, so future shipments can meet that flavor profile.

Cons:

• They currently do not have a plan specifically for decaf drinkers.
• They roast all the beans in-house, so there is no opportunity to try different roasters.

Bean Box is a Seattle-based coffee club that uses a variety of top roasters from across the area. They are a highly respected company that is dedicated to freshness and supporting small businesses. They use the highest-quality beans.

Price: The price starts at around $16.50 per month for four 1.8 oz bags of coffee, which equals 16 cups of coffee.

Roasting and shipping frequency: Each bag is roasted to order based on preference. They have a variety of clubs that can be sent weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.

Member benefits and customization: Bean Box sends an initial sampler that helps people choose the coffees they prefer to avoid receiving coffee that they don't like. They also use a variety of top roasters in the Seattle area and source their beans from small-batch farms across the U.S. 

Summary:

The coffee market, and now the decaf coffee market, has exploded with more and more options to choose from. Coffee enthusiasts can try coffees from around the world without leaving their homes. With millennials becoming leading coffee drinkers, there is no doubt that we will continue to see more and different types of coffee, new blends and roasting methods and an increase in options for the decaf market.