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By
Bryan Huynh
Key Takeaways
If you're like us, you know the value of a good cup of coffee. However, while the idea of trying new varieties and flavors is exciting, it can seem daunting to challenge the status quo, especially when it comes to your coffee-drinking routine.
Fortunately, it's never been easier to get curated coffee selections delivered to your door. Coffee clubs enable you to sample unique roasts and brands from the comfort of your home. This way, you don't have to worry if one of them doesn't suit your taste preferences—you can just wait for the next delivery or get a replacement.
Best of all, coffee club subscriptions are very affordable and allow you to taste coffee roasts from around the world. We've compiled a list of the top five club options for beginners who know what they like but aren't aware of what's available. After a few months of receiving shipments, you should be much more well-rounded and experienced.
As the name would suggest, Atlas Coffee Club sources beans from different farms around the world. According to the company, they pay more than the market price and try to work with local growers to get the best products. You can expect to receive beans from various coffee countries like Costa Rica and Colombia, as well as more exotic locales like Vietnam, India, and Ethiopia.
Atlas is based in Austin, Texas, and has been around since 2015. Their mission is to help connect coffee farmers with drinkers for a more sustainable and profitable marketplace for everyone. The purpose of Atlas Coffee Club is to create a more worldly coffee experience. In addition to the beans, you get a postcard from the country with a bit of history and culture. The idea is to make it seem like you're traveling the world, one cup at a time.
The Basics
As a curated coffee club, you don't get to pick what Atlas sends you. However, the company claims that if you don't like a particular bag, they'll send the next one to you for free. The subscription packages start at $9 for a half bag (six ounces) and go up to $28 for two full bags (12 ounces each).
When setting up your subscription, you'll have to pick from a few different options, including:
Atlas' customer service is also fantastic, so if you ever have any problems, you can contact someone and resolve your issue quickly.
Pros
Cons
The Bottom Line
If you're new to the world of coffee and want to explore what's out there, Atlas is an excellent introductory coffee club. Once you get a taste for various blends and roasts, you may want to switch to a club that gives you more control over what you get. Since you can't pick your coffee or reorder a favorite, Atlas is relatively limited.
Peace Coffee is a company that selects and roasts its own beans, and it has quite an extensive selection. So, when setting up a subscription, you're only getting Peace Coffee, not varieties from different growers or brands (like Atlas).
The advantage of this type of subscription is that you can pick the coffee you like and build your own shipment. However, if you're not sure what you'll like, you still need to pick and choose from their wide selection. Peace Coffee doesn't curate your subscription, but it's easy to pick different flavors as you go.
The Basics
Peace Coffee has 14 varieties of beans you can choose for your subscription package. They range from dark to light roasts, and there are even some decaf options. When building your box, you can pick one or more blends, some of which are available as beans or coffee pods.
You can also choose the size of your bags (up to five pounds) and the frequency of your delivery. The minimum option is two weeks, but you can also wait as long as three months between shipments.
There's also a seasonal coffee subscription, which only focuses on the current seasonal roast offered by Peace Coffee. You don't get to pick your blend, and it rotates throughout the year.
Pros
Cons
The Bottom Line
If you're a somewhat experienced coffee drinker and know what kind of blends you like, you'll appreciate the control you get with Peace Coffee. However, if you're a total newbie, you may not like the idea of buying a full bag of coffee grounds without sampling it first. Overall, this coffee club is great for those who want to set up their deliveries on autopilot and aren't afraid to try new varieties from time to time.
Peet's Coffee Club is kind of a mix of Atlas and Peace Coffee. On the one hand, you can only get roasts and blends made by Peet's, not other brands. On the other hand, you can either have your coffee curated by professionals or build your own box based on your preferences.
So, this subscription service is like the best of both worlds. Provided you're a fan of Peet's coffee, you can discover new varieties without having to commit to an entire shipment at a time. Some of the more popular subscription "series" that Peet's offers include:
Subscriptions start at about $20 per shipment, depending on your selection. So, this coffee club is a bit more expensive than others, but you're paying for quality, not quantity.
The Basics
Peet's Coffee has seven curated subscription options, or you can build your own box based on your favorite blends. The lowest-priced option is the K-Cup series, which starts at $10 per shipment. The more coffee you get at a time, the more you pay.
That said, Peet's does cover the shipping costs, and you can earn discounts when you reach certain thresholds. For example, at $30 you earn a five-percent discount, and at $50 or more, you can get 10 percent off your entire shipment. Plus, Peet's offers other products besides coffee, including tea, mugs, and espresso capsules.
Adjusting your shipment is super easy, and you can skip or pause your subscription at any time.
Pros
Cons
The Bottom Line
If you're a big fan of Peet's Coffee already, you'll appreciate the simplicity and quality of this coffee club. Also, if you've heard of how good Peet's Coffee is, you'll likely fall in love with one or two of their blends (or more).
If you like the idea of sampling different coffee blends from unique growers and roasters, Bean Box is an alternative to Atlas Coffee Club. This subscription service has all the same hallmarks, including a commitment to sustainability and fair trade coffees.
There are some unique perks to signing up with Bean Box, including early access to new flavors, credits for each purchase that you can use toward free coffee, and free shipping on every box.
As with other curated-only subscriptions, you can't pick the coffee you receive, although you can choose the type of coffee you want (e.g., espresso or light roasts). From there, the professionals at Bean Box select the flavor for that week or month and hope you enjoy it. s
The Basics
When signing up for your subscription, you'll have to choose between either whole beans or freshly ground coffee (no coffee pods available). You can pick one of several curation options, including light, medium, dark, espresso, or decaf coffees. You can also switch to different options from month to month. Alternatively, you can go with the Curator's Choice option, which delivers all types of coffee to your doorstep.
If you order more frequently, you wind up paying less per cup. Each bag is 12 ounces, and a weekly subscription costs about $18, and it goes up to about $21 if you order once per month.
Each purchase gives you a five-percent credit, which you can cash in to get a free shipment. So, if you enjoy Bean Box and want to sign up for a long-term commitment, you'll see rewards pretty quickly.
Pros
Cons
The Bottom Line
For those who really want to expand their taste palate, Bean Box is an excellent choice. The curated selections are always impeccable, and you can earn rewards the more you order. However, if you want to reorder a specific item, you'll have to find it via a third-party supplier.
So far, all the coffee clubs we've showcased have been self-guided. However, if you're new to coffee drinking, you may not know how to get the most flavor from each roast.
Driftaway Coffee alleviates this problem by providing you with a guided tasting. While you can follow the steps by yourself, it's better to work with a professional via an online session so you can ask questions and get insights for each blend.
After your initial tasting experience, you can customize your subscription to match your preferences. Best of all, you can reorder a specific coffee you love after sampling it.
The Basics
The most popular option is to start with the Explorer Box, which is a sampling of five coffees from around the globe. Driftaway recommends tasting each coffee blind so you don't know what to expect. After your tasting session, you can learn more about each coffee and why it tastes the way it does.
As far as building your subscription, Driftaway has many options to help you get the most out of each shipment. Frist, choose whole beans, ground coffee, or cold brew selections. Next, pick your sizes from eight-ounce to five-pound bags. The frequency option is either weekly, every other week, or monthly.
If you choose the Explorer Box, you can schedule your online tasting session once the box arrives (with instructions). After that, feel free to update your subscription however you see fit.
Pros
Cons
The Bottom Line
Overall, if you want a curated coffee subscription, Driftaway Coffee is a fantastic place to start. It can help you refine your palate, and you can reorder coffees you've enjoyed through the service.
If you're a beginner, you may not know the diverse coffee selections available from growers around the world. Curated coffee subscriptions like Atlas or Driftaway are perfect to help you expand your knowledge and discover coffees you may have never sampled before.
That said, as you develop your preferences, switching to a coffee club that gives you total control over your shipment may be better. This way, you know what to expect, and you can save time and money compared to buying coffee in the store or at a coffee shop.
Overall, we like Peet's Coffee for a build-your-own option and Driftaway for a curated coffee club. Bottoms up!
Bryan Huynh
Product Tester & Writer
Bryan Huynh is a determined Product Tester & Writer. Being a coffee addict, it is only right that he mainly tests and reviews different coffee from around the world and coffee subscription services.
Bryan Huynh is a determined Product Tester & Writer. Being a coffee addict, it is only right that he mainly tests and reviews different coffee from around the world and coffee subscription services.
Edited by:
Bryan Huynh
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Product Tester & Writer
