Many coffee lovers have decided to get into a coffee subscription for the convenience, freshness, and premium taste of good coffee.
Bean Box coffee is one of the coffee subscriptions that have world-class professionals working behind the scene to offer you the best-tasting coffees.
In this article, I will conduct a full Bean Box review, covering all the gritty details about its coffee subscription box, specialty coffee beans quality, tasting notes of brewed coffee, brewing tips as well as customer service.
Let’s see what this subscription has in store for the coffee community.
Who Owns Bean Box?
Started from the bottom how did it get here?
The founders of the brand, Matthew and Ryan, initially worked as software engineers in Seattle and relied largely on coffee for energy recharge. Like most companies, they started this brand out of their passion for this delicious bean juice as well.
But not just any kind. Specialty coffee holds a place so special in their hearts that they want to spread the love for premium beans.
Above all, the brand wants to bring the opportunity to brew and taste a cup that’s curated by coffee experts, freshly roasted in small batches, and delivered faster than bad news right to your door.
Where Is Bean Box Located?
The brand is based in Seattle, where its beans are locally roasted.
This is where the brand makes it possible for you to enjoy numerous varieties and customize them to suit your personal preferences, together with many small-batch roasters across the country.
What Sets Bean Box Apart
Coffee subscription services aren’t exactly new anymore, especially in regions where making and drinking at home is highly prevalent.
The trend has caught up even more ever since many found themselves homebound more often than they’re typically used to. So, what’s so great about this coffee company that can enable it to compete with other coffee roasters?
Fresh Coffee
Every bag of coffee from this brand is roasted to order and well packaged to preserve the freshness and make sure that customers receive the best batch of beans always.
The company often ships on Wednesday so you can expect the bags of coffee to arrive at their destination in the next few days, just in time for a sip of the weekend cup.
None of the old beans that are left on the shelf for ages.
None of the beans that are dark roasted to disguise the staleness with charred and deep aroma and coffee flavors. And none of the coffees that taste sour nonetheless.
Expert Curation
All of your coffees are exclusively curated and chosen by Maryna Gray, an expert in the coffee scene being a juror with the renowned Cup of Excellence.
The Cup of Excellence is a premier coffee competition and auction that’s open to all coffee growers and sets the standard for high-quality coffees and transparency and innovation in coffee-growing practices.
Rare Variety
You can consider Bean Box as your personalized exclusive portal to access the best artisan coffee that is sometimes from rare and hard-to-find micro-lots.
Award-Winning Roasters
Bean Box actually partners with 40 of the top roasters in America to make sure that customers get the freshest brew and more variety in roasts. Their partners range from large establishments to innovative newcomers in the market.
Buying from Bean Box Coffee
Next, I’ll show you how easy it is to kickstart coffee subscription boxes with Bean Box.
Pick The Bean Type
You are presented with 2 options:
- Whole Bean
- Freshly Ground
I suggest getting whole bean coffee and investing in a reliable burr grinder to make the freshest cup of coffee every time.
While ground coffee is a totally fine choice as well, it can’t preserve the peak flavor of coffee as it goes stale much faster than the whole bean.
And since you’re thinking of using a coffee subscription box, you’re likely firm on committing to making coffee at home from now on.
So unless you’re a busy coffee lover who needs to cut corners everywhere possible to save time, getting whole bean coffee and a coffee grinder (or an espresso machine with an integrated grinder if you want to make espresso) will trump ready-made pre-ground coffee in the long run.
Know Your Roast Preference
Bean Box knows roast profiles are significant to making a worthy cup of Joe, hence, offers you 6 different options to best suit your favorite brewing method and tasting notes preferences:
1. All Roasts
All roasts are for the explorers. Rather than those who use Internet Explorer, this option targets anyone interested in discovering new finds and varieties, including professionals’ favorite coffee of the month, seasonal coffee flavors, and adventurous roasts.
2. Light Roast
Light roast coffee is bright, complex, and compelling, featuring fun fruity and floral tasting notes laced with the signature coffee flavors.
When drinking a cup of Joe brewed with lightly roasted coffees, not only can you taste the colorful original compounds extracted from coffee beans, but the taste is also reminiscent of the surrounding diverse nature of the coffee-growing origin.
Do keep in mind that lighter roasts have higher acidity levels and caffeine content as well. So go for darker roast profiles if you’re concerned about your digestive system and caffeine intake.
3. Medium Roast
Medium roast coffee brings a more balanced acidity level and flavor profile to the table, an easy-going option for coffee lovers who are just getting into brewing coffee at home.
Medium roast beans from Bean Box are a bit sweeter and nuttier with mellow notes of nuts, caramel, and fruits on top of the chocolaty tones. The coffee body is also slightly thicker and creamier as well.
4. Dark Roast
Unlike the light-medium roast, dark roasted beans have more coffee compounds broken down to produce the signature bold, smoky, and earthy coffee flavors with a hint of dark chocolate.
Medium-dark roasts are amazing when making a cup of French Press coffee and pairing with sugar and cream as the sweetness doesn’t clash or get drowned out.
Dark roast is also a more suitable option for those suffering from GERD-related conditions as well thanks to the lower acidity compared to lighter roasts.
5. Espresso
If you’ve already had an espresso machine at home, grab a bag of its freshly roasted whole bean espresso coffees.
This option is available in all roast profiles, but mainly the medium-dark and dark which are considered the standard for pulling espresso shots. The boldness and full-body also make milky espresso-based beverages like latte and cappuccino shine better.
In addition to single-origin coffee, you may get to taste different espresso blends as well.
Those frequently drinking third-wave coffee are more familiar with the use of single-origin artisan coffees. However, traditionally, espresso typically is a blend consisting of both Arabica and Robusta coffee.
The combination makes the cup mildly sweet yet not too sweet to pair well with sweeteners like milk and cream.
6. Decaf
If you’re concerned about your caffeine intake, Bean Box also prepares a whole bean selection of decaf coffee. It’s naturally decaffeinated so you don’t have to worry about any added chemicals, flavor transfer, or loss of flavor during the process.
Plan Your Coffee Experience
Lastly, you get to pick your coffee subscription plan from the 2 following options:
Coffee Tasting Subscription – Bean Box Sampler
This Bean Box sampler subscription package is perfect for those who only drink occasionally or want to try a bit of Seattle’s top artisan coffee once in a while in addition to their usual routine.
Bean Box sampler can provide you with a monthly tour of 4 different coffees specially curated by experts and roasted by Bean Box’s worldwide famous roasters like Zoka and Vita.
This package is offered in the exclusive 1.8 oz format. With each bag, you can brew around 4 – 6 cups of Joe. That’s 16 – 24 cups for the whole month in total (1.8 oz x 4 bags). And free shipping is available within the US!
Coffee Tasting Subscription – Bean Box Sampler
Coffee Of The Month subscription service is suitable for those intending to commit to drinking Bean Box.
Bean Box’s best coffee of the month is professionally picked and chosen in Seattle to be served in 12 oz bags, enough to brew around 24 – 36 cups.
You can have a bag of Bean Box Coffee Of The Month shipped more often if there is more than one drinker in the household or office. Consider these 3 options:
- Monthly
- Biweekly
- Weekly
Unboxing Bean Box
Bean Box delivers your subscription in a neat cardboard box, on which there is a label stating the week your batch is from.
Inside you can find paper pouches containing Bean Box coffee with a white label stating the blend, the roaster, roast profile, and description about the origin and expected tasting notes.
And don’t worry, though they are paper, these pouches come with a zipper-lock as well to best preserve the freshness.
Together with the coffee, you can also be welcomed with a greeting note from the founders, brewing tips, and a simple line illustration of Seattle, where this all started.
How Do You Cancel Bean Box?
On the brand’s website, you can have your own account to track your order and subscription. And as simple as you come in, go to the account page on Bean Box’s website to cancel your order by 5 pm (PST) on Thursday the week before your next scheduled shipment.
However, before thinking of canceling your Bean Box subscription right away, you can always contact the brand to improve your experience, from the roast profile and grind size to shipping frequency.
In fact, if you receive a package that doesn’t suit your palate, feel free to reach out to Bean Box to get a replacement! Like other coffee aficionados, I’m also a consumer who enjoys flexibility in customer service.
Alternative To Bean Box From A Coffee Lover
Premium coffee can be expensive since it definitely has to be of higher quality than your local grocery store. However, there are still more affordable options out there that also offer great bean juice as alternatives to Bean Box.
Let me introduce you to Atlas Coffee Club if this brand isn’t quite within your reach.
Atlas Coffee Club
Atlas Coffee Club is another brand that offers a coffee subscription service. Like the Bean Box Coffee Sampler, Atlas offers a similar concept but in the format of single-origin coffee from micro-lots around the world.
So each month, you get to have a taste of coffee curated from a different part of the world that’s roasted and ground to your preference.
While the coffee tour around the world concept is very compelling, the brand is still fairly small compared to others so there might not be as many varieties as you would expect.
Of course, it’s still a good alternative to look into nonetheless, especially for those who don’t consider this a big deal. See more Atlas Coffee Club offers here.
Is Bean Box A Subscription For A Coffee Snob?
Before heading to the Bean Box website, check my final thoughts on this coffee brand, including all of the pros and cons you should take into consideration before spending money.
Pros
- Exclusive expert curation
- Top-quality
- Freshness
- Customizability to your preferences
- Variety including rare blends
- Famous roasters
- Neat packaging
- Free shipping on subscriptions
- User-friendliness and flexibility
Cons
- Can be expensive
- Espresso and Decaf blends aren’t offered as ground coffees
- No small samples
To Wrap Up
So, after the extensive introduction, what’s my verdict on Bean Box?
I would say to go for it. Considering the variety it offers, the effort it puts into to pick out your blend, roast it, grind it, and deliver it, and the flexibility in its customer service.
Bean Box is definitely worth paying for a Coffee Sampler package just to see whether it tastes as good as it appeals.
It’s also an interesting opportunity to insert yourself into the life of a coffee drinker in the fun city of Seattle.