Sometimes, finding fresh, high-quality coffee beans is hard, especially when you’re shopping online. Bean Box has set out to remedy this coffee lover’s plight, and we must say, the company has done a pretty impressive job.
If you take one thing from this article, let it be this: Bean Box is a coffee bean subscription company you need to know about. Read on to learn more about the company and its services, plus get our opinions on a few of its top products.
Key Takeaways
- Bean Box is a standout Seattle-based coffee subscription service that provides high-quality, expertly curated beans from some of the top coffee roasters in the United States.
- Bean Box’s subscribers can personalize their coffee experience by choosing between whole or pre-ground beans, selecting their favorite roast levels, and picking the delivery frequency option that works best for them. There’s also a Curator’s Choice option, allowing coffee fanatics with a sense of adventure and spontaneity to receive surprise selections.
- Bean Box also boasts impressive gift options for the coffee lovers in your life, like the World Coffee Tour and Deluxe Coffee + Chocolate Tasting Boxes.
What Is Bean Box?
BEAN BOX SUBSCRIPTION
Think of us as your coffee sommelier. We sip thousands of coffees from the nation’s top roasters so you only get the very best.
Bean Box is a Seattle-based coffee subscription and gift company founded by Matthew Berk and Ryan Fritzky. Berk and Fritzy, two software engineers, were not only inspired by their love of coffee but the close relationship between their original industry and their newly hatched idea for an online business model idea.
Bean Box partners with some of the nation’s best specialty coffee roasters and each was hand-selected by the company’s coffee curatrix Maryna Gray. These partner roasters include names like Caffe Vita, Kuma Coffee, and Equator Coffees.
How Does a Bean Box Subscription Work?
You have two options when you visit Bean Box’s website: purchase an artisan coffee subscription or shop for gifts.
If you go the subscription route, you have four steps to follow.
- Grind. First, coffee drinkers must choose whole or pre-ground beans. Whole beans are more popular among Bean Box subscribers, but feel free to pick whatever’s more convenient for you.
- Tasting Experience. Next, you’ll need to give Bean Box some insight into your coffee preferences. Choose your favorite among the Seattle-based company’s Light & Bright, Medium & Cozy, Dark & Toasty, Decaf, or Espresso beans. If you aren’t super-picky about the beans you use to brew your morning cups of coffee or have adventurous taste buds, choose the Curator’s Choice option. This gives you access to the curation team’s favorite flavors, plus a few seasonal coffees.
- Quantity. The third step is to decide how much coffee you want to receive in every delivery. Get one or two 12-ounce bags of beans depending on how many coffee drinkers you’ll be brewing for and how often you make a pot of joe.
- Frequency. Finally, let the good folks at Bean Box know how often you want your bags of coffee delivered. Get the goods on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis.
Bean Box Gifting Options
In addition to being a subscription service, Bean Box is also a great place to find gifts for coffee lovers.
Options include gift boxes — some of these are the World Coffee Tour, Perfectly Paired Coffee + Chocolate, and U.S. Coffee Road Trip sampler boxes — or gift certificates.
A Bean Box Coffee Subscription Review
A Brief Overview
Things We Like
- Bean Box guarantees shipment within 48 hours of roasting, ensuring that your coffee delivery is at peak flavor and freshness when it arrives at your door.
- A Bean Box subscription gives you access to exclusive coffees you might not have been able to try otherwise.
- The beans the company sends, many of which come from small-batch or independent roasters, span a variety of roast levels and flavor profiles. That means there’s something for virtually every coffee drinker to add to their morning routine.
Room for Improvement
- You can’t pick which coffees you receive in sampler coffee boxes.
- Bean Box coffees are more expensive than most of the ones you’d find at the local Walmart or Target. So, if you’re on a tight budget, buying a coffee subscription or gift box from Bean Box may not be for you.
The Unboxing
Bean Box generously and kindly let us try the Deluxe Coffee + Chocolate Tasting Box, World Coffee Tour Box, and a Bean Box sampler. Watch the whole experience unfold below.
One of the first things we noticed was that each box had the roast date on top. This detail was especially refreshing, as it’s often hard to find this info on other coffee bags.
Deluxe Coffee + Chocolate Tasting Box
Opening this box revealed eight different expertly matched pairs of coffee and chocolate. The package we opened was just as beautifully presented as the picture on the website. Based on appearance alone, we weren’t disappointed.
Besides the chocolate and coffee couplings, the box also contained tasting notes to help you (or whoever you’re gifting this box to!) make the most of the experience. Some of the pairings in our box were
- the nutty and citrusy Paladino Espresso Blend from Zoka Coffee and a Cayenne Veracruz Orange white chocolate bar,
- Caffe Vita’s Papua New Guinea Yus (featuring guava and honey) and an agave quinoa sesame bar,
- and the fruity Ladro Coffee Roasters Queen Anne Blend and a black fig pistachio bar.
If you were particularly impressed with the contents of one of the 1.8-ounce bags (available in whole bean or pre-ground options), scan the included QR code. It takes you to the company’s website, where you can order more of your favorites.
World Coffee Tour Box
The next box we opened was the incredible World Coffee Tour Box. There were a whopping 16 1.8-ounce bags of coffee — that’s 1.8 pounds! — for us to explore. Plus, there was a nifty, well-designed info sheet sharing the defining features of the 16 coffee origins your taste buds will be visiting, tasting notes, and brewing tips.
The primary coffee region and subregion breakdown is as follows:
- North & Central America – Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, and Mexico
- South America – Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru
- Africa – Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, Congo, Malawi, and Yemen
- Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Bali, and East Timor
The 16 beans in this box grow in the above subregions before heading to roasteries in and around Seattle. Like the ones in the first box, these coffees have a roast description, a roast date, and a roast level. And that handy QR code we mentioned earlier? That’s there, too, giving you a quick and easy means of reordering your favorite coffees from the sampler.
Bean Box Coffee Sampler
Last but not least, we unboxed the basic Bean Box sampler. This package includes about half a pound of expert-selected coffees. This box’s presentation is sleek and simple, allowing the selection of coffees to take center stage. And, like the other two sampler packs we got our hands on, this one included an info sheet filled with tasting notes and brewing tips.
Something we love about this box of delicious coffees is that if sending it as a gift, you can include a personal note for the recipient. Plus, ours came with a couple of sweet extras — you can see that in the top left corner of the photo above.
BEAN BOX SUBSCRIPTION
Think of us as your coffee sommelier. We sip thousands of coffees from the nation’s top roasters so you only get the very best.
Is Bean Box Worth It?
We think so!
Whether you’re a coffee newbie trying to find something you like or are a longtime java lover wanting something new to get you out of a coffee rut, Bean Box has you covered. Treat yourself to a subscription and run something other than your typical batch of beans through your coffee maker.
Don’t forget about Bean Box’s coffee gifts! A collection of chocolate and coffee pairs or a box of beans from around the world will please your fellow coffee connoisseur; we’re sure of it!
Happy Caffeinating!
Bean Box Review: Exciting Coffee Bean Subscription Service
Discover the best coffee beans with a comprehensive Bean Box review, exploring quality, flavor profiles, and subscription options.
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