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Seattle has been a major hotspot for amazing, locally-roasted artisanal coffee for years. Unfortunately, traveling to Seattle to sample all that their coffee culture has to offer is not in the cards for everyone. That’s where Bean Box comes in.
Two Seattle-based software engineers, Ryan Fritzky and Matthew Berk, combined their love of coffee with an idea to bring the unique experience of drinking Seattle’s locally-roasted coffee to everyone, right in their own home…and Bean Box was born. The Bean Box mission is to bring “caffeinated delight and the world’s finest artisan coffees” to their customers in every box, and they do this by leveraging technology to make each box easy, customizable, and full of endless varieties.
When they reached out to us to review their new cold brew options, we jumped at the chance, and they even threw in one of their coffee and chocolate pairing boxes too!
Spoiler alert! Their coffee is amazing so if you want to skip the review and go straight to the coffee, Click Here!
Bean Box Cold Brew
Bean Box cold brew features freshly roasted artisan coffee, brewed to perfection, and delivered to your door. The cold brew coffee is available in two flavor profiles, Rich & Creamy or Smooth & Bright, and offers a flavor that will suit any palate. Both brews are kosher and are crafted from specially selected farm direct micro-lots of 100% organic, fair-trade, coffee beans which are then freshly roasted in small batches by their award-winning, artisan roasting partners.
Each Bean Box Cold Brew contains 1.5 liters of ready-to-drink coffee. Just pop the tap, fill your glass and enjoy. No dilution required…unless you want to add a little milk or cream.
Rich & Creamy
The Rich & Creamy Cold Brew is a blend of organic coffee beans from Indonesia, as well as Central and South America. The cold brew has a creamy texture, intense syrupy notes of chocolate, and a touch of vanilla gives it a long rich finish. This medium-dark roast is tasty served black but a splash of milk really brings out its creamy flavor.
Smooth & Bright
The Smooth & Bright Cold Brew is made from organic, farm-direct Guatemalan coffee beans. The cold brew has a delightful brightness and a crisp flavor profile featuring notes of chocolate and vanilla topped off with a touch of citrus. This coffee is perfect for those looking for an easy-drinking coffee to enjoy black.
Coffee and Chocolate Pairings Gift Box
If you love coffee and you love chocolate, this gift box is the ultimate Seattle tasting experience.
The box features 4 handpicked gourmet coffees paired with 4 chocolate bars. The chocolate and coffee are perfectly paired to marry two of Seattle’s best-known artisan treats. The box comes with a tasting card that includes brewing tips as well as tasting notes for each pairing, and since each bag of coffee brews 4-6 cups, this tasting box would be great for a date night or weekend with friends. They also have a box that is double the size (pictured above) and features 8 coffees paired with 8 chocolates!
The box we were sent to review included the Roaster’s Choice from Lighthouse Roasters, Guatemala Finca Huixoc from Rainier Coffee Roasters, Ethiopia Banko Gotiti Washed from Slate Coffee Roasters, Fresh Crop Bright from Kuma Coffee, and jCOCO chocolates from Seattle Chocolate Company.
Roaster’s Choice
The Roaster’s Choice from Lighthouse Roasters is a dark roast with a bold flavor and quite a kick. This full-bodied blend of Ethiopian, Latin, and Sumatran coffee beans has a taste that is smooth yet earthy in the best possible way.
This coffee was paired with the noble dark chocolate bar. The chocolate is 72% dark chocolate with cocoa nibs. The bold dark chocolate pairs perfectly with the dark roast, and has a fruity quality that balances out the earthiness brought out in the coffee by the Sumatra beans.
Guatemala Finca Huixoc
This Guatemalan coffee from Rainier Coffee Roasters is a medium roast reminiscent of the festive flavors of chocolate toffee and spice cake. The coffee beans come from one of the top eco-friendly estates in Guatemala and the coffee has tasting notes of cinnamon, cocoa, and marzipan.
The coffee was paired with Orange Blossom Espresso dark chocolate and I must admit, this coffee was not my favorite until I tasted it with the chocolate. The brightness of the orange in the chocolate really mellows out the rich toffee notes in this spicy coffee, creating a perfectly balanced pairing.
Ethiopia Banko Gotiti Washed
This Ethiopian coffee from Slate Coffee Roasters was by far my favorite of the four. I must admit I love Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, and this Banko Gotiti Washed coffee from the famous Yirgacheffe region is no exception. The smooth drinking coffee with notes of Jasmine, Citrus, and black tea is perfect for enjoying black.
It was paired with Crisp Quinoa Sesame milk chocolate. The richness of the sesame and the smoothness of the milk were mild enough not to overpower the delicate flavor of the coffee and really brought out its floral notes.
Fresh Crop Bright
This espresso blend from Kuma Coffee is soft and mellow with floral notes of berry and citrus topped off with a honeyed banana finish. The light roast is not what you would expect for an espresso blend but the coffee was actually quite lovely.
It was paired with a Coconut Pecan Milk Chocolate, and like the coffee from Rainier Coffee Roasters, this was one I actually preferred with the chocolate pairing. The coconut in the chocolate really brought out the tropical fruit flavors in the coffee and gave it an overall more balanced flavor.
Did I enjoy this Coffee and Chocolate Pairings Box? Yes!
Would I give it as a gift? Absolutely!
Other Boxes
In addition to the coffee Bean Box sent us to review, they offer a variety of other coffee gift boxes.
World Coffee Tour
The World Coffee Tour gift box allows the recipient to experience the ultimate tasting tour of the world’s top coffee-producing regions. It features coffee from North and Central America, South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, and comes with a total of sixteen 1.8 oz. bags. That’s a total of 1.8 pounds of coffee from around the world.
The World Coffee Tour allows the recipient to experience chocolaty coffees from Latin America, fruity roasts from Africa, earthy Sumatran blends, and everything in between. The box also comes with an information sheet that gives you the defining features of each of the 16 coffee regions as well as brewing tips and tasting notes.
This would be a perfect gift for your favorite coffee enthusiast or ideal for a fun weekend coffee tasting with friends.
Deluxe Coffee and Biscotti Tasting Box
The Deluxe Coffee and Biscotti Tasting Box features handpicked gourmet coffees from some of Seattle’s best top-rated roasters, perfectly paired with handmade biscotti cookies. The box features four 1.8 oz. bags of hand-selected gourmet coffees, each paired with its own dunkable biscotti cookies, along with tasting notes to look for as you sip. This ultimate Seattle tasting experience is sure to guarantee memorable mornings around the kitchen table.
Coffee and Tea Gift Box
Yes, you read that right, Bean Box also offers tea options. This Coffee and Tea gift box is perfect for the household that regularly enjoys both beverages. It features four 1.8 oz. bags of hand-selected artisan coffees from Seattle and Portland’s top roasters along with four 1 oz. bags of delicately crafted loose-leaf teas, including black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. This box is the perfect gift for those who want a fresh cup of coffee to start their day and a hot cup of tea for an afternoon pick-me-up.
Tea Tasting Gift Box
If tea is more your style, Bean Box also offers the ultimate tasting experience for you too! Their Tea Tasting Gift Box features eight 1 oz. bags of artisan loose-leaf teas, including black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. This gourmet tasting box includes artisan tea infusions such as Apple White, Green Tea with Mango, and Citrus Spice, and has both caffeinated and decaffeinated tea varieties. This artisan tea box comes with detailed brewing instructions as well as tasting notes to look for and is a perfect gift for someone who enjoys tea throughout the day.
Chocolate Collection Gift Box
Based on the chocolate we received in the Coffee and Chocolate Tasting Box, you are definitely going to want to try this box. Bean Box’s Chocolate Collection Gift Box features 8 carefully curated selections from the finest chocolatiers in the Pacific Northwest. Each 8 piece assortment contains coffee-infused chocolate bark hand made at Seattle’s Pike Place Market, 2 culinary-inspired chocolates, 2 sets of seasonal truffles, and 2 chocolate truffle bars.
This decadent tasting experience is ideal for all chocolate lovers.
Bean Box Coffee Subscription
Not only does Bean Box have great gift boxes like the Coffee and Chocolate Tasting Box and the World Coffee Tour, but they also have a coffee subscription service. The coffee in this subscription service ships out Seattle and Portland area coffees on a monthly basis. You simply select your roast preference (light, medium, or dark) and your size preference (four 1.8 oz sample bags or one 12 oz. bag). Each month you will receive your coffee of choice immediately after it was roasted. It doesn’t get much fresher than this.
While there are a number of companies that curate coffees in a similar fashion, Bean Box’s subscription model offers speedy delivery and a personal touch. Since all of the roasters are sourced locally, they can get the coffee to you much faster than your average subscription box and offer a freshness guarantee.
Bean Box Coffee Roasters
Bean Box works with 27 coffee roasters, including Anchorhead, Rosaline, Kuma, Slate, and Broadcast, all of which are dedicated to small-batch roasting. Roasting in micro-batches means not only will your coffee be fresh, but you will enjoy a truly flavorful morning cup.
How Bean Box Coffee Subscription Works
Choose Your Coffe Preparation and Roast Type
Once you land on the Bean Box coffee subscription site, you begin by selecting your coffee preparation. You can choose to receive either whole bean or freshly ground coffee.
Next, you choose your preferred coffee roast. You can choose from light, medium, dark, espresso, decaf, or all roasts.
Choose Your Subscription
Once you have selected your coffee preparation and desired roast type, you choose between a Coffee Tasting Subscription or a Coffee Bag Subscription.
The Coffee Tasting Subscription delivers four 1.8 oz bags of coffee right to your door every month. Each bag will brew 4-6 cups of coffee. This subscription is great if you enjoy tasting coffee from different regions or if you are just dipping your toe into the world of coffee and are not sure what you like just yet. This subscription is a great way to try new coffees without committing to an entire bag.
The Coffee Bag Subscription delivers a 12 oz bag of expertly curated artisan coffee to your door. You can choose from monthly, biweekly, or weekly deliveries based on your coffee consumption needs to ensure you never run out.
Select Add-Ons and Checkout
Once you have selected your subscription, you can choose to add tasty treats to your box each month. Choose from biscotti, chocolate, tasty caramels, granola, or additional coffee.
Next, you move to the checkout screen where you select where you would like the subscription to be delivered and pay for your order.
Gifting
If you are sending the Bean Box subscription as a gift, there is an option to add a note or have it shipped in an unmarked box in the checkout section. They also offer a variety of one-time gift boxes to choose from as well, including a Coffee and Chocolate Pairings Box, Coffee World Tour Box, and a Chocolate Tasting Box.
How to Choose the Best Coffee Subscription
When selecting a coffee subscription, there are several things you should keep in mind.
When selecting a coffee subscription that uses artisan micro-roasted coffee, you can be sure that the coffee is going to be high quality and every aspect of the coffee, from the growing region, bean selection, and roasting is going to be micro-managed. This means that the artisan coffee roasters prioritize quality, but that quality comes at a price.
Before the price on the screen sends you into sticker shock, remember, with artisan coffee, you get what you pay for. You are paying for the process of roasting quality, ethically grown, and hand-selected premium coffee beans.
Trust us, It’s worth it!
If you are purchasing a subscription for yourself, you most likely know what kind of coffee you like. In this case, a 12 oz. bag subscription is the way to go. If you are purchasing a gift or trying to discover what coffees you truly appreciate, a sampler box is the way to go.
What Sets Bean Box Apart
Let’s face it, with a wide variety of coffee subscriptions out there, you may be asking…
What is the best coffee subscription?
Why should I choose Bean Box?
Is Bean Box really good?”
Let’s take a look at a few factors that really set Bean Box apart from the competition.
Regional Roasters
Instead of using coffee roasters all over the world, with Bean Box you get to experience the coffee of Seattle. The coffee may come from around the world but it is roasted with the style and nuance that only Seattle’s best coffee roasters can bring.
Prior to Bean Box, you could only get this experience by traveling to Seattle but now Seattle’s best coffee roasters come directly to your door. With dozens of rosters and more than a hundred coffees to choose from, you could never experience it all on a weekend trip.
Fresh Roasts
Since all of the roasters are local, the coffee delivered to your door is as fresh as it gets. The only way you could get fresher coffee is to go directly to the roaster itself and buy it the day it was roasted, and unless you live in Seattle, that probably isn’t going to happen.
Other coffee subscriptions have their coffees shipped to them from around the country for packaging and shipping. Bean Box uses roasters local to them to ensure you get the freshest coffee and back it up with their freshness guarantee.
Customization
Bean Box allows you to customize your order with your preferred roast type. If you only like Light roast coffees, you only get light roast coffee. If you want coffee for your morning espresso you can select to receive only espresso roast, etc. You can also select whether you would like your coffee to be delivered as whole bean coffee or if you would prefer Bean Box to send you freshly ground coffee instead.
Add-on options
Let’s talk about those add-ons.
Many gourmet subscription boxes offer a coffee sample with a variety of treats. The main focus being on the treats rather than the coffee. Other subscriptions only offer coffee. Bean Box gives you the best of both worlds.
It truly is a coffee first subscription box and when you select your subscription, you are signing up to receive hand-curated artisan coffee each month. Unlike other coffee subscriptions, Bean Box also offers the option to add tasty treats to your box to enjoy with your brew if you like.
FAQ
Do I get to choose the coffees I receive?
Yes, you can customize your box at any time to receive your preferred taste.
Who owns Bean Box?
Bean Box is a privately funded company founded by Ryan Fritzky and Matthew Berk.
Does Bean Box charge for shipping?
Yes, Bean Box does charge for shipping on orders under $30, but let’s face it, spending $30 on coffee isn’t that hard and if your order is a few dollars shy, just add on a little treat like biscotti or a chocolate tasting flight to enjoy with your coffee.
Where can I find the Bean Box caramels?
We love those little caramels too! You are in luck because you can add a bag of caramels to any Bean Box purchase!
Does Bean Box have free samples?
Unfortunately, Bean Box does not offer free samples, but you can try them out for only $5!
Final Verdict: What do we think about Bean Box?
Whether you are just beginning to dip your toe into the third wave of artisan coffee culture, or you’re a long-time coffee enthusiast eager to try new coffees, Bean Box has you covered.
The quality micro-batch roasts taste great and make a great gift, so drink up!
