5 Fair-Trade Coffee Subscriptions
Read: Guilt-free caffeination.
When I started thinking more about how I could be more conscious of where I buy the things I need, coffee felt like an easy place to start.
The concept of buying fair trade certainly isn’t new, but to be honest I used to just grab coffee with the rest of my groceries, which left me feeling vaguely guilty that I wasn’t tuning in more to where it came from. A few years ago it hit me that this is one time when my laziness could actually be an advantage. What if I set up a monthly delivery with an ethical subscription service? Then I could know I was making a small positive impact while serving my caffeine needs, and I had one less thing I had to remember to buy at the store.
Here are a few of our favorite coffee subscriptions to get you started on your own caffeinated journey…
I’ve been a subscriber of Atlas for over two years now, and I love it. The focus here is on highlighting the countries where coffee is grown and exposing you to some roasts you might not get access to on your own.
Every month they source single-origin beans from a different country, roast them in-house in Austin, TX, and then ship them out to you. I love the postcards they send with info about the coffee history of each region. I feel like I’m expanding my coffee knowledge bit by bit each month, and maybe it’s silly but it’s a small way to feel like I’m still discovering the world when I’m not on the road.
For fellow travel nerds who enjoy a little education in the morning, this is a great fit. I’ve also given a subscription as a gift to other caffeinated travel-junkies, and it’s always been a big hit.
Driftaway is cool because the first time you order you get four sample blends to taste, and based on your notes they’ll send you new blends catered to your taste each month, with your name right on the label.
They also really care about sustainable packaging, and they offer a ton of educational content online, like regular virtual tastings on their social media, to keep you learning as well as drinking. They’re also a husband and wife team, and you know we love a family business.
Trade is great if you want to learn more about US coffee roasters. Instead of roasting themselves, they source blends from indie roasters around the country and send them to you directly. It’s sort of like the at-home version of an indie coffee shop road trip across the country. And while that’s now definitely going on my bucket list, this is a good first step.
More of a cold brew person? I gotchu. Wandering Bear gives you a monthly supply of cold brew on tap. If you’ve ever popped open a boxed wine then you know how this system works. Personally, we’re planning on keeping a box stocked in the studio over the summer to keep the caffeine flowing.
Years ago I lived down the street from a coffee shop that did weekly blind tastings so you could learn what characteristics you actually liked in coffee and figure out your own preferences. I still think about those tastings a lot, and I’ve often wished I could share that experience when I hear a friend say that they stick with Starbucks because indie coffee is overwhelming. Lord, I get it.
That’s what’s rad about Angel’s Cup. It’s more blind tasting than coffee subscription. Every month you get a flight of unmarked black bags to taste, and once you decide which ones you like you can go onto their app and learn about them. It’s basically a distance learning coffee education for anyone who wants to learn a bit more about what they actually like without any of the extra stuff like packaging (guilty) getting in the way.
Note: Nothing in this post was sponsored or gifted in any way… these are just our honest thoughts on brands we think are worth highlighting.
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