CRAFT COFFEE REVIEW: AN AFFORDABLE COFFEE SUBSCRIPTION

This Craft Coffee Review goes into details about their subscription service and the experience you gain.

Have you ever shopped for a good coffee subscription and given up because of the price? I feel you. I want to buy sustainable, ethical, high-quality coffee. But I also want to pay my rent.

With Craft Coffee, that’s not a choice you have to make. This company offers a subscription that’s tailored to your palate and actually affordable. But you’ll have to make a few trade-offs in the process. Here’s my full rundown on this subscription service.

The Full Craft Coffee Review

Craft is one of the original coffee subscriptions, first launched in Brooklyn, NY, in 2011 (1). They’re a high-end artisan coffee service with rock-bottom pricing. Craft’s goal has always been to cut out the middleman – the grocery store – and get rid of that middleman markup. Let’s see how they’re faring.

How We Rated It

• Coffee Selection
• Membership Options
• Unique Features
• Overall Experience
• Value for Money

3.9

• SUBSCRIBE

Read our guide to the best coffee subscription boxes to find the perfect option for you.

Coffee Selection – 3/5

Craft roasts coffee beans in-house, making them a roaster as well as a subscription provider. While this gives them an edge in consistency, freshness, and quality control, it puts them at a disadvantage in variety.

Craft’s selection of beans is very small, with just 12 coffees currently available. In comparison, some coffee marketplace subscriptions like Trade, Crema, and Mistobox, source from dozens of roasters and offer hundreds of coffees.

However, I’d still suggest a different subscription if you’re a single-origin fan. They also have a single decaf.

The coffee is labeled by color to indicate roast types, and they have a good selection from dark to light. I sampled the darkest roast (red) and the lightest (purple) to get a feel for the coffee flavors and quality.

The Into the Black flagship blend is a super-dark French roast. It’s a robust, bold coffee – not for the faint of heart. The deep, dusky, smoky flavor was compelling when I tasted this one. It was incredibly dark yet not burnt, a sign of true coffee roasting mastery. I enjoyed it with a splash of cream, and it makes a wonderfully sweet latte.

The light-roast Shoulders of Giants blends the classic combination of Latin American and Ethiopian beans for a balanced brew with a ton of fruity character. Its specific make-up changes seasonally (a good thing); the version I tasted was nutty and sweet with notes of berries and a surprisingly gentle acidity.

Two Categories

The flagship blends are broken down into two categories. Five are more affordable, designed to be high-quality options based on popular store-bought blends. These include:

• Into the Black
• Streetlight
• Throwback
• Daydream
• A Day in the Life

Then you have five more blends that take things to the next level, competing with third-wave coffee roasters. They are a few dollars more but still very reasonable. They are:

• Ruckus
• Sumatra
• Wanderer
• Fascination
• Shoulders of Giants

Membership Options – 4/5

Most subscriptions that cater to your taste put you through a quiz when you sign up, asking about your preferences for flavor, roast, etc. Craft does it a little differently. They ask you to input a coffee you’ve tried and enjoyed. Then they work from there. 

If you don’t have a previous favorite coffee to reference, you’re free to browse the full selection. Or you can try one of Craft’s three-coffee samplers. There are seven options, organized by roast level and including blends and single-origin coffees.

Once you’ve selected your coffee, you can choose between whole bean or one of three pre-ground grind sizes depending on your brewing method (French press, flat-bottom filter, and cone filter). Unfortunately, there are no finer grind options. So if you’re an espresso fan, make sure you have a good burr grinder at home.

The delivery cycle is highly customizable. You receive between one and six 12-ounce bags of coffee in every shipment, and shipments can arrive as often as every week or as rarely as every 12 weeks.

Craft ships within three days of roasting, and delivery takes about two days (similar to my experience with Peet’s). Considering that most roasters recommend waiting up to a week after roasting before you brew your first cup, your coffee arrives at the perfect time. 

A Few Complaints

I was a little disappointed to be confined to setting up my subscription with a single coffee. It would be great if there were an option to try different blends with each shipment, letting Craft take the reins. Of course, you can set this up manually by changing your selection after each delivery.

Craft doesn’t include much background information on your coffee beyond the approximate regions of origin and some spare tasting notes. Personally, I enjoy learning about the growing region, processing methods, and farmers producing my coffee. And more traceability typically indicates higher-quality, sustainable sourcing.

Unique Features – 4/5

The standout feature of Craft is its pricing. It’s not just that their prices are low; they’re transparent and honest, with policies designed for your peace of mind. Money doesn’t come cheap these days, and Craft doesn’t want yours to go to waste.

Case in point: they offer price matching. It’s simple, but it’s a great touch, and it’s a feature I don’t see often with coffee subscriptions. If you can find a coffee cheaper in a store, Craft will match the price!

They also offer wholesale pricing if you buy four or more bags of coffee. You don’t even have to sign up for a recurring delivery. Mix and match any of their coffee, and get all four for as little as $7.99 for 12 ounces – a 38% savings.

Then there’s the 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If you try the coffee they recommend and aren’t satisfied, they’ll put you in touch with a real live human in their office to ensure you get a coffee you love at no extra cost.

Overall Experience – 3.5/5

Craft is a great way to take your first steps into a larger coffee world. It’s a big step up if you’re used to buying coffee at the grocery store or grabbing something from the nearest Starbucks. The coffee quality is better, the roast is fresher, and it’s conveniently delivered right to your home. All that, and the price is still lower!

But it’s still only the first step. A world of coffee awaits, and anyone further along on their coffee journey might be disappointed with the lack of variety available from Craft – notably, the lack of single origins. The more serious you get about coffee, the more you’ll want to explore the unique flavor profiles that characterize certain growing regions.

Craft’s main selling point is offering fresh-roasted coffee at fabulous prices, emphasizing the crowd-pleasing flavors of balanced blends. There’s a lot to love there, and it will appeal to a huge swath of the coffee-drinking population, just not the serious coffee nerds (2). 

The website feels a little retro and isn’t totally intuitive to navigate. But it has some helpful content if you know where to look. I was especially impressed with the detailed recipes in the Brew Guides section.

Price – 5/5

The coffee is fresh and delicious, but the truth is that the focus of a Craft’s coffee subscription box review is the price of that coffee. Since its conception, the goal at Craft has been to maintain a lean staff, no storefront, and to do their own roasting – all of which helps keep operating costs low. This is passed along to the consumer, translating into affordable high-end coffee.

The blends range from $12.99 to $16.99 for 12 ounces, and shipping is always free. You can drop those prices to as little as $7.99 a bag by buying wholesale for your home or office. Craft is the cheapest subscription I’ve come across. In fact, some others charge nearly that much just for shipping.

How To Choose The Right Coffee Subscription

Here are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind as you weigh whether a Craft box (or any coffee subscription) is right for you.

• Frequency. How much coffee do you drink? Most subscriptions have options for how often you’ll receive the coffee and how much at a time, so you’ll want to have an answer for this one.
• Price per bag. The artisan coffee world is concerned with quality, fair trade, and variety. One thing that generally doesn’t make the cut is cutthroat pricing. With that said, there is some wiggle room from one subscription to the next. Note your budget, and shop within it. Craft Coffee happens to be one of the most affordable options!
• Shipping. Pay attention to shipping fees or other hidden costs. Expensive shipping can turn a great deal into a rip-off.
• Coffee preferences. Jot down some notes about your favorite roast types, flavor profiles, whether you prefer single-origin coffee beans versus blends, etc. Consider familiarizing yourself with processing methods and what brewing methods you prefer, as these can affect your coffee preferences.

Below you can compare Craft to their competitors in the US:

	Reviewed Subscription
Coffee Company	Craft Coffee	Blue Bottle	Bean Box	MistoBox	Volcanica	Driftaway	Trade	Atlas	Angel's Cup	Crema Coffee
Subscription style	Roaster	Roaster	Coffee marketplace	Coffee marketplace	Roaster	Roaster	Coffee marketplace	Roaster	Coffee marketplace	Coffee marketplace
Coffee options	Blends, Single Origin	Blend, Single Origin, Espresso, Instant, Cold Brew, Decaf	Blend, Single Origin, Espresso, Decaf	Blend, Single Origin, Espresso, Decaf	Blend, Single Origin, Espresso, Decaf	Single Origin, Cold Brew Blend, Decaf	Blend, Single Origin, Espresso, Decaf	Single Origin	Blend, Single Origin	Blend, Single Origin, Espresso, Decaf
Roast options	Light, Medium, Dark	Light, Medium, Dark	Light, Medium, Dark	Light, Medium, Dark	Light, Medium, Dark	Light, Light-Medium, Medium, Medium-Dark, Dark	Light, Light-Medium, Medium, Medium-Dark, Dark	Light/Medium, Medium/Dark	Light, Medium, Dark	Light, Medium, Dark
Curated	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Coffee quantity options	one to six 12-oz bags	12, 24, 26 oz	12 oz, 24 oz	12 oz	16 oz, 3 lb, 5 lb	8, 12, 16 oz, 2 lb, 5 lb	11 oz, 32 oz	6, 12, 24 oz	12 oz	7 oz - 5 lb, depending on coffee
Delivery frequency options	Every week, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 weeks	Every week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or 4 weeks	Every week, 2 weeks, or monthly	Every week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or 4 weeks	Weekly or monthly	Every week, 2 weeks, or 4 weeks	Every week, 10 days, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, or 6 weeks	Every 2 weeks or 4 weeks	Every week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or 4 weeks	Every 3 days, 5 days, week, 10 days, 2 weeks, month
Number of coffees	11	30ish, rotates twice monthly	100+	600+	150+	10, rotates monthly	450+	1, rotates monthly	Hundreds	1000+
Special features	Super inexpensive	Early access to new releases	5% back in credits, special member gifts	Coffee curator, two membership tiers		Guided tastings, sustainability	Two membership tiers	Information postcards, microlot coffees	Blind tasting kits	Workplace subscriptions
Pre-ground available?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Only for espresso	Yes	Yes	Yes
Pods available?	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	K-cups and Nespresso capsules	No	No
Prices start at	$7.99	$21	$20	$12.71	10% off regular price	$14.40	$15.75	$9	$16.99	$20
US shipping fees	Free to US	Free	Free to US	flat $5	flat $6.95 or free over $60	Free to US	$1.95 for one bag. Free if you sign up for 3+ bags.	Varies by location	flat $5 to US, $20 to Canada	Free
Ships to	US only	US only	US and Canada	US only	Worldwide	Worldwide	US only	US and Canada	US and Canada	US only
	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE	CHECK PRICE

If you feel you need some help with the basics, go ahead and brush up on some general coffee knowledge and different brew options.

Alternatives

No two subscriptions are alike. Each company offers a model that answers a different need. Here are some alternatives that will give you a different experience than Craft.

• The Atlas Coffee Club – Atlas Coffee Club subscription gives you a taste of coffee around the world, sending a new single-origin artisan coffee to your doorstep each month. Plus, they add a beautiful and informative postcard with notes on flavor profiles, the best brew methods, and the coffee-growing region. Read our full review of Atlas Coffee Club here.

• The Angels’ Cup – Like a little mystery? Your Angels’ Cup subscription box contains blind tastings of several artisan coffees. When you taste them, use their app to record each bean’s details and your personal notes. Then, learn about each coffee and become part of an active community of Angels’ Cup members. Read our full review of Angels’ Cup here.

The Verdict

Next time you’re feeling the need for some great coffee, but your bank account just can’t handle the strain of a fancy subscription, remember Craft Coffee. In my experience, they do a fantastic job of matching you with an artisan coffee you’re sure to enjoy. That 100% Satisfaction Guarantee is no joke!

But at the end of the day, Craft’s prices really make them stand out from the pack. With low overhead, bulk discounts, and free shipping, you won’t find a more affordable or convenient way to enjoy premium coffee blends.