Atlas delivers great single-origin beans from all over the world. Unlike Trade Coffee, it roasts those beans itself in Austin, Texas, and gets them to your door shortly thereafter. The subscription options are also simpler than Trade. You can choose between light-to-medium or medium-to-dark roasts—or if you feel like exploring, choose both. I did the latter and have now sampled beans from six countries. Each arrived on time, nicely packaged, complete with some notes about the country of origin.
You may get beans you aren’t as fond of because Atlas is a more exploratory experience. To me, this is part of the fun, but if you’re looking for a subscription that’s very dialed-in and exactly matches your tastes, this may not be the best choice. That said, I have yet to encounter a coffee I thought was “bad,” even things I am not fond of, like a medium roast Guatemalan, were still excellent quality beans and well roasted.
Atlas subscriptions cost $14 for a 12 ounce bag. There’s an option to get a half bag (6 oz) for $9. You can get deliveries every 2 or 4 weeks.
Best for Animal Lovers (Yep)
Grounds and Hounds offers small batch roasted blends and single origin coffee with 20 percent of profits going to benefit animal shelters. Grounds and Hounds coffee has some of my personal favorite coffees, especially the dark roasts. (Try the Snow Day Winter Roast when it’s available.)
There are two kinds of subscription at Grounds and Hounds, a traditional subscription where you pick what you’d like to try, and a gift subscription, if you’re buying for someone else. I tested the former, opting for whole bean (ground and single serve pods are also options), and its “Roaster’s Select” beans, which let me sample a few different varieties. As soon as I found what I liked, I switched my subscription to that bean.
When you sign up, Grounds and Hounds will let you know how your money is helping animal shelters. In the case of a single bag, weekly subscription you’d be providing 800 meals per year to shelters.
Grounds and Hounds coffee subscriptions start at $15 for a 12 ounce bag. You can get deliveries every 1, 2, 4, or 8 weeks. I suggest picking a smaller amount of coffee delivered more frequently to ensure you have fresh coffee on hand.
Best for Blind Taste Testing
