BeanGenius is a "specialty coffee subscription and coffee discovery service".
When you sign up, you'll select your preferred flavor profiles for your first shipment:
(I selected berry, earthy, chocolate, dried fruit, nuts, and stone fruit on my Palate Profile.)
Then each month, you'll receive 12oz. of fresh roasted, specialty coffee. After you try your coffee, you go back to your account, rate that month's shipment, and the following month BeanGenius sends you a new coffee picked just for you based on your personal taste!
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: BeanGenius
The Cost: $22/month (includes shipping)
The Products: 12 oz. bags of coffee, picked according to your preferences, fresh roasted and delivered in 3-4 days
Ships to: U.S.
Good to know: BeanGenius ships whole-bean coffee by default, but you can contact them by e-mail to request ground coffee instead.
Check out other coffee boxes in the Coffee Subscription Box Directory and make sure to add BeanGenius to your subscription box list or wishlist!
I really do enjoy when companies send handwritten notes! This note explains a little bit more about the BeanGenius method for helping you find coffee that you love. This is my first shipment, so I'm receiving the "Flavor Flight" that will help give BeanGenius more info about what I like and dislike in a coffee.
The "Brew Guide" unfolds to reveal brewing instructions for drip, french press, and pour over. We do pour over almost exclusively in our house; I find it makes great tasting single-cups of coffee, and it's much easier to clean than a french press.
They say here to 'bloom' your coffee by pouring a small amount of hot water over your grinds first, and letting it sit for 40-50 seconds before continuing with your pour. What a great tip - I've been using that method since I received this shipment, on both BeanGenius coffee and other coffee, and it does make for a better tasting cup.
The measurements were in grams, so I broke out my food scale. Here's a picture of my whole setup minus grinder and kettle:
I used my Escali Digital Kitchen Scale and Bee House Ceramic Dripper to measure and brew the coffee. If you don't have a food scale handy, I found that 20-30 grams was about 3 tablespoons of beans.
Now on to the fun part: tasting!
Flavor Profile 4 oz Whole-Bean Coffee Sample (White Dot) - It's tough to give a price here without knowing more details about each coffee, but I estimated each 4 oz sample to run $5 to 7 if compared to other online specialty coffee retailers.
The Flavor Flight coffees don't have any information on them, just dots to differentiate them. I thought this might be a light roast because of the white dot, but I was wrong - it seemed medium roast to me.
This bag smelled slightly nutty on opening, and it was much more prominent when brewed. It was a little acidic for my taste and had a bit of grapefruit, and overall it just wasn't very remarkable. I'm not a big fan of citrus-y coffee so this was my least favorite of the group.
Flavor Profile 4 oz Whole-Bean Coffee Sample (Small White Dot) - Estimated $5 to 7 if compared to other online specialty coffee retailers
The second bag smelled AMAZING! It hit you over the head with an intense berry scent as soon as you opened it. When brewed, it was more distinctly blueberry than anything else. I thought this one was very smooth and would have gone great with chocolate or other sweets. A great cup of coffee.
Flavor Profile 4 oz Whole-Bean Coffee Sample (Black Dot) - Estimated $5 to 7 if compared to other online specialty coffee retailers
I couldn't immediately recognize anything in the last bag when it was opened; it just smelled like coffee, maybe a bit roasty/savory. As soon as it was brewed, though, I could tell this was an 'earthy' selection. It was very herbal with maybe a tiny hint of spice. I was surprised that this one was actually my favorite of the morning - I definitely thought the berry coffee would win out.
After a couple days, both the 2nd (berry) and 3rd (herbal) coffees still were at the top of my list, so I logged on to give my ratings:
Once you rate the coffees, you'll see their origin and which notes are most prominent. I'm just a bit competitive so I was pretty excited that I hit them all on the nose. 😉
I decided that nothing was a 5-star for me this month, since the 2nd and 3rd coffees were tied for my personal favorites.
Verdict: I was pleased with my Flavor Flight from BeanGenius! It was really fun to be able to taste the differences between the three coffees sent. For $22/month, BeanGenius is definitely more expensive than buying a pound from Starbucks, but overall the price is competitive with other coffee subscriptions that promise high-end coffee delivered to you soon after roasting. We go through a pound a week so I can't see this replacing all of our coffee going forward, but if you're looking to expand your palate or even just start brewing more at home instead of buying fancy coffeeshop drinks, this is a really great way to be introduced to different flavors and learn what you like and dislike. I'm looking forward to seeing what they pick for me next month!
Have you ever done a coffee tasting flight? Would you try BeanGenius?
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