Match Made Coffee is a subscription box delivering coffees and snack pairings from around the world!
This box was sent to us at no cost to review. (Check out our review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is of the Deluxe, $29.99 a month, box.
The Subscription Box: Match Made Coffee
The Cost: The Monthly Sampler is $15.99 a month + shipping for 2 coffees. The Deluxe Monthly is $29.99 a month + shipping for 3 coffees in a wooden box.
The Products: New craft coffees paired with snacks from across the world, delivered monthly
Ships to: U.S. and Canada
Check out the Coffee Subscription Box Directory and make sure to add Match Made Coffee to your subscription list or wishlist!
Since this is the first time My Subscription Addiction received this subscription, Match Made Coffee included a welcome card with contact info. I thought this was a nice touch to welcome me as a subscriber.
The included information card features an image of San Diego, California and feels like a postcard. Looks like I’m getting some coffee from the San Diego Coffee Company! I really like that they include a detailed description of each coffee so you know what to expect flavor-wise, and there’s also info on why the chose the snacks to accompany them.
For this review, I deployed the Aeropress method on all 3 coffees. I ground 18g of each bean, steeped in 95g of 190º water for 90 seconds, and added water to all except the espresso. I’ve provided links to each coffee on Amazon, which is the only place you can order San Diego Coffee Company coffees. As a preface, I received roughly 90g or 3.1oz of each coffee, which is less than the promised ¼ pound of each which is in line with their promised "about 2.5oz of coffee". The wording of the contents on their website read "Each box includes about a quarter pound of specialty coffees in 2 flavors..." and that the deluxe edition contains "more beans per coffee". At best, this wording is confusing, and I admit that I mistakenly interpreted that to mean 1/4 pound of 2 coffees, not 2-3 ounces. My apologies. I’ve provided the value at ¼ pound as this was probably just an oversight. I'm updating the coffee values to reflect my mistake, so each coffee value will be shown at 3 ounces instead of 4. The snack values are based on bulk pricing, retail pricing is probably considerably more!
(Italics in the above paragraph are edits from the original review).
Guatemala Antigua - Value $1.68 (buy 2lbs. for $18.00)
Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer - Value $0.64 (buy a box of 48 for $30.85)
The first coffee this month is a single-origin, 100% Arabica bean. I am normally very into coffees from Guatemala, but for me, there wasn’t a ton of flavor here. The beans are the least roasted of the 3 I received, but they are still pretty dark. There was a good bit of roasted flavor, but not much of the actual coffee flavor. This was still my favorite of the 3, and the caramel wafer cookie was amazing! I sipped the coffee after taking a bite of the treat and it really brought out some of the sweeter flavors hidden behind the roast. I don’t normally pair treats with coffee, so this was a new experience for me and I really enjoyed it!
Organic French Roast - Value $2.25 (buy 2lbs. for $24.00)
Walker’s Shortbread - Value $0.65 (buy a pack of 24 for $15.68)
This is an OCIA certified organic French Roast coffee that is described as having a full-body, rich aroma, and bold flavor. It’s definitely French Roast as you can see from the darker beans, and it was very rich. This is not normally a roast I would seek out, but when paired with the shortbread, the flavor was really delicious! I like that they included an organic bean in this box too.
Espresso - Value $1.68 (buy 2lbs. for $18.00)
Raspberry Fig Bar - Value $0.58 (buy a 36 pack for $21.19)
The description of this espresso really piqued my interest: a blend of 6 of the world’s finest coffees, mimicking the best Italian espresso. On San Diego Coffee Company’s website, they claim it’s a blend of 5 of the world’s finest coffees. I am very curious what the coffees are and no one seems to be telling me! That said, this is a fine espresso. There is nothing to write home about here, it’s got a decent flavor, it’s a very dark roast, and it packs a wallop. The fig bar balances the flavor with the sweetness of raspberry and fig, and this was a perfect treat to start my day.
Verdict: This was an OK first box from Match Made Coffee. While it didn’t hit me with any particular coffee that I would seek out again, it did remind me that I need to step out of my comfort zone once in a while and see what else is out there. I do think I’ll try more sweets with coffee in the future! That said, I put the value for the contents of this box at $9.37 $7.48, and even with the reusable wooden box and the value of discovery, I think this falls a little quite short of the $29.99 (plus shipping!) asking price. I don’t particularly see the need for the wooden box outside of a fun unboxing experience, and I’m curious if I’ll be getting one every month and since I won't be receiving one every month, I hope that future installments contain higher quality coffees, as pointed out by the box owner in the comments of this review. I’m hoping the next Match Made coffee ups the value a bit, fixes the amount of coffee shipped, and really wows me with some new coffee!
What do you think of Match Made Coffee? Which pairing was your favorite?
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