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Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon – April 2015

Lindsey Morse
ByLindsey MorseApr 21, 2015 | 5 comments

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Box

Bean Box delivers a monthly box of freshly roasted gourmet coffee from Seattle’s premier coffee roasters.

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Inside

Subscribers choose whether to receive a full 12 oz. bag of coffee each month or four smaller 1.8 oz. sample-sized bags.

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Logo

My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Contents

The Subscription Box: Bean Box

The Cost: $20 per month

The Products: Freshly roasted coffee from a selection of Seattle’s best coffee roasters.

Ships to: US and Canada

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Card 1

Bean Box includes an info card that lists the month’s featured roasters and provides a little information about each of them.

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Card 2

On the reverse, Bean Box provides brewing tips and tricks to help make sure your beans yield the best possible coffee.

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Card 3

There’s also a card with information about how to personalize your subscription.

Coffee can taste differently depending on the brewing method. For all of the coffees sent by Bean Box, I ground them using a blade grinder and brewed them using a 34 oz. Bodum French Press (my preferred brewing method). Each 1.8 oz. packet of beans yielded one full pot of coffee, approximately 4-5 cups.

For reference, I typically drink medium roast coffee, but I like lighter and darker roasts, too. I sometimes drink my coffee black, but I most often enjoy it with a small amount of milk and no sugar.

All of the coffee sent by Bean Box was stamped with a “roasted on” date:

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Date

All of the coffee in my box was roasted on April 6th. My box arrived only three days later, and I really appreciate that Bean Box is able to send coffee that’s so fresh. 

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Herkimer

Herkimer Coffee Drip Blend (1.8 oz.)- value approximately $2

This was a medium roast coffee from Honduras. Bean Box recommended trying this coffee without milk or sugar because “it brings its own.” I thought this was a fantastic coffee, and, while great on its own, I thought it was also delicious with a splash of milk.

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Longshoreman

Longshoreman's Daughter Coffee Roaster Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (1.8 oz.)- value approximately $2.30

Often, Ethiopian coffee is lightly roasted because it typically has a juicy, citrusy quality that can be lost when the beans are darkly roasted. On the bag, this coffee was described exactly like I would expect: a sweet, lively coffee with hints of berry and orange. Bean Box even described the coffee as tasting like tea, which reinforced my expectation that this would be a light roast; however, as soon as I opened the packet of beans I could tell that they were actually very dark. (I wondered for a minute if maybe they’d bagged the wrong beans!) The resulting coffee wasn’t really for me. I thought it was a little bitter, and I ended up adding quite a lot of milk to try and soften the super dark flavors. 

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Kuma

Kuma Coffee Colombia Bruselas (1.8 oz.)- value approximately $2.80

This coffee was excellent. It’s described as a “true crowd pleaser, with great body, structure, sweetness, and intensity.” I thought it was lively, flavorful, and very smooth. Like all of the coffee in this shipment, I brewed it in my French press; however, Kuma claims that it’s also great as an espresso. I’m planning to order a full-sized bag, so I can try using it in my countertop espresso maker. Beans that are great for espresso AND drip coffee? Yes, please!

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Lighthouse

Lighthouse Roasters Roaster's Choice (1.8 oz.)- value approximately $1.80

This Roaster’s Choice is Lighthouse Roasters’ signature coffee. It’s a full-bodied blend of Ethiopian, Sumatran, and Latin high-grown Arabicas. The beans were very dark, almost like a French roast. In the cup, it was bold and strong. While this is a darker coffee than I usually go for, I enjoyed trying it.

Bean Box Subscription Review + Free Box Coupon - April 2015 Coupon

Bean Box also included a coupon for Hello Fresh and a chocolate truffle from Seattle’s Dilletante Chocolates.

Verdict: This is my first Bean Box, and I really enjoyed it! I love trying new coffee, and I think it’s exciting to receive freshly roasted beans from Seattle’s boutique roasters. The value is very low, but I think this box is more about discovering new coffee and roasters than it is about getting a great deal.

Have you tried Bean Box?

Lindsey Morse
Lindsey Morse

Lindsey is a professional baker, cold brew coffee addict, and rosé aficionado who loves writing about food and wine. When she’s not sharing her love of subscription boxes with the world, you’ll find her in the podcasting studio, perfecting her cake decorating techniques, or cursing her way through the New York Times daily crossword puzzle. 


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5 comments

Kelly

I love Driftaway coffee, $16 for 11 ounces and delicious.

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Emily S.

I love coffee and like trying new coffees but this box seems overpriced. There’s certainly value to discovering new coffees but $20 for 4 small packets of coffee valued at around $10, a coupon, and a truffle is a pretty bad deal. One 12oz bag might be a little better but, I don’t know, $20 plus shipping still feels like a lot.

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SJ

I understand that it’s a ‘bean’ box but do they offer already ground coffee? I’d be interested in trying this but don’t have a grinder and I’m not willing to buy one just to try out this box.

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Courtney

Wow that’s pretty high for ~$10 worth of coffee….

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Tacie

I just signed up, but it costs $3.49 (not $2.99) and I didn’t get the option to choose between one larger bag or 4 smaller ones.

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