The normally mundane chore of grocery shopping has recently become difficult as people try to minimize trips to the store and keep the line between stocking and hoarding. In the meantime, the stores are working hard to keep the essentials in stock and the delivery services are very thin. It’s a small consolation, but coffee is a staple you don’t need to worry about: many companies continue to roast exceptional beans and will ship them to your doorstep.
We checked in with the roasters behind the coffee subscriptions we love and found that they are all still shipping. Most also sell individual sacks of beans. We’ve also listed some other roasters that we like that offer free shipping and discounts if you order online while the brick and mortar cafes are closed. Ordering from one of these roasters is a great way to support a small business (and enjoy a fantastic cup of coffee). However, if you’d rather order or buy in bulk from a grocery store, we’ve got recommendations on how to extend the life of your beans, as well as ideas on how to get the most out of mediocre beans.
Our favorite places to order coffee online
We haven’t encountered too many delays or storage issues with the coffee roasters listed here. However, before ordering, be sure to check a company’s social media for information on how to process orders during the pandemic. Some companies also share brewing techniques on social media or offer direct phone help while their cafes are closed.
The best deal for stockpiling
Craft coffee is an affordable option to stock up on coffee. When you buy four or more 12-ounce bags, they get them wholesale, up to 42 percent of the retail cost. You can choose whole beans or opt for one of several grind options. The company also offers a subscription that allows you to customize how many bags of coffee you receive and how often. Lead writer Nick Guy, who keeps signing up, says, “It’s the kind of coffee I can enjoy in the morning without thinking about what is really all I need most in the morning.” Craft is still going to plan delivered.
The most customizable subscriptions
MistoBox is the only service on this list that allows you to sample coffee from a range of roasters in small quantities from the United States. There are over 500 options to choose from. You can place a one-time order or sign up to receive a 12-ounce bag of whole or ground beans every one, two, three, or four weeks. The employee Melanie Pinola has been using this service for about three years and appreciates the variety. “The tasting notes and descriptions are usually correct,” she says, “and I like that you can see which coffees are coming so you can update your queue.” MistoBox currently does not expect any shipping disruptions.
Intelligentsia sells both coffee (whole beans or ground) and tea, either by the bag or by subscription. If you’re really desperate, it can send you a box of fresh cold brew. Editor Thorin Klosowski likes how flexible the subscription is: “It’s very easy to change deliveries, skip deliveries, and do other weird things like dropping shipments. B. two bags every two weeks and one bag once a month on the same day as one of these other deliveries. “Intelligentsia currently offers free shipping, and the company has set up a hotline called Intelli Celly that their coffee educators use to answer questions about brewing.
Driftaway Coffee appeals to people who like to make adjustments. You start your subscription with a selection of different roasts so the company can tailor future orders to the coffees you prefer. You can also order individual bags of beans, whole or ground, in quantities from 11 ounces to 5 pounds. Driftaway is roasting and shipping as usual, donating 5 ¢ per pound of coffee sold to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation’s COVID19 Crisis Relief Fund. The company plans to offer self-brewing help in its Instagram stories.
Single Origin Subscriptions
Blue Bottle sells individual sachets of whole beans, but you can get them at a discount ($ 1 to $ 3 off per sachet) by signing up. The subscriptions are flexible and allow you to order 6, 12, 24 or 36 ounces of coffee at a time for one to four weeks. Senior software developer Justin Yost, who has a subscription to the Single Origin range, says, “The quality is in a pretty decent to excellent range in my opinion. One bonus right now: Blue Bottle offers flat shipping of $ 5 for subscriptions and free shipping for coffee and equipment orders while stores are closed.
Verve offers a variety of subscription options that allow you to either choose a blend you want to receive each time or make your order based on the roaster’s choice. Community leader Erin Price was a Roaster’s Choice Single Origin Subscriber and loved it. Verve also sells whole or ground brewed beans in quantities from 12 ounces to 5 pounds. The company offers free land shipping on all orders.
Tandem Coffee Roasters sells whole beans in 12-ounce, 2-pound, or 5-pound bags and offers subscriptions to drip, espresso, and more that are delivered weekly or bi-weekly. The most fun option recommended by writer Alex Arpaia is the The Good Thing subscription, which combines a 12-ounce bag of coffee with a vinyl record. Since it only ships once a month and currently doesn’t ship until the first week of May, it’s not the best option if you’re just looking to stock up on coffee, but it could be a nice pickup. As Alex says in our guide to coffee subscriptions, “It’s a pleasure to wake up Saturday morning, make the latest record, and brew an infusion.” Tandem recently made changes to its roasting and shipping schedules, and is also posting updates on Instagram.
Yes, the subscription from Plz offers a bizarre variant: it includes a zine and a small bag of quality beans in every order. The deputy editor-in-chief Daniela Gorny loves Yes Plz coffee, even though she no longer subscribes to it. You can choose from a 12-ounce pouch or an 8.8-ounce pouch that ships every one to four weeks. Note, however, that Yes Plz is only available by subscription. Hence, it is not a good choice if you are looking to buy a lot of coffee now. The company is still fully operational.
Other coffee roasters are currently offering deals
In addition to our favorite subscriptions, you may be able to order beans from your favorite roaster or even collect them contactless from a café. Check their websites or social media for more information. Since we published this piece, many readers have agreed to additional recommendations for roasters that ship. You can find their suggestions in the comments below and add your own too. Here are some good roasters currently offering free shipping or other deals:
- Roseline Coffee has extended its shipping days, offering free shipping “until things settle down” for orders of $ 34 or more.
- Onyx Coffee Lab ships orders over $ 25 in the US for free (does not apply to subscriptions).
- Coava Coffee offers different promotions: free shipping until April; Buy a 300 gram bag and get a 20 percent discount on a second one with a code COFFEE;; $ 10 off your first coffee subscription with code GET10.
- Land of a Thousand Hills ships orders over $ 20 for free with code STAY HEALTHY.
- Parlor Coffee is offering free shipping on orders over $ 50 through April and is now selling 5 pound bags of coffee.
- The Metropolis Coffee Company offers a 20 percent discount on all coffees with a code DRINKFROMHOME.
- Nossa Familia is offering free shipping on orders over $ 25 with code through April FREESHIP25.
- Ruby Coffee Roasters offers free shipping on orders over $ 25 with code STAY AT HOME;; Use the code FIRSTONESHIPSFREE Free shipping on your first subscription order.
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters ships all orders for free and has started selling 5 pound bags of several popular roasts. The company donates $ 5 from the sale of every 5 pound bag to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation’s COVID19 Crisis Relief Fund.
- Equator Coffees ships all orders for free. It also has a system in place where you can leave a tip for the baristas who are currently unemployed.
How to make the most of beans that you buy in bulk
If you don’t want a subscription, you can always buy a large amount of coffee at once. Many of the companies recommended above sell large bags, or you can buy inexpensive coffee in bulk at a grocery store or Costco. The latter even ships coffee, including this inexpensive 2-pack of 2-pound bags of Kirkland Signature coffee. When buying in bulk, keep in mind that ground coffee can get stale quickly. So get whole beans if you can and grind them as needed (we have recommendations for the best coffee grinders if you don’t have one).
Freezing the coffee to keep it fresher isn’t ideal, but a lot of less-than-ideal things are happening right now. If you have a lot of beans or soil that you won’t be using in a week or two, the National Coffee Association recommends storing them in an airtight container to keep the freezer flavors and smells from seeping in. Coffee expert James Hoffman also did a great video on freezing coffee in which he recommends portioning a large bag of beans into smaller freezer bags or containers before freezing so you can take out and use a week at a time, rather than one Open large pouch and repeatedly expose the frozen beans to air and moisture.
You can also make a decent cold brew with mediocre beans. Senior Editor Marguerite Preston notes that using a cold brew coffee maker can alleviate the off-taste. With her Filtron brewer, she can get two beers from a batch of ground, and the resulting coffee concentrate will keep in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
