Blue Bottle Coffee Subscription vs Trade Coffee

One roaster you already like, shipped free, with the roast chosen rather than matched

Scores higher on cost per bag, and per kilo, what actually arrives.

Trying a lot of small American roasters without choosing between them

Scores higher on freshness & roast dates, choice & personalisation, delivery & straight answers.

• +Shipping is always free, on every subscription, with no bundle or minimum to earn it.
• +From $22 for a 12 oz bag, about $65 a kilo, less than Trade before postage.
• +Around twenty subscriptions covering dark, medium, light, single origin, espresso and Craft Matcha.
• +Change, pause or cancel at any time with no notice period stated.
• +A limited-time extra 10% off when you prepay the first three shipments.

• −No roast-to-despatch time is stated, and no roast-date claim, so freshness scores on an absence.
• −One roaster only, so there is no discovery of anybody else's coffee.
• −The bag size is in the help centre, not on the subscriptions page where a buyer compares.
• −No money-back guarantee is stated on the subscriptions page.

• +Cancelling, pausing and rescheduling are all self-service from the dashboard, with no phone call and no email, and a pause keeps your queue intact.
• +Over 450 coffees on the Premium tier from independent roasters, matched by a quiz rather than picked blind from a list.
• +Every bag is roasted to order and shipped by the roaster itself rather than pulled from a warehouse shelf.
• +Grind, frequency, bag count and the next order date can all be changed up to midday the day before an order.
• +The first bag is free on the Discovery Trial, so the range can be tested at the price of the shipping.

• −Shipping is only free if you prepay for three, six or twelve bags, or take the 2lb subscription. Pay-per-shipment plans pay for delivery.
• −At $70.94 a kilo the standard 310g bag is dearer than Atlas Coffee Club's $58.82, and considerably dearer than supermarket specialty.
• −The First Bag Guarantee covers the first match only and is a replacement or a better match, not a refund.
• −United States only. No Canada, no Puerto Rico or other US territories, and no APO/FPO/DPO addresses.
• −Trade publishes a coffee count and not a roaster count, so how many roasters you are actually choosing between is not stated.