Intelligentsia Coffee Subscription vs Trade Coffee

A Chicago roaster's own rotating single origins, shipped free and roasted to order

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 choice & personalisation, delivery & straight answers.

• +Always roasted to order, stated plainly as one of three headline promises rather than implied.
• +Always free shipping on subscriptions, with no bundle or spend threshold.
• +From $18 for 12 oz on Intelligentsia Classics, about $53 a kilo.
• +Skip an order or move the next one to any future date from My Subscriptions, and gift subscriptions are sold.
• +20% off the first four orders with code 20OFFFOUR, which is a longer discount runway than most.

• −Prices sit on each subscription's own page, not on the subscriptions page that compares them.
• −One roaster, so there is no discovery beyond Intelligentsia's own range.
• −No money-back guarantee is stated.
• −Gift subscriptions cannot be paid for in full up front.
• −No shipping destinations are 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.