Trade Coffee vs Volcanica Coffee Club

Trying a lot of small American roasters without choosing between them

Scores higher on cancelling, skipping & getting out, choice & personalisation, delivery & straight answers.

A flat monthly rate for three or six coffees, with shipping and oat milk included

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

• +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.

• +$12.67 a coffee on the three-count box, about $56 a kilo, cheaper per kilo than Trade or Blue Bottle.
• +Coffee is roasted fresh before each shipment, stated on the Coffee Club page.
• +Pause or cancel your membership anytime, and skip a delivery, from Volcanica's own pages.
• +Free shipping on every box, against a $60 threshold or a $6.95 flat rate on ordinary orders.
• +Twenty coffees to mix and match each month, plus oat milk with every order and 20% off the first subscription order.

• −Each coffee is an 8 oz box, smaller than the 12 oz bag most roasters sell, so the per-bag price flatters it.
• −One roaster, so the twenty coffees are all Volcanica's own.
• −A flat rate means a cheap coffee and an expensive one cost you the same, which suits the roaster more than the buyer.
• −No number of days between roasting and despatch is given.