How we rate gift sets

Every gift set on this site is scored on the 5 criteria below, weighted to 100 points. This page is generated from the same rules that produce the numbers, so it cannot describe a system we are not using.

Each criterion says what it measures, why it carries the weight it does, and what the evidence actually is — which is often the more useful half. A score read without knowing that grind consistency comes from burr geometry rather than a measured particle distribution is a score taken on faith.

One criterion is left deliberately unscored. Where no specification can answer a question, the panel shows a dash and the product is scored out of less than 100 rather than being quietly given a zero for something we never tested.

Variety & How Well It Introduces the Range

26 of 100 points

The point of a gift set is range: more origins, more roasts, more pieces. A set of two bags of the same dark roast is a restock in a box.

What we can actually read: Split by set type. A coffee set is measured on bags, origins and roast levels. An equipment set is measured on pieces and how many it serves. The two are not comparable and are not compared.

Scored directly from published figures.

The 5 rules below score this criterion out of 10, and they add up to 10 exactly. That result is then worth 26 of the category's 100 points.

Bags in the set4 of 10
Not asked of a product whose set type is equipment.
1 or less
0.5 pts
over 1, up to 2
1.5 pts
over 2, up to 3
2.5 pts
over 3, up to 4
3.5 pts
over 4
4 pts
Origins represented0.5 of 10
Not asked of a product whose set type is equipment.
3 or more
0.5 pts
Spans more than one roast0.5 of 10
Not asked of a product whose set type is equipment.
varies
0.5 pts
Pieces in the set3 of 10
Not asked of a product whose set type is coffee.
2 or less
0.8 pts
over 2, up to 4
1.6 pts
over 4, up to 8
2.4 pts
over 8
3 pts
People it serves2 of 10
Not asked of a product whose set type is coffee.
1 or less
0.6 pts
over 1, up to 2
1.4 pts
over 2
2 pts

10 of 10

Value Against Buying the Bags Separately

22 of 100 points

Whether the set costs less than buying the parts. That is the only meaningful value question for a bundle.

What we can actually read: Published rarely, so this often falls back to price per kilo.

Scored directly from published figures.

The 3 rules below score this criterion out of 10, and they add up to 10 exactly. That result is then worth 22 of the category's 100 points.

Comparison against separate bags4 of 10
published at all
4 pts
Price per kilo4 of 10
$40 or less
4 pts
over $40, up to $60
3 pts
over $60, up to $90
2 pts
over $90
1 pt
Repeatable as a subscription2 of 10
present
2 pts

10 of 10

Quality of the Coffees Inside

20 of 100 points

Unscored, as it is for the coffee itself.

What we can actually read: Deliberately unscored.

Not scored. No specification answers this, so it is left without a number.

Presentation & Gift Readiness

18 of 100 points

It is a gift. Whether it arrives ready to give is most of what was bought.

What we can actually read: Gift packaging and a message option are published where they exist.

Scored directly from published figures.

1 of the 3 rules below are struck through in this category, because too few makers publish the input. The 2 that remain score this criterion out of 10 between them: a struck rule leaves the sum entirely rather than counting as a zero. That result is then worth 18 of the category's 100 points.

Arrives in a gift box6 of 10
present
6 pts
Message can be includednot scored here
Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 2 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.
present
2 pts
Outer packaging2 of 10
box, tin
2 pts
bag
0.5 pts

10 of 10

Freshness & Roast Date Transparency

14 of 100 points

A gift sits before it is opened, which makes a roast date matter more here than on a bag you brew tomorrow.

What we can actually read: Roast date, days from roast and a valve are published or plainly absent.

Scored directly from published figures.

2 of the 3 rules below are struck through in this category, because too few makers publish the input. The one that remains scores this criterion out of 10 between it: a struck rule leaves the sum entirely rather than counting as a zero. That result is then worth 14 of the category's 100 points.

Roast date printed5 of 10
present
5 pts
Ships after roastnot scored here
Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 3 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.
3 or less
3 pts
over 3, up to 7
2 pts
over 7, up to 14
1 pt
over 14
0.5 pts
One-way valvenot scored here
Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 2 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.
present
2 pts

10 of 10

What nobody in this category publishes

3 inputs are published by fewer than one maker in four here. An input almost nobody states measures the market rather than the product, so its weight leaves the total instead of being guessed at, and scores in this category are out of less than 100 because of it. It switches back on by itself the moment enough makers publish it.

Message can be included
One-way valve
Ships after roast

How we rate everything else

The rules that apply to every category, where specifications come from and why blanks stay blank, are on how we score.