Are you an adventurous coffee drinker or a single origin enthusiast? Then we’re happy to introduce you to Atlas Coffee Club! Being a part of Atlas Coffee Club means you’re part of the communal journey to discover the world’s best coffee. Instead of settling for that grocery store coffee, you’ll embark on a quest to far-off countries like Ethiopia, Malawi, and Papua New Guinea.
In this Atlas Coffee Club review, you’ll get to peer into what an Atlas Coffee Club subscription looks like and read about my personal experience with this coffee subscription.
What is Atlas Coffee Club?
Atlas Coffee Club is a travel-themed subscription service that delivers high-quality, single origin coffee from various countries around the globe. Because their mission is to share the world of coffee, each month features a different region or country, such as Tanzania, Kenya, Colombia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Congo, Rwanda, and beyond. Each month’s box includes your bag of freshly roasted coffee, a postcard from the featured country each month, as well as tasting notes & brewing tips for each batch.
Frequency: Every 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, or 10 weeks
Amount per shipment: Your choice of 1 6 oz bag or 1-2 12 oz bags of whole bean or ground coffee
Single Origin: Yes, exclusively.
Cost: Subscriptions starting at $14 per month for the 12 oz subscription.
Ships To: US and Canada, additional shipping cost.
Click here to subscribe to Atlas Coffee Club.
The Pros
- You get a curated “World Tour” of coffee experience from around the world
- Very fresh coffee, roasted-to-order
- All coffees are single-origin
- Fun rewards program
The Cons
- Limited choices (Light to Medium roast or Medium to Dark Roast)
- No control over specific coffee selection month-to-month
Subscription Cost
Atlas Coffee is only available via their subscription. They offer a few coffee amounts that vary in cost:
- Half Bag (6 oz): $9 + $5 shipping = $14.00 or $2.33 per ounce
- Full Bag (12 oz): $14 + $5 shipping = $19.00 or $1.58 per ounce
- Double Bag (24 oz): $28 + $5 shipping = $33.00 or $1.375 per ounce
The Half Bag option is a bit overpriced when comparing cost per ounce with other subscriptions. However, the Full Bag and Double Bag options are actually in line and even cheaper than other coffee subscription services I’ve tried. You can order up to 6 bags per month, with each additional bag yielding you a lower price per ounce.
Click here to subscribe to Atlas Coffee Club.
Customer Service
Atlas Coffee Club offers a robust FAQ page on their site, as well as email support and phone support where you can reach someone during business hours from Monday – Friday. They have great customer service, so if you receive something that just doesn’t do it for you, their customer service will do what they can to make it right.
User Experience and Customizations
- Skip a shipment: You can choose to skip a shipment at any time and can choose the exact date you’d want the next shipment.
- Shipment size: You can select between 6oz, 12oz or 24oz (two 12oz bags) for every shipment.
- Shipment frequency: At signup, you can select a frequency of every 2 weeks or 4 weeks. Once you have signed up though, you actually unlock a bunch more shipment frequencies (between 1 to 10 weeks).
- Grind: You can select between whole bean or ground for your subscription. There are no additional customizations for the grind level.
- Roast Level: You have two options– Light to Medium or Medium to Dark.
You cannot customize the following:
- Coffee: You cannot choose the specific coffee you receive each month.
- Origin: You cannot choose the coffee origin for your subscription. Origins change monthly depending on which country Atlas Coffee features.
Atlas Rewards Program
The Atlas Rewards Program allows you to sit back, drink coffee, and earn rewards. With your coffee subscription, each month you’ll be assigned points for: Miles Traveled, Coffees Explored, Money Saved, Coffee Shared, and Coffee Gifted. You can basically earn rewards for coffee purchases and even referring friends and family. Do note that you’re only able to save your points and use them if you remain an active subscriber.
Coffee Freshness
With your subscription, you will be getting some of the freshest beans available. Each batch of coffee is roasted to order! They claim to roast every morning, and each batch of coffee is often roasted within hours of being shipped out.
Because it’s so fresh off the roaster, they actually recommend waiting about 7 days from roasting before brewing it so the coffee can properly degas. The time it takes for the coffee to reach optimal flavor coincides perfectly with the time it takes for the coffee to ship so once you receive it, you can begin drinking the freshest coffee possible!
Read More: Atlas Coffee Club Overview: Everything You Need To Know Before Buying
My Atlas Coffee Club Subscription: Overall Experience
- Quantity: 1 Bag
- Grind Type: Ground
- Roast Level: Medium To Dark
When I first signed up for Atlas, I had mixed emotions. On the one hand, I was excited about the travel-themed, single-origin aspect of the subscription. I was wary about the lack of coffee choice. I’m a lot more used to coffee subscriptions where I get the option to choose one out of ~3 coffees to ship. With Atlas Coffee Club, you’re sort of just getting the one featured single-origin coffee of the month (depending on the roast level selected).
I must admit, it was quite refreshing to not have to choose between multiple coffees, but the lack of choice did worry me. What if this roast was too dark? What if I tried it and ended up not liking it?
The single-origin coffee featured this month was from Rwanda Rulindo District. After receiving a confirmation email that my coffee was going to be roasted and shipped within 24 hours of roasting, I patiently waited for about 3 days before my coffee arrived. Such a quick turnaround time!
My coffee came neatly boxed up in a package containing the patterned bag of coffee, a postcard featuring Rwanda, and a description card that includes details about Rwanda’s coffee history, tasting notes, roast level, and suggested brew methods.
Upon tasting the coffee using the pour-over method, I found that the Rwanda coffee was a lot darker than I was used to drinking. Not a bad thing, because it allowed me to try something different that I normally wouldn’t go for. Per the tasting notes, the coffee had hints of dried cacao, prunes, and molasses. I could actually taste the cacao and molasses within my first few sips!
Despite not fitting my typical coffee profile, this coffee was of good quality, came very fresh, and was easy to drink. Easy to drink means that my family members would enjoy it as well. Finishing the bag will not be a problem!
What I Liked
What I really like about the Atlas Coffee subscription is the whole travel experience that comes along with it. I love how they try to create an entire experience to transport you to the coffee’s origin. The postcard that comes along with the box is more than just a pretty picture. On the other side, it had a very descriptive passage of Rwanda that allowed me to picture the day-to-day happenings of the region!
I also liked how much flexibility there was with shipment frequency. Even though upon sign up you’re given a choice of 2-week or 4-week shipment frequency, you can actually update your shipping frequency to every 10 weeks.
What I Didn’t Like
Where they do lose a point is their lack of choice in the exact coffee that you’ll be getting. Many other subscription services have technology that lets you narrow down the beans to the specific flavor and aroma characteristics you’re looking for. With Atlas, you’re going to get something that falls within your very broad filter set.
One thing to note is that the coffee only changes once a month, so if you typically order every two weeks, you’re going to get two shipments of the same origin. If you ended up loving your first bag, that’s great that you’ll get another bag! If you were looking for more variety every few weeks, you won’t get that until the month ends.
One other factor that you’re going to want to keep in mind is that Atlas Coffee Club shipping is not free. Shipping was $5 within the United States, but even with shipping, the cost per ounce is comparable to other coffee subscriptions out there. If you’re not from the US, international shipping is usually quite a bit more expensive, which will ratchet your overall cost per ounce up.
With that said, they often offer promotions that include shipping, so clicking through periodically to see if free shipping or discounted bags are offered is smart.
My Final Thoughts
Overall, this subscription is pricier than your average bag of beans at the grocery store, but you’re getting so much more than that! You’re getting high-quality single-origin beans, all the research and expertise that comes along with it, as well as the “travel” experience. It’s still a bargain for gourmet beans, in my opinion.
After trying out a few roasts over the months, I’ve decided that I really enjoy expanding my horizons with Atlas Coffee Club. I’ve been experimenting more with their suggested brewing methods and also learning a lot more about tasting notes, growing conditions around the world, and more.
The Verdict: Is Atlas Coffee Club Worth It?
What differentiates Atlas from other coffee subscriptions is that their coffee is always changing, from country to country and even growing regions within each country. Atlas Coffee Club is best for coffee explorers who want to explore and learn more about the big world of coffee out there. On top of a very solid product, they also deliver an incredible experience, one that brings excitement, fun, and even some education to your coffee-brewing adventures. Plus, it’s really quite affordable.
If you’re ready to expand your coffee horizons, there’s no better or easier way than with an Atlas Coffee Club subscription. I think Atlas Coffee Club is the perfect subscription for someone relatively new to the world of specialty coffee and is looking to try coffees from around the world. However, if you’re a next-level coffee connoisseur, you might want to look elsewhere for more unique and complex flavors (typical of independent artisan roasters).
Travel the world one cup at a time. Join Atlas Coffee Club today!
Alternatives To Atlas Coffee Club
The Atlas Coffee subscription comes with a lot of great benefits, but it is a little different compared to other coffee subscription boxes. If you’re looking for beans with the same flavor profile every month, you won’t have that level of control with this membership. We get it, an Atlas subscription might not be perfect for everyone.
If you’re looking to choose your own options or explore a variety of different coffee roasters each month, you might want to consider another subscription. A few good coffee subscription alternatives below:
Angel’s Cup
The exposure to so many craft roasters and coffee varieties through Angel’s Cup is incredible. If you want maximum flexibility with a coffee subscription, the Cupping Flight subscription could be exactly what you need. This subscription will basically allow you to try a bunch of high-quality coffees before committing to one they want to stick with. With the Cupping Flight, you’ll actually be able to try up to 16 coffees a month!
Another fun subscription they offer is the Black Box subscription. Every coffee in The Black Box is a mystery until you taste it. Since you’re blind tasting each of them, it makes it such a fun way to learn about coffee flavors and origins without judging by looks, only taste!
Trade Coffee
Trade Coffee uses its fancy coffee-matching algorithm to match you to the perfect roast and flavor based on your coffee profile. Just take the simple 7-question quiz, choose the bag you want from your list of matches, then sit back and relax. You can opt to receive a new bag of coffee as early as every week or as late as every 6 weeks. The best part is that each time your subscription renews, you’ll be getting a different bag of coffee of your choice so you’ll continue discovering the latest and the greatest.
Trade Coffee is great for coffee subscribers that want a bit more control over what they get each month compared to Atlas Coffee.
Read more about our experience with the Trade Coffee subscription box here!
Blue Bottle Coffee
Blue Bottle is a specific coffee roaster that offers coffee subscriptions featuring only their own roasts. Sourced with care and shipped out within 24 hours of roasting, their coffee will always arrive at your doorstep super fresh. We recommend starting with the Single Origin Assortment (they’re most popular), Blend Assortment, or the Espresso Assortment. The best part is that your first bag is free (just pay $5 for shipping)! As a member, you’ll get complimentary shipping and early access to new products and VIP events.
Pro Tip: We love Blue Bottle so much. If you ever come across a Blue Bottle Coffee in person, you must get yourself a cup of that New Orleans-style Iced Coffee. Simply delightful.
Want to Gift an Atlas Coffee Club Subscription?
Atlas Coffee Club offers separate gift subscriptions. You can choose between the Starter Pack (3 month gift subscription), the Standard (6 month gift subscription) and the Coffee Lover (12 month gift subscription). It’s super easy to sign up for these. To ship coffee directly to them, simply choose the grind, roast, and the number of bags per shipment for the gift recipient and enter their address. Alternatively, you can send the subscription to the via email (just input their email address).
If you want to gift the first order in person, then just use your own shipping address upon gift subscription sign up. Once you give the recipient their first gift, they can then change their shipping address to receive the remaining orders.
Sign up for an Atlas Coffee Club gift subscription here.
Hopefully, my Atlas Coffee Club review has provided you with more insight into whether this coffee subscription is a good fit for you. We really enjoyed the fun twist Atlas offers compared to the average coffee subscription box, and we hope you do too!
If you’re looking for more coffee subscription boxes, check out our other favorites here.
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