Sick and tired of your average cup of Folgers or Starbucks coffee? If you’re looking for a coffee upgrade, look no further than Trade. This post will tell you all you need to know about this up and coming coffee subscription, dedicated to bringing the freshest roasts right to your doorstep.
About The Trade Coffee Subscription
Trade believes that every cup you make should be your best ever — no matter how you take your coffee! Their mission is to unite the nation’s top roasters directly with drinkers, offering 400+ coffees that are roasted only when you put your order in. You can’t get fresher than that!
Trade uses its fancy coffee-matching algorithm to match you to the perfect roast and flavor based on your coffee profile. 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 so you’ll continue discovering the latest and the greatest.
Frequency: Every 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 weeks
Cost: $15-22 per month, depending on the coffee you match to and select
Ships To: US for free
Skip or pause subscription feature: Yes, you can pause your subscription for three, six, or nine weeks
Click here to subscribe.
DEAL ALERT: 30% off your first bag + free shipping always
How Trade Coffee Subscriptions Work
There are two types of Trade coffee subscriptions available–The Hookup for adventurous coffee drinkers and The Classics for the easy-to-drink coffee lovers.
Every coffee roaster on Trade has its own schedule, which is listed under the description of each bean. Shipment is handled by the individual roaster and will be shipped within 24 hours of roasting. You can expect to receive your coffee within 3 to 5 days of it being freshly roasted. Here’s a breakdown of the two subscriptions:
The Hookup
The Hookup offers the widest variety of different roasts, origins, and tasting notes and costs $15-22. It’ll be a different coffee each delivery, but you will always get something that fits your preferences.
The Classics
The Classics subscription offers easy-to-love coffees for approximately $15. You can also bundle and save 20% with a 2-bag shipment. You can expect the same bag(s) of coffee with each delivery.
With both of these subscriptions, you’re getting 15% off the usual price of the coffee. You can set your subscription to place an order every 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 weeks by going to Manage Subscription once you’ve signed up.
You’re also welcome to shop a la carte, but you do lose out on that 15% off and free shipping that comes with a coffee subscription.
What kind of coffee can I expect to receive?
When you sign up for a Trade coffee subscription, you will get a different coffee each time. You’ll receive an email 3 or 4 days prior to your next order being placed to confirm the order. If you’re not feeling the coffee that was chosen for you, simply log in and browse the other coffees that fit your coffee profile.
If you’d like to make any changes to your order, you can do so until the day before your order. If you’ve found that one coffee that you want on repeat, Trade can set that up for you too!
What does the subscription sign up process look like for Trade Coffee?
Upon clicking the ‘Get Matched’ button, you’ll be taken to a short quiz that consists of just 7 questions. These questions are all about your coffee preferences. The questions will differ depending on your level of experience with coffee.
We chose ‘I’m at an intermediate stage’ and the quiz questions we got were:
- What is your coffee experience level? (New, Intermediate; Advanced; Total Coffee Nerd)
- How do you usually make coffee at home? (Coffee maker; French Press; Pour Over; AeroPress; Percolator; Chemex; Cold Brew; Espresso Machine; Moka Pot; Refillable Pods)
- Do you add anything to your coffee? (Milk; Non-dairy milk; Black; Sugar or sweetener; Flavored Creamer or syrups; a mixture of these choices)
- What roast level do you typically enjoy?
- How do you like your coffee to taste? (Classic and traditional; hints of something different; surprising and unconventional; I defer to you)
- Do you buy ground coffee, whole bean coffee, or both?
- What type of coffee do you drink? (Regular; Decaf)
After submitting your answers, you will be matched on the spot to three different coffees. Read through the descriptions, tasting notes, etc. to decide on the one you’re most interested in trying. Once you confirm the bag you want, simply go on to the check out process.
We opted for the Guatemala Atitlán el Grano by Huckleberry Roasters, located in Denver, CO. We had never heard of this coffee roaster before, so we were super excited to get to try something new from out of state! California coffee roasters are great and all, but we live for trying new coffees from all over the world!
What happens after you sign up for a Trade subscription?
After you place your order, your coffee will be prepared by roasters according to their individual roasting schedules. Each roaster’s schedule is displayed on the coffee’s description page. Once roasted, your coffee will be shipped out within 24 hours. From there, your coffee will spend about 2-5 business days in transit to your home.
How does the next coffee shipment work?
Based on the frequency you selected upon subscribing, Trade will tell you what coffee you have coming up next. You’ll be able to see the tasting notes, roast level, and even the roaster’s roasting schedule.
Not liking what you’re seeing? Simply select ‘Edit Queue’ to choose from a few other coffees that fit your taste profile.
The description of “sweet and tart” was not appealing to us (not a fan of tart coffees), so we opted for the Costa Rica Jose Alvarado, which was described as “chocolaty and sweet”. Way more our style.
New Subscription Perk: First Match Guarantee
Trade guarantees that you’ll love the first coffee in your subscription or the next one’s on the house. If you really didn’t like your first match, you can contact the team within one week of receiving your first order to get a new match for free.
Other Perks of Trade Coffee’s Website
Trade’s website also offers coffee gifts, how-to guides, and a learning section. The how-to guides are great because they’ve got visual tutorials on how to brew coffee in a variety of popular methods, including coffee maker, cold brew, pour-over, Chemex, and even iced coffee.
We love the visuals here, so if you’re ever confused about what the process is supposed to look like or where you’re supposed to pour the water, just refer to the picture! Mastered one coffee brewing method? Try the next one! You can really refine each of your coffee consumption methods over time!
The learning portal provides super educational information about the coffee taster’s flavor wheel, single origin, fair trade, and organic coffee, how to make coffee concentrate, what fermentation does to coffee, and much more. Much, much more.
Canceling Your Subscription
Canceling your subscription is as easy as it gets. Simply go to the Manage Subscription section, a drop-down menu option that opens when you hover over the My Account icon. This will take you to a page that shows you all the details of your subscription. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find a Cancel Subscription option.
DEAL ALERT: Get 30% off your first bag + free shipping always
We hope this post has helped you understand the Trade coffee subscription process a little bit better. Hoping you discover the bean of your dreams!
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