Whole bean subscription vs ground subscription

Choose whole bean if you have a grinder and brew at home, and choose ground if you do not. On our subscription the price is the same either way, $28 for a 12 oz bag with free US shipping and 11% off for subscribers, so the choice is about your kitchen and not your budget. You pick whole bean or ground on the product page when you set up the subscription.

How do the two compare on a subscription?

Everything in the first three rows is identical, which is the point. You are not paying more or less for either one.

What does ground coffee give up?

Choice. Ground coffee is ground once, for one method, and then it is in the bag. If you brew drip every morning and never change, that is fine. If you want to try a pour-over on Saturday and French press on Sunday, a single grind will be wrong for one of them. Whole bean also lets you adjust when a cup tastes off, which is the first thing to try when coffee turns bitter or sour. If you are not sure, read why coffee tastes bitter for what to change.

The honest tradeoff is simple. Ground is easier. Whole bean is more flexible. Neither is a mistake.

How do you set it up, step by step?

1. Pick a coffee from the full lineup of ten.
2. Choose whole bean or ground on the product page.
3. Choose a delivery schedule: every 2 weeks, monthly or every 2 months.
4. Check out. The 11% subscription price applies automatically.

If you change your mind later, you can change whole bean to ground, or the other way around, from your account, in the same place where you switch coffees. We explain that in can you switch coffees in a subscription. And if you are weighing the schedule, our cadence guide covers how often to ship.

Does it matter how fast you drink the bag?

It matters more for ground coffee. Coffee starts to lose aroma once it is ground, so a ground bag is best finished in a reasonable time, and the schedule should match how much you drink. A 12 oz bag is enough for roughly 22 mugs of 12 oz at 60 g per litre, so one person drinking a mug a day will use a bag in about three weeks. Two people will finish it faster. Pick the shipping interval around that: every 2 weeks if the bag disappears quickly, monthly if you drink less, every 2 months if coffee is an occasional thing.

Whole bean is more relaxed about timing. Keeping the beans whole until the moment you brew is the simplest way to keep the cup tasting like the label notes. We roast on demand and do not print a roast date, so there is nothing to count down from. You are choosing a format, not racing a clock.

Which coffee should you start with?

If your answer is "ground," pick the coffee that asks the least of you. No. 1 Common Sense is labeled for drip or French press, takes milk without falling apart, and is the cup you make every morning without thinking about it. Those are the habits ground coffee suits best.

If your answer is "whole bean," No. 7 Praxis is a good first bag, because the label suggests brewing it twice, once at 60 g per litre and once at 70, and keeping whichever you prefer. You can only do that comfortably if you control the grind.

What if you start with one and want the other?

Then change it. A subscription here has no minimum and no fee to stop, you can skip a shipment, and you can cancel in one click. Nothing about picking ground first locks you in. If you buy a grinder in three months, switch to whole bean for the next shipment. If you lend your grinder out, go the other way for a cycle. The full explanation of how that works is in how our no-commitment subscription works, and our FAQ page has the policy in one place.

You can also read about the subscription itself on its subscription page.

Pick the version that fits your kitchen today, and change it when the kitchen changes.