# Coffee subscriptions: pros and cons



## postroast (Feb 5, 2015)

My name is Adam and along with a group of students at Edinburgh University we are in the process of building a student run online coffee subscription service, but would really love advice on what features/aspects would be most important to you, and also what you feel are the biggest drawbacks of subscription services?

We are not yet ready to launch and would value your opinion

Many thanks, Adam.

P.s I've cleared this with Glenn. It's great to be a part of a vibrant community


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Cleared with me prior to posting - thanks Adam and good luck with your venture


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Visibility of what might be coming up is important

Also having the ability to skip a month would be handy


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## NJD1977 (Dec 16, 2014)

Being able to select from tastes that will appeal to you (and methods of preparation) and having more flexible frequency would be key for me. I.e. why always 14days and not 10days?


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## postroast (Feb 5, 2015)

Cheers Glenn! we are working on a completely flexible service, you can halt whenever you want and we send out the exact needed amount of freshly roasted coffee every 7 days according to how many cups you drink. This way you always drink fresh without waste. Would following this route be ideal?


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## NJD1977 (Dec 16, 2014)

I think 7 days is unnecessarily frequent and would mean higher postage costs. 10days feels pretty close to perfect for me at least.


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## JoeFromWales (Jan 24, 2015)

-I think being able to pause (rather than cancel and resubscribe) a subscription is really useful as you may have a holiday, other beans to use etc.

-I don't think you necessarily have to be able to choose specific coffees as it's nice to be pushed toward something you wouldn't necessarily buy, but should at least be able to give a preference (e.g. usually drink with milk, nutty or fruity, brewed/espresso etc.)

-I agree with weekly being too frequent and an unnecessary expense for you

-Maybe tiered subscription with a dearer option supplying more challenging single origin beans and a value option using blends


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## Kman10 (Sep 3, 2014)

Loyalty scheme is always a good idea


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## postroast (Feb 5, 2015)

Thank you, everyone, for your advice so far. I find the discussion about a delivery every 7 days being too frequent very interesting! We are aiming to give every customer, whether they are knowledgeable about coffee such as yourselves or not so knowledgable, the best coffee experience possible. The research we looked at said coffee is best within the first week it is roasted, and from here on in the flavours and aromas go down hill. Is this something you would agree with?

When it comes to P&P costs, the cost of more frequent packaging is cancelled out by a lower package weight and smaller less expensive packaging so it would be no extra cost to the business and allow fresher coffee than a 14 day subscription. 10 days subscriptions are good idea, the only logistical problem is that ultimately coffee will be due to be roasted and delivered on weekends which won't reach you if due on Sunday. So then the customer doesn't have a frequent supply of coffee and we have unhappy roasters working weekends.

I agree with the loyalty scheme idea! we're are building short-term and long-term loyalty schemes in to reward our customers!









Again, thanks for the help so far it is much appreciated and given me lots of food for thought.

Adam.


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## Beanaholic (Feb 2, 2015)

Info sheets with the coffees would be great for me - where they come from, what beans, tasting notes, brewing tips, misc. facts related to the coffee, grower, region, etc.


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## twotone (Jan 13, 2015)

I've just come to an end of a six month subscription with Kopi which was one 250g bag once a month.

I never paid for it as it was a gift from my daughter, my impression of the service was very good, excellent in fact, but IMO it was way too expensive for what you actually got.

The beans were great and the information provided by Kopi was very good (much like a poster asked for above) but ultimately getting to enjoy the beans was difficult because of the small amount of beans supplied, by the time you get them dialled in there was maybe only about 170g left and at 18g an espresso that's less than ten coffees for about £6 a month, still cheaper than going for a coffee to a cafe though.

I would prefer a larger amount each month, say at least 350g and cheaper.

I couldn't really fault Kopi for delivery, website, information or the quality of the beans though.

Tony


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## NJD1977 (Dec 16, 2014)

postroast said:


> The research we looked at said coffee is best within the first week it is roasted, and from here on in the flavours and aromas go down hill. Is this something you would agree with?


It depends on the method of preparation. For espresso, the beans are best after around 7-8 days when they have degassed a little. Before this time there's too much gas, and no-where for it to go in a compressed puck. For all other methods, 3-4 days is typically recommended. If you were sending out 4-5day old beans on a 10 day cycle this would probably be ideal for me, because I'd be able to use the beans almost straight away on delivery for espresso and they'd still be at optimal freshness.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

NJD1977 said:


> For espresso, the beans are best after around 7-8 days when they have degassed a little.


A very simplistic view, no?


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## frandavi99 (Jun 8, 2014)

Good ball park figure, but I usually get impatient and get started after 3-4 days as espresso, often with tasty results. Yet the bean I have at the moment took 14 days to work as espresso. Just send it out as close to the roast day as possible and let people make their own minds up would be my advice.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

frandavi99 said:


> Good ball park figure, but I usually get impatient and get started after 3-4 days as espresso, often with tasty results. Yet the bean I have at the moment took 14 days to work as espresso. Just send it out as close to the roast day as possible and let people make their own minds up would be my advice.


Plus one on sending out as close to roast date

I will use a bean as brewed straight of the bat, then spro 3-7 days after , depending on consumption ..

Id rather get i fresh , than " pre rested " let other people sort out there buying patterns , let everyone get it fresh ....


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## NJD1977 (Dec 16, 2014)

jeebsy said:


> A very simplistic view, no?


What would you suggest?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

NJD1977 said:


> What would you suggest?


Get it fresh and let people decide how and when to use it ..

There is no real science to the amount of days that " resting/de gassing/staling/maturing" different beans takes , it can differ form bean to bean and person to person , and from roaster to roaster ......

People seem to rest darker beans for on average longer , yet there is less co2 to " degas "

People seem to dive into lighter roasted quicker , yet in theory there is more to " degas "

Roasters can give a recommended time frame , people will either follow it or not....


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## Beanaholic (Feb 2, 2015)

I would +1 on sending close to the roast date. Not everyone will have an empty hopper as it were when the beans arrive. At least if they were sent 'fresh' the could be scheduled in with existing stock as one sees fit.


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