Blue Bottle Coffee August 2015 Subscription Box Review + Free Trial Bag Offer

I always look forward to receiving my Blue Bottle Coffee, because I know I will have dependably delicious coffee, no matter the profile of the current selection.  Blue Bottle Coffee is a coffee subscription with multiple options to suit your coffee needs. Generally you’ll get 12 oz of beans every other week for $17, or double your bag for an extra $11. They also offer half bag and triple bag subscriptions. The prices vary by a buck or so on your coffee selections. You can try Blue Bottle Coffee free – just look for the “Try It Free” button.

A few months ago Blue Bottle announced they have acquired Perfect Coffee, a coffee subscription that has apparently stopped time and has developed a magic method of grinding beans that never get old, but we haven’t heard anything more about that yet. I have a burr grinder so no big deal, but it’s intriguing.

This month I received Ethiopia Sidama Hunkute. I have the Origins subscription, but it’s easy to switch between the 3 types (Origins, Blend, Espresso) or one of the 8 specialty subscriptions available, as well as change the frequency and amount of coffee you receive in each shipment. I like that I receive a different single-origin coffee every time with my Origins subscription.  I find you can discover some really fantastic flavor profiles that tend to get lost in a blend.  I’ve had Blue Bottle Coffee blends (and espresso, though I prepared it as normal coffee) before, and they are selected and prepared with the same degree of mindfulness, though you will miss out on some of the delightful “rough edges” of the single-origin brews.

Blue Bottle Coffee‘s Description:

Hunkute is a coop comprised of nearly 2,000 farmers who deliver their cherries to two washing station in the south part of the Wonsho District in Sidama, Ethiopia. A small group of highly-trained cuppers evaluate every batch of coffee produced in the country, maintaining the caliber of the area’s prized coffee. With such ideal growing conditions and commitment to quality, it is no wonder that Hunkute is a long standing favorite of our sourcing team. Pouring over this coffee we imagine ourselves, paint brush in hand, covering a sheet of textured paper in gouache. Not to be confused with watercolors’ diluted washes and transparent streaks, gouache pigments build up color to capture the blush of sun-ripened stone fruit, the matte shell of green beans or even the desert-cracked melon rind with depth and delicacy. We set down our brush, pick up our mug and if we could paint as well as this coffee tastes, we would frame it, too.

In the cup, this coffee is intensely fragrant. It overflows with hues of berry, jasmine, caramel, and cinnamon. We’d recommend trying it in a Chemex or as an AeroPress. And though we’ve never unwrapped a Werther’s caramel while being dragged through a field of jasmine by a friendly (if overly exuberant) Viking, we’re pretty sure this approximates the experience.

Blue Bottle Coffee‘s notes:  Peach, melon, delicate.

My Notes:  The first thing that grabbed me was the size of the beans — they were noticeably tinier than the norm.  Blue Bottle Coffee gave the beans roast that falls just past medium, allowing some of the heartier tones to develop and support the light fruitiness that otherwise dominates.  While the nose is very busy, with herby and spicy notes, the floral tones are subdued in mouth, letting juicy peach and melon flavors emerge.

Overall, a very light and balanced cup with nice fruit tones.   Definitely a nice try if you appreciate the light, dry, floral and fruit delicacy of Ethiopian beans.

Visit Blue Bottle Coffee to find out more or to subscribe – a free trial offer is available. Visit the site, hit subscribe, and then the white “Try It For Free” button. See all our Blue Bottle Coffee Reviews or find more coffee subscriptions in the subscription box directory. Also check out the list of even more free and almost free subscription boxes.