KaffeBox Subscription Box Review – March 2016

Kaffe Box is a monthly coffee subscription featuring select whole bean coffees from Scandinavia’s best roasters.  Each month, you receive 1-4 bags of beans from a different roaster.  This month’s beans arrived in a large flat instead of a box.

The info card has a giant Kaffe Box logo on one side and details on the coffee on the reverse side.  We received two selections from Audun Coffee, a Polish roast house, as well as a bonus treat!

The card contains information on the coffee selected for this month’s box, as well as a bit of background on the roaster who produced it.  Kaffe Box lets the roasters select which beans will represent their work, ensuring that you receive the beans of which they are most proud.  This month’s offering comes from Audun’s Coffee, a roastery based in Bydgosczc, Poland.  The proprietor is Audun Sorbotten, the 2015 World Coffee Roasting Champion.   

The bags are provided with the roaster’s labels, which is a bit different than most coffee subscriptions that rebag in their own branding.  I think this is a good thing — you get the coffee just as it would be packed for customers at the roasters, so you get the authentic experience.  Plus, you get to check out the distinct labeling of each roaster, which can be fun.  The only drawback I see is the potential for scant labeling from some roasters — but the Kaffe Box info card is very thorough, so I don’t think you’d miss much.

We also received some French chocolates from Michel Cluizel Chocolatier.  They are made from Mexican cocoa beans (66%) grown the Mokaya Plantation.

Patrimonio Pijao (Colombia):  This bean presents a rather matte flavor, which is made even more opaque by the Norwegian roasting style, which tends to mellow and homogenize flavor notes.  No distinct note emerges, with the brewed coffee exhibiting a singular, deep and even flavor note with great breadth.  This bean makes a pleasant and inoffensive cup that can be served as a complement to any baked good or desssert.

Kamiro (Rwanda):  Extremely light and clean in flavor, these small beans produce a brew that is subtle and delicate.  Raspberry notes and a slight acidic juiciness peeks out from an otherwise very benign flavor profile.

This is a good coffee subscription, and I like the geographic appeal — you get to see the roasters packaging and experience the Nordic style of roasting.  Though this box featured coffee from a Polish roastery, it was roasted in the fashion preferred in Oslo, Norway.  If our selections so far are indicative of the coffee preferences of the region, Scandinavians prefer lighter roasts and flavor profiles in their coffees than either their Southern European neighbors or the Seattle-dominated U.S. coffee culture.  The different roaster each month promises tons of variety, each with new packaging to admire while you sip.

Visit KaffeBox to subscribe or find out more!