Hardy Coffee Co. Subscription Box Review – July 2016

Hardy Coffee Co. promises “excellent, approachable coffee roasted in Omaha Nebraska.”  They offer a number of subscription options, including one or two 12-oz bags of either their Benchmark blend, a decaf version of their Benchmark blend, or a Single Origin selection.  Prices start at $16/month for one bag of the Benchmark blends or $18/month for one bag Single Origin; they also offer discounted prices for prepaying for multiple months.

I am reviewing the Single Origin subscription.  This month’s offering is Colombia-Zarzal Tambo coffee.  As I’ve mentioned before, one thing I really enjoy about coffee subscription boxes is finding new favorite coffees…otherwise I just buy the same favorite local or small batch roast coffee over and over again.  (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course!)  I’ve obviously had Colombian coffee before, but I don’t know that I’ve ever had beans from this region, so I was excited to give it a shot.

Hardy Coffee Co. promises, on the bag, “fresh and unique coffee experiences.” The coffee is definitely fresh – as the bag also displays a roasting date, here July 18.  The bag arrived at my house with in the next week…can’t beat that!

In previous months, the back of the bag had also listed a few tasting notes.  I was a little bummed that this month’s bag is lacking the tasting notes – I’m a coffee lover, not a coffee expert, so I sometimes like to know the flavors I should be expecting.  Maybe it was an unintentional omission, but I hope Hardy Coffee Co. continues the tasting notes going forward.

Look at those beautiful beans!  Opening the bag, there was a nice roasty aroma, although possibly a little less deep and dark than previous months.  Probably a good thing, considering I’m enjoying this coffee in the midst of the mid-Atlantic’s crazy 100+ degree days.  A slightly lighter roast is always nicer in the summer.

And now the ground coffee.  I used my Black & Decker burr grinder and my mid-level Mr. Coffee maker to prepare my coffee.  As I mentioned before, I’m not fancy…but I do appreciate my coffee.

The taste:  Without tasting notes (and despite my nearly-expert internet search skills!), I wasn’t sure what to expect from this coffee.  As I could tell even from the aroma, it is a lighter cup of coffee – even though I brew my coffee strong.  The cup had a tart, kind almost citrusy, taste on the front and ended with a slightly spicy, earthy finish.  I’m not sure I loved this coffee as much as some of the previous offerings, but I was still very pleased with the taste and will definitely enjoy the remainder of the bag.

Bottom line:  As I’ve noted before, Hardy Coffee Co. makes really nice and tasty coffee…but I do with they would give more information.  Like I’ve said, I’m not a coffee expert (regardless of how much of it I drink!), so part of the fun of experiencing new coffee is, for me, learning about the coffee, the tastes, the roasts, the region, whatever.  This month, Hardy Coffee Co. didn’t even give me tasting notes – so even less information than before.  But if you can get over the lack of information and you’re looking for variety and a seriously tasty coffee to be delivered every month, which has to be the main point of a coffee subscription, Hardy Coffee Co. is a fantastic option.

Have you tried Hardy Coffee Co.?

Visit Hardy Coffee Co. to subscribe or find out more!