The reference box
What Blue Bottle Coffee costs and includes
Blue Bottle runs about 20 coffee and matcha subscriptions. The one compared here is its most popular, the Single Origin Assortment. It sends a light-roast single origin from a different producer every two weeks, and Blue Bottle says most of those coffees are sold only through the subscription.
- Price
- $27 for a 12-ounce bag, or $17 for a 6-ounce half bag. Two or three bags per shipment cost less per bag. Shipping is free on subscriptions.
- Delivery
- Every week, two weeks, three weeks, or four weeks. Every two weeks is the most popular. Ships to the continental US, Alaska, and Hawaii.
- The coffee
- Whole bean only. Blue Bottle doesn’t grind before shipping. It roasts to order in small batches and ships from its roastery.
- Commitment
- You commit to the first shipment. After that you can change, skip, pause, or cancel anytime, and Blue Bottle emails before each one ships.
- On Cratejoy
- No. Blue Bottle sells direct at bluebottlecoffee.com, and none of the subscriptions below are Blue Bottle products.
Each coffee is tasted at least 50 times before it ships, according to Blue Bottle’s subscription page, which also has the current plans.
Compare the subscriptions
| Subscription | Best fit | Cost and commitment | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Bottle Single Origin Assortment Reference box |
A new light-roast single origin every two weeks | $27 for a 12 oz bag, free shipping. Change or cancel after the first shipment. | Every 1 to 4 weeks. US, including Alaska and Hawaii. |
| KOS Coffee Club | Organic, Fair Trade single origins | $22 a month. Skip or cancel anytime. | First week of each month. |
| MyBean Monthly | Two origins side by side | $32.99 a month for 12 oz in all. Skip or cancel anytime. | First box within 5 days, then the first week of each month. |
| Roasted Reserve Society | A single origin and a flavored bag | $29.99 a month for two 12 oz bags. Cancel anytime. | First week of each month. |
| Bell Lap Coffee | Your roast, ground to order | $12.95 a month for a 12 oz bag. Skip or cancel anytime. | Monthly. Roasted Tuesday, shipped Wednesday. |
| Counter Culture Single-Origin Subscription | The same rotation from another roaster | $21 for a 12 oz bag, plus shipping under $30. Cancel anytime. | Every 1 to 8 weeks. US only. |
KOS, MyBean, and Bell Lap can also be prepaid for 3, 6, or 12 months at a lower price per box.
The alternatives
Organic single origins for less
KOS Coffee Club vs Blue Bottle Coffee
Best for: The drinker who wants one new origin at a time and cares how it was grown.
KOS sends a different freshly roasted single-origin coffee each month. The seller roasts every lot by hand and describes all of its coffee as organically grown and Fair Trade Certified, then boxes it right after roasting.
What feels familiar
One origin per delivery, rotating, roasted close to the day it ships.
What changes
Organic and Fair Trade is the promise on every lot, where Blue Bottle says most of its coffee is organic. It arrives once a month instead of every two weeks and costs $22 with free shipping, $5 under a Blue Bottle bag, though the listing doesn’t give the bag size.
Two origins to compare
MyBean Monthly vs Blue Bottle Coffee
Best for: The taster who reads the notes on the bag and would like two coffees to brew side by side.
MyBean sends two kinds of freshly roasted single-origin beans each month, 12 ounces in all, with tasting notes, brewing tips, and a few facts about each coffee. It’s a veteran-owned business, and its listing has 21 reviews.
What feels familiar
Single origins from different growing regions, with tasting notes to guide the first cup, much like the notes on a Blue Bottle bag.
What changes
Two origins share 12 ounces, so you get a comparison each month rather than a full bag of one coffee. It costs more per ounce than Blue Bottle, and it ships once a month.
More coffee per box
Roasted Reserve Society vs Blue Bottle Coffee
Best for: A household that goes through a lot of coffee and wants a flavored bag alongside the single origin.
Roasted Reserve Society comes from Single Cup Club’s family-owned roaster. Each month brings two full 12-ounce bags: a medium-roast single origin and a medium-roast flavored coffee, both picked by the seller’s master roaster.
What feels familiar
A new single origin keeps arriving, and someone else does the choosing.
What changes
$29.99 buys twice the coffee of a $27 Blue Bottle bag, but half of it is flavored, and both bags are medium roasts rather than light. Boxes ship in the first week of the month, and the seller takes no substitutions or special requests.
No grinder at home
Bell Lap Coffee vs Blue Bottle Coffee
Best for: Anyone who wants fresh-roasted coffee without buying a grinder, or who wants to pay less per bag.
Bell Lap roasts to order and ships within 48 hours of roasting. You pick the roast, from French, Vienna, medium, or light to a roaster’s choice or Swiss Water decaf, then whole bean or a coarse, medium, or fine grind.
What feels familiar
A 12-ounce bag roasted to order, as Blue Bottle does it. Order by 6 p.m. Central on a Monday and it roasts Tuesday and ships Wednesday.
What changes
Bell Lap grinds for you, which Blue Bottle won’t. The roasts are Bell Lap’s own blends rather than a rotating single origin, and it costs less than half of a Blue Bottle bag.
Same rotation, another roaster
Counter Culture Single-Origin Subscription vs Blue Bottle Coffee
Best for: The Blue Bottle subscriber who loves the two-week rotation and is curious what another roaster’s buyers would pick.
Counter Culture roasts in Durham, North Carolina, and its coffee buyers choose a new seasonal single origin every two weeks. Its site tells you who grew each one. A recent pick was a light-roast Kenyan lot from a third-generation family farm, with notes of blackberry and nectarine. Counter Culture isn’t sold on Cratejoy, so the link goes to the roaster’s own site.
What feels familiar
A 12-ounce bag of whole-bean single origin that changes every two weeks, and a schedule you can skip, change, or cancel from your account.
What changes
The bag costs less, but one bag alone doesn’t reach Counter Culture’s $30 free-shipping line. Its two-bag plan, $39 for two different coffees, ships free. It ships only within the US, and like Blue Bottle it sells whole beans only.
The honest part
When Blue Bottle is still the better fit
Keep Blue Bottle if you want a new light-roast single origin every two weeks, often one sold only through the subscription, with free shipping on a single bag. Keep it, too, if you want coffee every week or several bags at a time. The Cratejoy plans here all run monthly.
How we chose these subscriptions
We started from what Blue Bottle’s Single Origin Assortment does well, fresh single origins that change often, and looked for subscriptions that keep that while changing something a subscriber might want changed: the price, the grind, the sourcing, or how much coffee arrives. We went through every coffee subscription on Cratejoy you can buy today and kept four from four different sellers, then added Counter Culture because none of them rotates as often as Blue Bottle. If a quiz or a coffee from a new country each month appeals more, see our Trade Coffee alternatives and Atlas Coffee Club alternatives. The photo at the top is Blue Bottle’s own product image of its shipping box and a bag of Signature Single Origin.
Questions before switching
Which subscription is closest to Blue Bottle’s Single Origin Assortment?
Counter Culture’s Single-Origin Subscription, which changes its single origin every two weeks and sends 12-ounce bags of whole beans on the schedule you set. On Cratejoy, KOS Coffee Club comes closest, with a new organic single origin each month.
Is there a coffee subscription like Blue Bottle that ships ground coffee?
Blue Bottle ships whole beans only. Bell Lap Coffee on Cratejoy grinds to order, coarse, medium, or fine, in the roast you choose, for $12.95 a month.
Which one costs less than Blue Bottle?
Bell Lap Coffee, at $12.95 a month for a 12-ounce bag against Blue Bottle’s $27. KOS Coffee Club is $22 a month, and Counter Culture’s one-bag plan is $21 plus shipping.
Can I give one of these as a gift?
Yes. Each Cratejoy box here has a Give as a Gift option on its listing, and KOS, MyBean, and Bell Lap sell prepaid plans of 3, 6, or 12 months. Blue Bottle sells its own gift subscriptions, starting at $81 for the Single Origin Assortment.
