coffee society journal — buying smarter
Short answer: yes, if you drink coffee most days, and probably not if you only drink it twice a week. A subscription isn't really a discount. It's a way to buy fresh coffee without having to think about it. The math below is for one person drinking one cup a day, so adjust it for your house.
01cost per cup, honestly
Our 8 oz sub bag is $18.50. That's 227 grams, and at 15 grams per cup, that comes to about fifteen cups, so roughly $1.23 a cup. A 16 oz bag at $28.50 is about thirty cups, which works out to $0.95 a cup.
A cafe habit at five days a week adds up to about $1,300 a year, and the same coffee at home on a sub is about $300. The gap pays for a very nice grinder.
02what you are actually paying for
The grocery store sells 12 oz bags for $12 to $16. That looks cheaper per ounce, but it isn't the same product. That coffee was roasted weeks or months ago, so most of the aroma is gone before you ever open it.
A sub from a roaster arrives days after roasting. Ours is roasted to order and shipped within 24 hours. You're paying for the weeks of freshness the grocery bag already spent sitting in a warehouse, and for someone who tasted the coffee before choosing it.
03when it is not worth it
- You drink coffee twice a week. A bag will usually go stale before you finish it, so just buy one when you want one.
- You like variety more than consistency. A single roaster sends a small menu, so if you want a new roaster every month, a marketplace probably fits better.
- Shipping eats the value. If a sub charges shipping on every small bag, the math breaks down, so it's worth checking that before you sign up.
04common questions
Generally about $1 to $1.25 a cup for specialty coffee at a 15 gram dose. Ours is $1.23 a cup on the 8 oz bag and $0.95 on the 16 oz bag.
Usually it's about the same per bag. The value is freshness and convenience, not a discount, though some roasters offer prepaid subs that bring the price down.
One cup a day finishes an 8 oz bag in about two weeks, and two cups a day suits 16 oz every two weeks. Pick whatever cadence keeps the bag under three weeks old.
see the four subs
Matched to how you brew. Every lot is 85+, roasted to order in Berkeley, and shipped within 24 hours. From $18 a bag.
the coffee society coffee club coffee clubs, explained picking a subscription modelcoffee society · specialty micro roaster · berkeley, ca · est. 2023