Bean Box Review by Crafty: February 2015

This month I had the pleasure of trying Bean Box.  I was excited to receive this box for review because I LOVE coffee, and I pretty much drink it all day long.

In this box, I received four different coffees from four different companies. One of the things that stands out about Bean Box is that they feature only independent roasters from Seattle. Both Boxy and I love when companies take time to showcase smaller companies and individuals.

My box arrived beautifully wrapped with pink tissue paper and all four bags of coffee neatly tucked away underneath. Also in the box was a chocolate strawberry candy, which was delicious!

I was excited to try out the different coffees, because each one I received was very different. The very first one I tried was Conduit's Westlake Avenue, because it is a milder roast. While I love coffee, I tend to prefer a breakfast blend/light to medium roast. One major highlight of this blend was that it notes it has an intense chocolate flavor. Who wouldn't love that really?

I tried this coffee expecting to love it and it certainly did not let me down. It was everything it said it was and then some. This is easily a blend that I could see myself enjoying on the weekends with my husband. He enjoyed this one as well.

Next we tried Seven Coffee Roasters' Sumatra Mandheling Old School. This is described as a medium-dark roast with an earthy chocolate flavor and cucumber finish. Yup, you read that right. I so badly wanted to love this because I love anything a little different. However, it just wasn't our style. It was almost too earthy for our taste and there really was not much of a cucumber taste at all (although I am not sure that is a bad thing). It would have been nice to see what that tastes like, though. I am sure there are many people who would enjoy this one but we just didn't like it a whole lot.

We then moved on to Seattle Coffee Works' Kenya Nyeri Karogoto. This coffee is a plum and date medium roast. I usually use my Keurig filters to try the coffee and if we like it, we make a full pot. This was one that, after we tested it, we went on to make a whole pot to drink throughout the day. This coffee was flavorful and there was no bitter aftertaste. The plum and date flavor was mild but noticeable enough. We really liked this coffee.

Last up, we tried Slate Coffee Roasters' Ndava & Ngogoma from Burundi. In theory, this coffee should have been the number one pick for us. It features dark chocolate, cane sugar, and graham cracker flavors. It doesn't get any better than that. Sadly, though, this was one of those times the expectations were high, but the product just didn't deliver. I think I was expecting more of a S'mores taste and it just wasn't there.

Overall, this sample box ended up going two for two for us, but I am a light to medium roast kind of girl. Boxy is ordering her own to try now that she has a K-Cup reusable filter, since she's something of a coffee snob and has worked in roasting. Her tastes are broader, so she may have a different experience.

The really nice thing about Bean Box is that, for $20 a month,you can choose one of two options. You can get the Expand Your Palate box, which will be a variety of different coffees very similar to the box I received. Or you can get the Fill Your Morning Cup, which allows you to choose from all types of blends or just the kinds you want, and they will deliver a full bag of that type of coffee once a month or once every two weeks. I am considering purchasing the light roast Fill Your Morning Cup once a month. I do drink a great deal of coffee and I am sure we spend more than $20 a month on K-cups.