An Ode to Good Beans: A Tentative Love Story
Oh, how I miss cafes. It’s not necessarily that I miss coffee in and of itself, because I’ve still been drinking copious amounts of it at home. You would think that, given that I’m inside all day and have practically no responsibilities to speak of, I might have eased up on my caffeine consumption a bit. In reality, I think I’ve actually been drinking it more, if for no other reason than boredom. But I digress.
Rather, what I really miss is coffee prepared inside a coffee shop, whether it’s the iced coffee that I hurriedly pick up on my way to class and gulp down as fast as humanly possible, or the steaming hot americano I slowly sip on as I chip away at a mountainous to-do list. Although I can’t say it tastes all that much better than what I make at home (shameful as it is, I simply wasn’t blessed with a sensitive-enough palate to ever really notice), there’s something about knowing that a group of experts have deemed something a “good bean” that makes me feel a little better about dropping $3–4 on a medium drip.
It appears I’m not the only one. Although it’s no secret that most small businesses have been struggling due to COVID-19, coffee subscriptions companies are among those that have actually seen an uptick in consumer interest.
In case you’re unfamiliar with coffee subscriptions, they’re pretty much exactly what they sound like. Although each company puts its own spin on it (you can find a comparison of 11 different services here), in essence they all offer a variation of the same service: a brand of coffee of your choosing is shipped to you at regular intervals, in a specified customizable amount. Many also offer premium roasts (those good beans we were talking about!), handpicked and recommended for you depending on your coffee tastes and preferences, delivered to you in gorgeous packaging. It’s heaven for the home coffee brewer, and the sheer number of services available out there suggests that there are plenty of coffee fanatics willing to pay for the convenience.
And with coronavirus forcing the majority of coffee drinkers to hunker down at home, the number of homebrewers itching for the sweet release of cafe-grade caffeine has also skyrocketed. For instance, from March 2019 to March 2020, sales of packaged coffee in the US increased by 70%. Consequently, it’s not that much of a surprise that coffee subscription services on the whole have been doing so well, what with their great-tasting and — more importantly — social-distancing-approved offerings. Now, anyone can enjoy a coffee-shop standard brew from the comfort of his or her own home.
As coffee subscription companies thrive, roasteries that have seen significant losses in revenues due to coffee shop closures have taken notice. Some places, such as Brooklyn-based Cafe Grumpy and Nguyen Coffee Supply, have started to offer subscriptions of their own, delivering beans directly to customers as a way to help offset losses and keep their inventory flowing (since even unroasted beans go stale over time).
Although these circumstances are definitely less than ideal, it’s heartening to know that roasteries are finding ways to adapt to the current situation. Considering the unfortunate likelihood that I won’t be able to go to coffee shops at my desired frequency for months to come, maybe it’s time for me to try out a coffee subscription service of my own. Not only would it allow me to support a local roastery, but I just might turn out to love it. Until then, I’ll spend my mornings gazing sadly at my Keurig, counting down the days until I can sprint into Cox Hall and chug a Summer Almond from Blue Donkey on my way to the B-school.
Written By: Rurie Yi | IQ Associate
