Local Coffee Subscriptions to Keep You Humming Along
Another way to to get that needed caffeine: by mail
By Wayne Alan Brenner, Fri., July 24, 2020
Sometimes you want to visit a record store and rummage around for a while following your tastes until you find an album worth buying. Other times, you'd rather just sit back (or dance) and let a good DJ decide what aural treats will drone or shimmer or avalanche their way into your sound-craving ear holes.
Coffee subscriptions are more like that last one. That's where you buy into having a certain amount delivered on a regular schedule, thus enjoying medleys of java that can introduce you to beans that you might've never known otherwise – though you choose the roast, the frequency, maybe even the flavor profiles. Coffee subscriptions, in these days when physical distancing makes sense and time seems a little more slippery, can be a really good idea. And right now we're going to tell you about five Austin-based ones.
Superthing
From the folks who brought us the popular South Lamar cafe Patika comes a service "born out of an obsession with great coffee, and a love for weirdo art, science fiction, design, and excruciatingly long exposition." Never mind their self-effacing humor, though it's almost as charming as the clever graphic postcards and stickers accompanying the bags of beans. These guys, led by javamonger Tony Smith (formerly of Austin's Bad Dog Bar Craft), will set you up with a diversity of single-origin goods from the world's top growing regions. www.superthingcoffee.com
Creature Coffee
This one is like the math construct where a set contains every set except sets that don't contain themselves, or something like that – which you might be able to grok if you drink more coffee. Because Creature's m.o. is to send you beans from a variety of this town's best roasters – Civil Goat, Flat Track, Casa Brasil, Little City, Wild Gift, Los Altos, and more – so you'll not only get the whole-wide-worldly experience, you'll also score big local-brand bragging rights in one fell and caffeinated (or decaffeinated) swoop. www.creaturecoffee.co
Atlas Coffee Club
Here's a subscription deal predicated on keeping it international, as each travel-themed package "highlights a new coffee growing country and shows the unique differences in both taste and culture" and provides a trove of information along with their expertly roasted beans, thanks to globetrotting founders Michael Shewmake and Jon Miller. And here, too, the packaging – based on each coffee's country of origin – is gorgeous. www.atlascoffeeclub.com
Cuvée Coffee
This coffee's as good as the interior of their flagship venue on East Sixth is stunning – which is to say, very. And it's frustrating not to be able to go in there and chill with a fine brew, but Mike McKim and company will keep you well supplied with a steady direct-to-home flow. www.cuveecoffee.com
Austin Roasting Company
Twenty years of roasting experience backs the variety of blends this family-owned powerhouse produces, sourcing it globally, mixing it locally, keeping it Fair Trade and organic and so on, and oh, what a beautiful morning's cup to wake up with. www.austinroastingcompany.com
