If you have searched for the best coffee subscription in the UK, you have probably noticed something. A lot of the advice comes from coffee companies selling subscriptions themselves.
We are a coffee company too, so we are not going to pretend to be completely neutral.
But rather than tell you that our coffee subscription is obviously the best, we think it is more useful to explain what you should actually look for when choosing one.
A good coffee subscription should give you great, freshly roasted coffee, make your life easier and give you enough flexibility that you never feel trapped by it.
Here are the things we think genuinely matter.
1. How fresh is the coffee?
Freshness matters, but fresher does not always mean better.
Coffee needs time to rest after roasting, and different coffees reach their best at different points. What matters is knowing when your coffee was roasted and receiving it within a sensible window, rather than buying a bag that has spent months sitting in a warehouse.
If you are comparing UK coffee subscriptions, find out where the coffee is roasted, how frequently the roaster produces it and how quickly it is dispatched.
At Modern Standard, our subscription coffee is freshly roasted at our own speciality coffee roastery in Glenrothes, Fife, before being packed and sent to you.
It means you can have properly fresh speciality coffee arriving regularly without having to remember that you are about to run out.
2. Can you pause, skip or cancel easily?
This is one of the most important things to check before starting any coffee subscription.
Life changes. You go on holiday. You drink less coffee one month. You realise you have two unopened bags in the cupboard. Or perhaps you simply fancy drinking something different.
A good coffee subscription should accommodate that.
With a Modern Standard rolling coffee subscription, you can manage everything online. You can pause your subscription, skip a delivery, change your coffee, change your grind or cancel your subscription.
You do not need to keep receiving coffee just because you signed up.
Before choosing any subscription, we would always recommend checking how easy it is to make these changes yourself.
3. Does the coffee suit the way you actually brew it?
The best coffee subscription for someone with an espresso machine might be completely different from the best subscription for someone using a cafetière.
The coffee itself matters, but so does the grind.
Using coffee that is ground too finely for a cafetière can give you an unpleasant, muddy cup. Coffee ground too coarsely for espresso can run too quickly and taste thin or sour.
If you have a grinder at home, choosing whole beans and grinding immediately before brewing will usually give you the most control.
If you do not have a grinder, look for a coffee subscription that allows you to select a grind appropriate for the way you make coffee.
At Modern Standard, you can choose whole bean or have your coffee ground to suit your brewing method, whether you use an espresso machine, cafetière, AeroPress, filter brewer or pour-over.
The point of a subscription should be making good coffee easier, not making you adapt your brewing around whatever happens to arrive.
4. Rolling or prepaid coffee subscription?
There are two main ways to buy a coffee subscription, and neither is automatically better.
It depends on what you want from it.
Rolling coffee subscriptions
A rolling subscription is ideal if the main thing you want is convenience.
Your coffee arrives automatically, so you do not have to remember to place another order every time the bag starts feeling suspiciously light.
Our rolling subscriptions are available with weekly or monthly delivery.
The coffee costs the same as buying it normally. We do not artificially inflate the standard price so we can advertise a dramatic subscription saving.
The benefit is convenience.
Your coffee keeps arriving, and you can manage the subscription online if your circumstances change.
Prepaid coffee subscriptions
If you know you are going to drink the coffee anyway, a prepaid subscription can offer better value.
Our prepaid coffee subscriptions are available for 3, 6 or 12 months, and paying upfront works out cheaper overall than buying each delivery individually.
They also make excellent gifts for someone who loves coffee, particularly if you want to give them something that lasts longer than a single bag.
When comparing subscriptions, look beyond the headline introductory discount.
The cheapest first delivery does not necessarily make something the best-value coffee subscription over six or twelve months.
5. How often should a coffee subscription arrive?
This depends entirely on how much coffee you drink.
There is no benefit in having freshly roasted coffee delivered every week if unopened bags are gradually accumulating in your kitchen cupboard.
Likewise, if you are constantly running out three days before your next delivery, your subscription is not doing its job.
Think about how much coffee you normally use and choose your delivery frequency accordingly.
Our rolling subscriptions can be delivered weekly or monthly, and you can manage your subscription online if you need to make a change.
It is better to receive the amount of coffee you actually need than to have more coffee simply because a subscription tells you that is how often it should arrive.
6. Will it fit through your letterbox?
It sounds like a small detail until you have to collect your coffee from a delivery office every month.
If convenience is one of the reasons you are considering a coffee subscription, it is worth checking how it will actually be delivered.
Our 200g subscription bags are sent in letterbox-friendly packaging, so you do not need to be at home when they arrive.
Larger orders require larger packaging and will not necessarily fit through a standard letterbox.
It is a small thing, but the best subscriptions tend to get the small things right.
7. Do you want the same coffee or something different?
There are broadly two types of coffee subscriber.
Some people find a coffee they love and want exactly the same thing turning up every time.
Others want their subscription to introduce them to new coffees, origins and flavours.
Neither is wrong.
If your morning coffee is something you rely on, there is a lot to be said for consistency. If coffee is something you enjoy exploring, variety can be part of the appeal.
Before subscribing, check whether you are choosing a particular coffee, a style of coffee, or leaving the choice to the roaster.
Most importantly, choose something that matches the way you drink coffee rather than the way somebody tells you speciality coffee should be enjoyed.
8. Who is actually roasting your coffee?
This is one people do not always think to check.
There is a difference between buying a coffee subscription from a retailer and buying directly from the people roasting the coffee.
Modern Standard is a Scottish speciality coffee roaster. We source coffees from producers around the world and roast them at our own roastery in Glenrothes, Fife.
Our team is responsible for sourcing, roasting, tasting, packing and sending our coffee.
Buying directly from a coffee roaster also means there is somebody to ask when you need help.
If you are not sure which coffee to choose, which grind you need or why your coffee does not taste quite right at home, ask us.
We would much rather help you make better coffee than leave you trying to work it out alone.
So, what is the best coffee subscription in the UK?
There is not one coffee subscription that will be best for everyone.
Some people want unusual single-origin coffees arriving every month. Some want a dependable espresso blend. Some care most about convenience. Others want to discover something new with every delivery.
We think a good UK coffee subscription should offer:
- Freshly roasted coffee from a roaster you trust
- Coffee that suits the way you like to drink it
- The correct grind for your brewing method
- A delivery frequency that suits how much you drink
- Straightforward online management
- The ability to pause, skip, change or cancel
- Clear pricing without relying on confusing introductory offers
- Reliable delivery
If a subscription gets those things right, you are already most of the way there.
Modern Standard coffee subscriptions
At Modern Standard, we offer both rolling and prepaid coffee subscriptions.
Choose a rolling subscription if you want freshly roasted coffee to arrive automatically without having to remember to reorder. You can choose weekly or monthly delivery and manage your coffee, grind and subscription online.
If you prefer to pay upfront, our prepaid subscriptions are available for 3, 6 or 12 months and work out cheaper overall.
Everything is freshly roasted at our own speciality coffee roastery in Glenrothes, Fife, and you can choose whole bean or a grind to suit the way you brew at home.
We are not going to tell you that we are the only good coffee subscription in the UK. There are plenty of excellent British coffee roasters.
But if you are looking for freshly roasted speciality coffee, straightforward flexibility and a coffee subscription that is easy to manage, we would love you to try ours.
Explore our coffee subscriptions and find the option that works for you.
Not ready to subscribe? Try one of our bestselling coffees or espresso blends as a one-off order first.