Blue Bottle Coffee is a coffee subscription provider that offers single-origin roasted coffee beans, espresso, and blends. The company was founded in Oakland, California by James Freeman in 2002.
The company initially was a small door-to-door delivery service that offers freshly brewed coffee beans. James wanted to roast coffee in small batches, so he can sell all of it within 24 hours of roasting. This ensures that the roasted coffee beans are of high quality and guaranteed fresh.
From then the company grew immensely and in 2017, Nestle S.A., an international food and beverage company, acquired a 68% stake in Blue Bottle Coffee. It is said that Nestle had to pay a hefty amount of $500m. This skyrocketed the company into one of the leading providers of fresh and high-quality coffee.
If you like new coffees, check out Chamberlain Coffee!
What Makes Blue Bottle Coffee Special?
Blue Bottle Coffee takes pride in providing only the freshest coffee possible. Charlie Habegger, a noted Sourcing Curator, and Placement Specialist at Royal Coffee Inc. and a Blue Bottle Green Coffee Buyer since 2014, revealed the secrets of what makes Blue Bottle Coffee special. In 2013, Charlie became a finalist in the United States Barista Championship, and in 2014, he bagged the StarChefs Rising Star Artisan Award.
Charlie said that Blue Bottle has all the intentions of keeping the freshness of the coffee from the time it is harvested until the time it is brewed. What they do is after the coffee beans are harvested is that they immediately pack the coffee while it’s at its peak to help preserve the freshness. It is then delivered right to your doorstep just within 24 hours of roasting.
As many coffee enthusiasts know, once the coffee is exposed to oxidization it starts to lose its freshness. Once this process happens, the coffee starts to become stale, lose its flavor and can end up having an entirely different taste by the time it reaches your cup. That’s why it’s important to purchase coffee in vacuum-sealed bags, rather than places that have open beans and bag them up for you.
So what makes Blue Bottle Coffee special is the freshness and taste of their coffee. James Freeman even said, “I will only sell coffee less than 48 hours out of the roaster to my guests” meaning that the coffee will be the freshest you have ever had. In order for this to work, Blue Bottle coffee locations are very select, and you may have to travel to try one!
If that isn’t enough to convince you on what makes Blue Bottle Coffee special, the baristas have to take part in enhanced training and perform exams in front of a coffee board to pass. Therefore, not only are you getting a fresh, flavorful cup, it is also being brewed to perfection.
Perfect Coffee Brewing With The Blue Bottle Coffee Brew Guide
The great thing about Blue Bottle Coffee is that they always one step ahead in taking care of their customers. They do not just offer the freshest and highest quality of coffee, but they are also providing a great service.
Blue Bottle Coffee offers brew guides for each brewing method, so coffee lovers like yourself will be able to hone their coffee skills and start creating at home. From the easiest brewing method of a pour-over to the most demanding Siphon brew method, you’re sure to get detailed steps on how to make the perfect brew.
Other brewing methods included in the brew guide are Aeropress, Bialetti, Moka Pot, Chemex, Cold Brew Bottle, Espresso, Nel Drip, and the New Orleans Style Iced Coffee. This really is a great way to follow step-by-step guides on coffee brewing.
Learn With Blue Bottle Classes & Recipes
You can think of the Blue Bottle Coffee website as a one-stop resource for everything coffee. If you want something a bit more advanced than the brew guides, you can take one of the courses that Blue Bottle Coffee offers. These are virtual and the course currently available is The Art of Pour Over.
You will also be able to find select recipes online. At this current time, the recipes include various cookies and waffles, the perfect additions to your coffee. We are sure that these will be updated more in the future and you will be able to find some interesting options to supplement your coffee.
Blue Bottle Coffee Subscription Options
Blue Bottle Coffee offers a subscription package that includes options for blends, single-origin beans, and espresso. You also have the choice of buying a whole bean or pre-ground coffee.
Blue Bottle Coffee understands that coffee connoisseurs are aware that pre-ground coffees often lose their quality once the pack is open, that is why they ship pre-ground coffee in airtight single-serving packages in order to preserve the quality and freshness of coffee that they stand by.
The basic 12-ounce Blue Bottle coffee subscription box starts at $18 per delivery. You can choose your preferred delivery frequency, including from a weekly basis of coffee delivery to a monthly subscription. You can select how much coffee you want from a half bag, single bag, double bag, or even a triple bag. Coffee orders are then shipped just within 24-48 hours of roasting.
Blue Bottle Coffee has a welcome subscription kit that will give you all the necessary equipment and items to make the perfect coffee. Their Welcome Kit Subscription includes 6 of the 12-ounce coffee bags, a coffee dripper, a Blue Bottle tote, and a 90-pack filter for only $119.
Personalize Your Coffee Subscription with Blue Bottle Coffee Match
When it comes to making your experience at Blue Bottle Coffee worthwhile, the company constructed a 10-question quiz that will help them identify and recommend the best-matched coffee for you.
Coffee Match is a short quiz that was developed by a group of coffee experts, engineers, and scientists. Think of it as being matched in dating, but for a better relationship with your favorite coffee.
Blue Bottle Coffee Menu (In-Store)
The menu at Blue Bottle Coffee contains different kinds of espresso, drip coffee, on the siphon, and iced coffees. The menu includes 17Ft Ceiling Espresso, Decaf Espresso, Single Origin Espresso, Macchiato, Cappuccino, Café Latte, Café Mocha, Almond Milk, Affogato, Drip Coffee, Giant Steps, Burundi, Iced Coffee, New Orleans, Cold Brew, and OJI.
They also offer specialties like a breakfast sandwich, steel-cut oatmeal, poached eggs and toast, avocado toast, and liege waffle. For the non-coffee drinkers who still would like to visit a location of Blue Bottle Coffee, they offer hot chocolate, Samovar Tea, Cascara Fizz, and Lemonade.
Key Take-Away
If you’re one of the coffee lovers who dwell more on the freshness and quality of the coffee, then Blue Bottle Coffee is perfect for you. The coffee is affordable and the owners/staff care about the freshness and quality of coffee they are providing. We highly recommend you either visit a location if you are near or at least order one of the subscription coffees to try.