Stumptown Coffee

Stumptown Coffee Roasters is one of the names that made specialty coffee mainstream in the US. It started in Portland, Oregon in 1999, and its Hair Bender blend became a reference for espresso lovers. The Stumptown Coffee Club is its subscription: you pick a coffee, pick a schedule, and fresh bags ship straight from the roastery, with free shipping on every order.

It is simple, flexible and fairly priced. It is not the cheapest coffee subscription, and it is not the place to discover dozens of roasters. Here is what you get, what it costs, the best coffees to pick and how it compares.

How the Stumptown Coffee Club works

You have two ways to subscribe:

• Keep your favorite on repeat. Choose any coffee from the subscription lineup, the size, whole bean or ground, and how often it ships.
• Let Stumptown choose. Pick one of the two rotating options, Roaster’s Pick or Blend Shuffle, and get something different on a regular basis.

Deliveries can come every week, or every 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 8 weeks. There is no contract and no minimum: you can skip a delivery, change coffees, pause or cancel anytime from your account. Subscribers also get early access to new releases and some subscriber only coffees.

How much does a Stumptown subscription cost?

There is no membership fee. You pay the normal price of each bag, and shipping is free on every subscription order (one off orders ship free only over $45). Here are the main options:

One thing to know: unlike some roasters, Stumptown does not take a permanent percentage off subscription orders. The savings are the free shipping and the welcome offer. New subscribers get 15% off their first five orders with the code 15OFF5, plus a Welcome Pack gift.

So a 12 oz bag of Hair Bender every two weeks costs about $38 a month. That is in line with other specialty roasters, and cheaper than buying the same bag at a cafe.

Which Stumptown coffee should you get?

Stumptown rates its coffees on a roast scale from light to dark, and each bag lists tasting notes. Our picks:

• Hair Bender (roast level 7): the classic. Citrus, dark chocolate and raisin. It is the espresso in every Stumptown cafe, but it also works in a drip machine or French press. If you only try one, try this.
• Holler Mountain (level 5): organic, with citrus, caramel and berry jam notes. Smoother and easier than Hair Bender, a great daily drip coffee.
• Homestead (level 3): the lightest blend, with chocolate, candied fruit and nougat.
• Founder’s Blend (level 7): vanilla, cocoa and honey, rich but easy to drink.
• French Roast (level 9): organic, smoky and bold without tasting burnt. For people who like it dark.
• Trapper Creek Decaf (level 5): made with the Swiss Water Process, a chemical free method. One of the better decafs we know of.
• Echo Canyon Half-Caff: a subscription exclusive with half the caffeine, for afternoon cups.

Roaster’s Pick and Blend Shuffle: the coffee of the month options

If you get bored drinking the same coffee, these are the most fun ways to subscribe.

Roaster’s Pick is Stumptown’s coffee of the month. The team that sources, cups and roasts the beans picks a single origin, and it changes about every four weeks. It often includes coffees that are only sold through this subscription. It costs a bit more, $23 for 10.5 oz, but it is the best way to taste what Stumptown can do beyond its blends.

Blend Shuffle rotates through the house blends, switching about every two weeks, at $20 for 12 oz. It is a good starting point if you know you like Stumptown but have not found your favorite yet.

Stumptown gift subscription

Stumptown sells prepaid gift subscriptions in 3, 6 and 12 month lengths. You choose the coffee for the recipient: Hair Bender, Holler Mountain, Trapper Creek, Blend Shuffle or Roaster’s Pick. It is an easy gift for anyone who owns a coffee maker, and better than a single bag because it keeps arriving. For coffee lovers with a gear habit, the shop also sells brewers and bundles, like Hair Bender with an AeroPress.

Is the Stumptown subscription worth it?

Yes, if you already like Stumptown or want a reliable, high quality coffee that shows up on time without thinking about it. The schedule options are among the most flexible we have seen, from weekly to every 8 weeks, and free shipping on every order removes the usual subscription tax. Roaster’s Pick adds discovery for people who want it.

It is less interesting if you want to explore many roasters, or if you are chasing the lowest price per cup. In that case, a multi roaster service or a supermarket brand on autoship will serve you better.

Pros

• Free shipping on every subscription order
• Very flexible schedule, from weekly to every 8 weeks
• Great blends, plus a real coffee of the month option
• Whole bean or ground, 12 oz or 5 lb bags
• No contract: skip, pause or cancel anytime

Cons

• No ongoing subscriber discount after the welcome offer
• Single origins come in smaller 10.5 oz bags
• Only one roaster, so less variety than a multi roaster club

Stumptown vs other coffee subscriptions

Blue Bottle is the closest match: another famous single roaster with a similar price level and a strong focus on freshness. Pick Stumptown if you prefer chocolatey, fuller blends like Hair Bender, Blue Bottle if you lean toward lighter, brighter coffees.

Trade Coffee sends coffee from dozens of different roasters based on a taste quiz. It is better for discovery, while Stumptown is better if you know what you like. Atlas Coffee Club sends a single origin from a different country each month, and Peet’s is the go to for dark roast fans. You can compare them all in our list of coffee subscription boxes.