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Oct 22, 2024

The Atlas Coffee Club review: It changed how I consume coffee

I cherish my morning coffee routine. It’s simple, pour-over coffee with some milk and sugar. It’s reliable, and there has never been any reason to change. I used beans from my local cafe, but the trek

I cherish my morning coffee routine. It’s simple, pour-over coffee with some milk and sugar. It’s reliable, and there has never been any reason to change. I used beans from my local cafe, but the trek for new beans became daunting, especially during the colder months. Some people may prefer a stop at popular chains like Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks for example (and they make decent coffee), but if you want to step outside of your comfort zone, Atlas Coffee Club is there to guide you into uncharted territory.

When I first put in my order for testing I was given options for coffee type preferences, grind types, roast preferences, bags per shipment and the frequency of the shipment. The subscription process is both meticulous and simplistic. I got my hands on multiple coffee bags from various regions including Guatemala, India, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Below, I walk through my experience with Atlas Coffee Club and how it helped expand my coffee palate.

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If your coffee routine has been stuck in a rut, Atlas Coffee Club promises to shake things up with coffee beans from around the world. Each month, Atlas sends coffee beans from places like India, a medium roast with red grapefruit, peanut butter and melon tasting notes. The Guatemalan medium roast had cherry, marzipan and brown sugar notes. Atlas is incredibly detailed and provides painstaking details about how the beans were sourced and the history of coffee in the region where they have sent the beans. Its coffee cards have a wide range of information so you can fully understand what you might like about a specific roast. Not only does it taste good, it leaves you more informed and knowledgeable about coffee especially if you’re a beginner, slowly expanding your palate.

I’m a coffee novice. I have much to learn about coffee, but I’ve had my fair share of great cups of precisely made pour-over. I even love a good cup of black coffee from a local deli. What made me like Atlas so much was its level of customization and novelty. You can try new beans from places all over the globe, exposing you to new tasting notes and flavors you might not have been aware of. For example, the El Salvadorian coffee beans produced a balanced cup that was creamy and nutty. The Nicaraguan beans were more sweet and light in comparison. After trying each brew, I would try to test my taste and truly get a sense of the notes from each bag of coffee. At first, they could feel indistinguishable, but over time I expanded my sense of taste.

Atlas is like the Saville Row of coffee. Not only can they make you a custom suit but they get down and dirty to figure out what measurements suit your specific body. You can pick your preferred grind type, which includes grounds for pour-over, french press, espresso and more. They even allow you to choose your favorite roast type — I opted for medium roast — you can also choose dark roasts or include all roasts. They even have coffee pod subscriptions for your Keurig and decaf and cold brew subscriptions.

According to the brand, the coffee’s taste is incredibly fresh because the grounds and beans are roasted the same day they are shipped. I loved the frequency of the coffee bean deliveries, which meant I always had new coffee to try each month. Atlas does a good job of introducing you to new flavors without taking you too far outside your comfort zone.

Atlas is meant for coffee drinkers who want variety. If you’re stuck in a coffee rut or know someone who might appreciate a new taste, this is a great gift. Atlas can be a bit pricey especially if you’re used to just throwing a random bag of coffee into your cart at the supermarket, but the brand makes up for the price with great tasting coffee. A three-month subscription gift costs $60, a six-month plan costs $109 and a yearly subscription costs $199. If you love coffee or know someone who does the subscription is worth it in the long run, in my opinion.

Chemex has always been a great choice for making pour-over coffee. The brand suggests buying its special filters, which are 20 to 30% thicker than the standard kind, according to Chemex. The wood collar works as an insulated handle and can be easily removed before being placed in the dishwasher for easy clean-up.

A French Press lets you steep ground coffee in hot water for an extended amount of time, which creates a smooth balanced taste. The Bodum Chambord French Press, which made our list of best coffee makers, comes with a stain- and heat-resistant borosilicate glass carafe.

The level of customization and intricate details put into the Atlas Coffee Club subscription make it a worthwhile gift to yourself or someone else. After three months of trying their coffee almost every day I discovered what I like about certain beans. It was even harder for me to return to regular black coffee from larger chains, so I began to prefer Atlas’ beans. If you’re a coffee novice like me, still trying to refine your palate or learning something new about coffee, try Atlas Coffee Club.

I am a commerce editor for NBC Select who writes and edits stories on various topics including tech, fitness, home and more. I used my years of commerce expertise and my knowledge of coffee and beverages to for this review of Atlas Coffee Club.

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Jordan Bowman is a Commerce Editor at NBC Select.