- Back to our Blog
- Blogs • Posted by Two Chimps • 20th June 2019
How We Choose Our Subscription Coffees
When choosing coffees for our coffee subscriptions, there’s a lot for the team here at Two Chimps HQ to consider.
Keep reading to find out what we do, what we consider, and how we choose our subscription coffees.
Why We Choose Our Coffees
We work with various importers who allow us to source coffees from all over the world. Having this freedom allows us to source a coffee that we know you guys are going to love just as much as we do when we try a new coffee for the first time.
The importers we use have direct relationships with the farmers who grow the coffee. This means that not only can we source amazing coffees, but the supply chain is shorter. This means more money makes its way back to the farmer. This is a key factor in how we choose our subscription coffees.
With more revenue returning to the farmer, they can choose to improve living conditions and to put more processes in place to aid an even more successful harvest the following year.
With an abundance of information available to us from our importers, we can find out everything we need to know first before deciding on a new coffee. Firstly, importers will send an offer list showcasing new coffees for us to peruse.
If we see something we like, we will request samples to taste ourselves. When we have decided collectively on the winner, we place an order for a larger quantity.
This process is super important to us as it means that we can always be confident in the knowledge that our coffee is the best it can be, and that we find a coffee that is super interesting and, of course, super tasty!
Origins of Coffee
One of the areas of how we choose our subscription coffees is the coffee origin. When we are sourcing coffees for coffee subscriptions, we don’t just look at coffees grown in one country. Our coffees come from a variety of different countries; from Brazil to Colombia, Rwanda to Ethiopia and beyond. When we change a coffee, we don’t always look for a coffee in the same country.
Often, the flavours you find in coffee vary from country to country. For instance, you will find that coffees from Brazil tend to have more nutty and chocolatey flavours, whereas coffees from Ethiopia are much lighter and have more fruity notes.
Each farm within a country has its own terroir too, and therefore each farm in Brazil as an example will produce coffee that tastes different to the neighbouring farm. With this in mind, the first statement is a very general one. However, knowing the flavour profiles of coffees from different countries around the world makes things a lot easier when we are on the hunt to find a coffee with particular naturally occurring flavours.
The Time of Day People Drink Coffee
Coffee is drunk at various times of the day. Some drink it in the morning to get them ready for the day ahead, others drink it throughout the day to keep them going and some drink coffee in the evening to help them relax after a long day.
Our coffees have been chosen with these times of day in mind. We have two morning coffees, two all-day coffees and two evening coffees.
The naturally occurring flavours in these coffees are well suited to the time of the day we have matched them to. For instance, the flavours in our morning coffees are sure to give you a spring in your step for the day ahead, our all-day coffees have super moreish flavours that will keep you coming for more and more and finally, our evening coffees have flavours that will send you into a state of complete relaxation!
The Roast Style
As mentioned above, we have two coffees for each time of the day. One of these is roasted lighter; keeping its often fruity, delicate and floral notes.
The other is roasted slightly darker, leaning towards chocolatey and nutty flavours. We suggest that our lighter roasts are better paired with either a cafetiere or a coffee filter.
We also recommend that the darker roast style suits an Aeropress, Moka pot or espresso machine a little better. These are only guidelines, should you be looking for a bit of reassurance, however. Feel free to make your coffee as you prefer.
Replacing Coffees
Throughout the year, our coffees will change. When a coffee has been harvested, processed and drunk, it is gone for good.
Unlike farmers who grow fruit and veg, coffee farmers never really know what exact flavours their coffee plants are going to produce. Even though coffee farmers harvest the same coffee plants, each year the flavours can change. For instance, if the farm is susceptible to more or less rainfall, this can have a huge effect on the flavour profile.
For us, this is super exciting! Just think of all the possibilities!
When we are sourcing a new coffee, we always match some of the flavours between the coffee we are changing and the coffee we are sourcing.
For example, if we were replacing a coffee which had a biscuit sweetness, we would source a coffee which had a similar sweetness rather than one that had a fruity sweetness. Doing this allows you to enjoy your coffee just as you did before it was replaced.
Mystery Subscription
As well as having coffee subscriptions which allow you to choose your coffee, we also offer a mystery coffee subscription. With a mystery subscription, you will receive a different coffee each time your subscription is due.
When you choose a mystery subscription, rather than telling us what time of day you drink coffee and how often, just tell us if you would like us to grind your coffee, and if so, for what device. The rest is down to us.
And there we have it; these are some of the things we think about when choosing our subscription coffees, and the processes behind how we choose our subscription coffees.
Want to start a coffee subscription? Well, what are you waiting for?! Head over to our shop to get started now!
Join the troop
Sign up to our fortnightly email newsletter and be first to know about new coffees, the latest blogs, brew guides, recipes and news from Two Chimps HQ. Your information is stored securely and never passed to third parties. For more information, see our privacy policy.