Driftaway Review

Friday, January 17th

2025 Coffee Club Reviews

Driftaway

• Pricing: $17.10 for 12 oz of coffee, free shipping
• BIPOC woman-led company committed to ethical sourcing
• Pays farmers 3-5x more than Fair Trade prices
• Single-origin coffees roasted in-house in Brooklyn
• Explorer Kit with expert-led Zoom tasting session
• International shipping available
• Compostable packaging

Driftaway is a small-batch coffee roastery based in Brooklyn that's truly making waves in the industry. As a BIPOC woman-led company, they're not just talking the talk but walking the walk when it comes to building an equitable value chain in coffee. They source from smallholder farmers worldwide, especially women-owned farms, which immediately sets them apart from many competitors. Their commitment to paying farmers significantly more than Fair Trade prices (3-5x) is a practice that should be the norm. Driftaway has been featured on the Rachael Ray show, the Today Show, Harper's Bazaar, Business Insider, and more.

Be sure about your preferences

In the course of our evaluations of coffee clubs, we've completed a LOT of preference quizzes. If you've ever taken one of these and thought to yourself, ”I didn't know I was supposed to be tasting chocolate in my dark roast,” or not been able to decide which roast you dislike enough to rule out, you're not alone. It can be hard to determine your preferences from a simple quiz alone, especially if you're not already a coffee connoisseur. Enter Driftaway's Explorer Kit: you receive five single-serving coffees (brewed tea bag style) and try them either by yourself or on Zoom with an expert. (That's an experience you won't have with any other online coffee club.) Then, update your preferences with the app or your online account. Driftaway will hand-pick and send you coffees similar to flavors you already know you like.

New flavors every month

All of Driftaway's coffees are single-origin and roasted in-house in Brooklyn every Sunday. New varieties are released on a monthly basis, so you'll always have something fresh to look forward to.

Subscriptions start at $14.40 for 8 oz

Driftaway offers coffee subscriptions in several sizes, from 8 oz to 5 lbs, with prices ranging from $14.40 to $61.20 per shipment. They provide free shipping on all orders, with First Class shipping for smaller amounts and Priority shipping for larger quantities. Customers can choose to receive shipments weekly, every two weeks, or monthly. There are also options to pay per shipment or, if you're feeling bold, prepay for 6 or 12 months, with savings of up to 10% for longer prepaid plans. The amount of coffee ranges from 16 cups for the smallest option to 160 cups for the largest.

Flexible subscription management

Driftaway's coffee subscription is pretty flexible. You can easily change your plan to fit how much coffee you drink. While they can't tell you exactly which coffee you'll get before it ships, they'll always send you something that matches your taste profile. You can see what coffees they're currently roasting on their website, and if you want a specific one, just let them know by Thursday evening.

Ships internationally

We're big fans of Driftaway's packaging, which is designed to look like vintage luggage tags - the design and the name Driftaway are a reference to the journey of coffee from a seed to your cup. What's more, the packaging is fully compostable (except for the USPS mailers). When your order has been placed, it'll usually arrive in 4 to 8 business days. You'll get an email with a tracking number so you can check where your package is. Unlike many of the coffee clubs in our review, Driftaway ships to many countries around the world. If they don't ship to your country, you can email them to see if they can make it work. Just remember that tracking might not be as good for some international orders.

Gift subscriptions last 6 months

When it comes to gift subscriptions, Driftaway offers you a few options. You can give someone a coffee subscription that starts when they're ready - they'll get a voucher to redeem and then set up their own account. When you're setting up their gift subscription, you have to decide whether their first shipment will be whole bean, ground coffee, or cold brew bags. If you get it wrong, though, don't worry - your recipient can update their preferences in their account settings later. Gift subscriptions don't automatically renew. They last for 6 months (24 weeks), while prepaid subscriptions for yourself run for 26 weeks and renew at the end if you don't cancel.

Pair coffee with chocolate for a 5-star gift

Looking for a different kind of gift? Driftaway also offers a Coffee and Chocolate Pairing Box that might be perfect for the coffee lover in your life. For $48 with free US shipping, they'll get three different coffees from around the world, three single-origin Raaka Chocolate bars, a tasting guide, and coffee cards. The coffee bags are unlabeled so your recipient can taste without any preconceptions, and the chocolate bars are organic, vegan, and made in small batches. This gift also comes with tips on how to taste coffee like a true connoisseur and learn about the people behind the beans. We can imagine this gift being a hit with someone who appreciates the finer details in life and enjoys knowing a little bit about a lot of things.

Best for a memorable gift

To sum up, Driftaway is a strong contender among coffee clubs. They've gotten quite a bit of media attention since they launched in 2014, which bodes well for their trustworthiness. If you're looking for a gift that will be remembered for a long time, we'd probably suggest Driftaway because of the expert-led coffee tasting that kicks off every new subscription.