Rise Coffee Subscription Review

Let's be honest. Most coffee subscription boxes are basically a bag of beans, some branded tissue paper, and a note telling you how "passionate" they are about their craft. Rise Coffee Box is a bit different, and when a bright yellow box landed at my door, I was cautiously optimistic.

What's in the subscription box?

Rise curates from independent UK roasters, and this month's haul was a solid four-item lineup:

Two bags of specialty coffee a Brew Crew Blend Huila from Colombia and a washed Guatemala from Paper Cup Coffee — plus a bag of Forest Feast dark chocolate sour cherries and a can of cold brew decaf oat latte. More on all of those in a sec.

The box itself is personalised with a note and the whole thing has a nicely curated feel without being over the top and salesy like other subscription boxes.

The coffee

The Brew Crew Huila is the kind of bag you open and immediately smell before you've even made a decision about how you're brewing it. Notes of caramel, dark berries and chocolate, it's a medium roast that is recommended to work well as a pour-over or a longer brew. I wanted to try this ASAP so put it through my sage esprresso machine, and it did not disappoint!

The Paper Cup Coffee Guatemala is the subtler of the two. Washed process, caramel chocolate notes, it's clean, balanced and the kind of coffee you could probably drink several cups of without feeling like you've accidentally signed up for a heart rate experiment. Great for anyone who wants specialty coffee, but wants to drink more than 2 cups a day in my opinion.

The extras

Forest Feast chocolate cherries, a ncie touch, which were dark chocolate, sour cherries, and the kind of snack that pairs pretty well with a cup of coffee. They're gone within about 20 minutes of arrival. Not a criticism.

The cold brew oat latte can is a decaf from Mojo. If you're trying to keep things civilised after 2pm but still want something that tastes like coffee rather than a mild apolog. Gut-friendly fibre included too, which feels like a bonus no one asked for but everyone quietly appreciates. I haven’t tried this, it’s in the fridge for a sunny day.

Is it worth subscribing to rise coffee?

If you want to discover independent UK roasters without having to deep dive into the specialty coffee rabbit hole yourself, Rise does the legwork for you. The curation is genuinely good, the extras make it feel like more than just a bean delivery which can get boring if you get the same coffee every delivery, and the yellow packaging is loud enough that you'll always know when it's arrived, it just feels more fun and not too cool for school!

For anyone working from home who has already exhausted their local café options (or lives somewhere where the local café's idea of specialty coffee is a slightly darker Costa pod), this is a solid monthly treat.

Rise Coffee Box: risecoffeebox.co.uk

Disclaimer: This box was sent to me for review.