Whether you’re a lifelong coffee drinker or someone trying to dial back their caffeine intake, you know the pain of craving a piping cup of Joe when it’s simply not the time. Maybe it’s late in the day, or maybe you’re trying to wean yourself off that heart rate-spiking buzz. That’s where decaf comes in. It's a great—and often overlooked—option that still satisfies that ritualistic morning (or afternoon) urge without the jitters.
I realized this myself after drinking the fully caffeinated stuff later and later into the afternoon, and then wondering why I couldn’t fall asleep at night. Once I started swapping in the right decaf beans, I found I could still enjoy the flavor and ritual of coffee without the late-night restlessness. It turns out, the right cup of decaf can scratch the coffee itch without compromising on taste. Honestly, I think it even has a bit of a placebo effect—it still gives me the energy and alertness I associate with my morning brew.
Our top picks
- Best decaf coffee subscription overall: Atlas
- Most affordable: Trade
- Best for decaf aficionados: Swiss Water
- Best for the office: Driftaway
- Most elite coffee options: Podium Coffee Club
- Best tailored-to-you experience: Counter Culture
Whether you’re curious to test out a few decaf options or ready to commit to regular deliveries, there are plenty of decaf coffee subscriptions worth trying. I tested six of them to see which ones are actually worth it.
While the taste of your coffee ultimately depends on how you brew it, I can confidently say the beans that rose to the top of my list taste great no matter how you prepare your cup of joe.
Best decaf coffee subscription overall: Atlas
Pros and cons
Pros
- Huge variety of blends that let you tailor your preferences
- Quality, single-origin beans
- Each order includes background info, art, and details about the grower
Cons
- As a coffee club, you’re reliant on what they curate
Specs
- Price: $17 every 4 weeks
- Delivery frequency: Two or four week options
- Go-to order: Medium or dark roasts
Atlas sources coffee from growers around the world, and each bag arrives with a notecard that tells you a little about the farm it came from. To start, you choose whether you’d like ground or whole beans, but they also offer pods that are compatible with Keurig and Nespresso machines. From there, you select your brewing method and whether you want regular or decaf—obviously, I went decaf. Just like they do for the regular beans, the service allows you to choose how many bags you’d like per shipment, and then they let you choose how often you want to receive shipments.
They pride themselves on offering “the world’s best single-origin coffee,” meaning each batch comes from a different farm. In my box, I received beans from Guatemala and Colombia: one with notes of milk chocolate, orange blossom, and roasted almonds, and another with cantaloupe, malt, and marshmallow. My favorite was definitely the Guatemalan blend. I was surprised at how perfectly the malt marshmallow balanced the fruitiness of the cantaloupe.
Most affordable: Trade
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Pros and cons
Pros
- Transparent list of all blends on their site
- Wide variety of roasters across the country
- Easy to search and customize options
- They’ll reimburse you if you don’t like a blend
Cons
- They only offer deliveries every two weeks—meaning you can’t pre-set it to send you bags every few weeks
Specs
- Price: $17 per bag
- Delivery frequency: Every two weeks
- Go-to order: Medium roast, whole bean
Trade partners with roasters across the U.S., making it easy to explore new coffee without committing to just one brand. Setup is simple: choose between whole or ground beans and specify your roast preferences. It was super easy to set up, and I loved that they make it incredibly easy to cancel or get a refund if something’s not to your taste.
I tried the Irving Farm Decaf Blackstrap and the 8th & Roast Condor Decaf and loved them both. The first one was on the sweeter side with notes of brown sugar and spice, while the second one had more of a fruit and nutty taste. All of the beans were truly great and tasted great whether I decided to enjoy my cup on its own or paired with a dash of oat milk, which is my usual preference.
Best for decaf aficionados: Swiss Water
Pros and cons
Pros
- Specializes exclusively in decaf
- Unique certifications and a chemical-free decaffeination process
Cons
- Decaf only
Specs
- Price: $18 per bag
- Delivery frequency: Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly
- Go-to order: Bridge city is one of my overall favorites.
Since Swiss Water focuses entirely on decaf, setting up a subscription only entailed deciding my delivery frequency. However, learning about their process, which includes soaking and rehydrating the beans, and removing the caffeine through the brand’s proprietary carbon filter system, as well as their organic and food-quality certifications, put me at ease knowing that I would be in good hands with whatever coffee they sent my way.
I tried the Bridge City decaf El Volcan and Equator Coffees Decaf Las Flores Thermal Shock, both of which were on the lighter side. The Bridge City had more citrus notes that were balanced with spice, which I really enjoyed. The Equator was a little more on the sweet side—almost tasting like a dessert in coffee form. I could easily see the Equator blend doubling as an after-dinner coffee or as a digestif after a meal.
Best for the office: Driftaway
Pros and cons
Pros
- Seven different bag sizes (from 8 oz. to 5 lbs.)
- Save money if you pay annually
- Great flexibility for office or team orders
Cons
- Single roaster with only one decaf coffee option
Specs
- Price: $19 per 12-ounce bag
- Delivery frequency: Every week, 2 weeks, or 4 weeks
- Go-to order: Medium and dark roast whole bean (three single-origin coffees, with 4 ounces each)
Driftaway’s setup feels very personalized. You can adjust both bag size and delivery schedule to match your coffee needs; however, they only have one decaf coffee, so there’s only so much you can do.
That said, they sent two different blends for me to test: the Caturra (a light roast with notes of peach, lemongrass, and spice cake) and the Colombia Mustafa (a medium roast with brown sugar, raisin, and molasses). The Columbia roast was cozy and fall-ready, and the Caturra light roast ended up being one of the smoothest blends I tried overall.
You get to decide the size of the coffee bags, frequency of delivery, and frequency of pay, which gives you a few different ways to approach your subscription. Driftaway also includes a 5-pound bag option, which is ideal for office ordering.
Most elite decaf coffee options: Podium Coffee Club
Pros and cons
Pros
- Easy to edit, pause, or cancel at any time
- Features award-winning roasters from around the world
Cons
- Only two tier options
- Less variety
Specs
- Price: Platinum tier is $29.50 each month and Gold tier is $22.50. You get two deliveries per month of a 10.5 ounce bag for this price.
- Delivery frequency: Twice per month
- Go-to order: Platinum tier to get all the award-winning roasters and beans.
Podium Coffee Club is for anyone who wants the crème de la crème of beans. Setup is straightforward. You pick your tier (standard is Gold or upgrade to Platinum for an extra $7), and from there, they curate award-winning roasts from across the globe, choosing only the champions from coffee awards like the U.S. Coffee Championships, the Good Food Awards, and the Golden Bean. It really makes you feel like you’re tasting the best of the best from all over the world.
I tested out some beans from Theory and Reprise roasters. The Theory blend was complex with a flavor profile of caramel, apple, and spices, which feels like the perfect fall roast. The Reprise was actually my favorite with cherry and chocolate notes that were perfectly balanced and not too acidic. They were truly both some of the best beans (decaf or otherwise) I’ve tried.
Best tailored-to-you experience: Counter Culture
Pros and cons
Pros
- Short, easy quiz customizes your picks
- Lets you stick with favorite blends year-round (as opposed to seasonal-only options)
- Option to mix regular and decaf
Cons
- Single roaster
Specs
- Price: $19 per bag
- Delivery frequency: Weekly, bi-weekly, three weeks, four weeks, six weeks, or eight weeks
- Go-to order: Even Keel half-caff for a fun early afternoon treat
Counter Culture starts you off with a quick quiz that gauges your preferences. It asked typical questions about things like roast level, but it also asked two more unique questions about flavor profile and country of origin. I love that it also lets you do a mix of regular and decaf—a great option if you’re cutting back gradually or are catering to more than one coffee drinker.
I tried the Slow Motion and Even Keel blends. With notes of cocoa and molasses, they were both rich and sweet, but not in a way that made them overwhelming. It was unique to have a blend of half-caff with Even Keel, which I found to be the perfect transition cup for the late morning or early afternoon.
You can be adventurous or stick to what you know with their year-round blends. If you find something you really like that is year-round, you can just subscribe to it. Their website was also my favorite to explore—you could see where each coffee was from on a map, see cool photos, and learn more about them.
How we tested decaf coffee subscriptions
For each of the six subscription services I tested, I prioritized options that offered freshly-roasted beans. Most subscriptions included a range of blends either roasted in-house or sourced directly from growers around the world.
Whenever possible, I chose whole beans, since they retain flavor longer and let me brew them in my two favorite ways: pour-over and French press.
For each blend, I started by grinding two cups of whole beans in my Smeg burr grinder set to 25 out of 30, which is the coarse setting. From there, I allowed the grounds to steep for four minutes in my ESPRO P7 French press. I tasted all of the blends black before adding oat milk, which helped me see which blends were bold enough to maintain their flavor with creamer.
FAQs
How do coffee subscriptions work?
They’re basically like any other subscription service in that you choose your preferences and the frequency of shipments. Most of the coffee subscriptions also let you choose between light, medium or dark roasts, as well as whole or ground beans.
Are coffee subscriptions worth it?
If you reach for the coffee the second you step out of bed, then coffee subscriptions are definitely worth it—especially if it means forgoing daily trips to an expensive coffee shop. It’s also great that you can tailor the amount of beans you receive to your preferences, which you can adjust if you find that you’re receiving too few or too many bags per shipment.
How much coffee should you order?
The goal is to use up all of your beans in time for the next shipment—so you’ll definitely need to figure out your personal frequency. Regardless, most of the services allow you to easily edit both frequency and contents (number of bags) of the subscriptions so it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.
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