I'm Becoming a Big Coffee Person in Isolation and Trade Coffee Is the Reason

Starting 5/27, Trade will be donating 100 percent of its profit from limited edition Come Together coffee to COVID-19 relief.

I gave up coffee duty long ago. My partner is responsible for stocking beans, filling my morning mug, and tending to his first true love, a Jura espresso machine. I simply reap the benefits of his obsession.

But the times, they are a changin', and it turns out I'm coffee-curious too. I've spent so much time in the kitchen in the past three weeks, I rearranged The Big Messy Cabinet and found my old friend the French press. But, the only beans in the house were meant specifically for the espresso machine, so I started digging around online. And that's when I found Trade Coffee.

Trade, which is based out of New York City, is a coffee subscription service and a marketplace for some of the world's best beans—over 400 different roasts, to be exact. You can shop à la carte, or sign up for a coffee subscription (and enjoy the added perk of discounted coffee). Before Trade, the only things I cared about with coffee were if it was ethically farmed, given a light to medium roast, and if it turned into a creamy oaty cappuccino. Now, I'm comparing beans and brew methods and reading coffee blogs.

The Coffee Quiz

I'm starting to learn a bit more about my palate and what else I might like—thanks to the site's handy quiz, which the brand's Director of Coffee, Maciej Kasperowicz, walked me through. "We're trying to meet people where they are with their coffee preference," says Maciej. "If you like only dark roast coffee that’s totally cool, but if you’re interested in trying other coffee, then we are right there to recommend the beans."

I, for example, am trying out a "sweet and inviting" blend from Temple, a small Sacramento, California roaster. The site directed me to this particular bean because I like a medium roast, use non-dairy milk, and want to brew in my French press. They also knew, from my quiz, that I wanted to try something surprising and unconventional. You, on the other hand, might be pointed to a "light and fruity" Ethiopian single origin.

If, by chance, the quiz pairs you with something you don't think you'd like, you can chat with an expert who will guide you towards your perfect bag o' beans.

The Quality Check

Once you get through the quiz (or skip it, if you're already an aficionado) you can get to the beans. Every blend and single origin bag available on the site is tested by a coffee expert like Maciej, who is a 'Q Grader', meaning he's a coffee sommelier, essentially. After passing a six day exam, graders like Maciej are able to judge a coffee bean's taste regardless of their personal preference. (Although, if you're wondering what a Q grader likes to drink: Maciej likes to geek out over pour over, and he takes it black.)

The Subscription

You can just go ahead and choose a bag and hit subscribe for recurring shipments. But if you, like me, want one bag of beans for your espresso machine, and another bag for your French press, and maybe your preferred flavor profile changes with the weather, don't worry. You can choose a different bag each time you visit.

The Fair Trade Program

The coffee industry, like that of most specialty ingredients grown in primarily developing countries, is one fraught with labor injustices and unsustainable farming practices. As someone who wants to buy fair trade coffee but isn't always sure where to start, I was relieved to hear that every roaster brought on board at Trade is required to pay a premium for their beans, which helps support a living wage for farmers and better farming techniques. While that means your bag of coffee will be slightly more expensive than a mass produced bag where the same measures weren't taken, the difference between a fair bag of beans (and also, a better tasting one) and an unfair one is a few dollars.

The Small Roaster Support System

Trade sells beans from all over the world, but all the roasters are located in the United States—meaning, all of them have had to limit (if not close) their operations due to COVID-19. "For each bag we sell from March through April 15, we're donating $2 to our roaster relief fund," says Melissa Spencer Barnes, Trade's CMO. "In addition, we started to see that people wanted to stockpile coffee, so we asked our roasters if they would sell five pound bags, a bulk size you normally would only get if you were a business. That way, the roasters make more money upfront." Interested in helping your favorite roaster directly? Trade has also compiled a list of every Go Fund Me pages from their roaster community, organized by region.