Zabu Coffee November 2015

• Send Royal Mail 48 hour delivery
• Flat box, fits through mailbox – brilliant!
• Super-easy to open, just a tear-off strip.

The lovely folks at Zabu coffee have been kind enough to send me another box of their delicious coffee.
So, how marvellous, another box of caffeinated yumminess through the mail.
You may (or may not) recall that I reviewed their starter box, which contained two packages of coffee and a blade grinder. So after that initial package for first time subscribers, the next boxes sent simply contain two 200g bags of coffee. This is great because the box is flat enough to fit through the mailbox, so no trip to the sorting office needed.
They send one house blend and one ‘coffee of the month’.

And the two coffees included this month are as follows:

Zabu House Blend. This is a very pleasant coffee, which was in the initial box. It’s a blend of beans from Brazil, Colombian, and Costa Rica, quite light but very pleasant. It works very well in a cafetiere, although I’ve been using it for cold press, which I love. If you’re someone (like my husband) who requires two kick-ass double espressos in the morning in order to be able to open both eyes, then you might find it a little mild. However, if you’re going to drink it to enjoy the flavor – mid-morning or postprandial perhaps – it’s spot-on. And it makes gorgeous cold press.

Tanzania AA. I’ve not yet tried this one, though the description (in the excellent tasting notes) sounds delicious: ‘Fruity with great crisp acidity and a smooth chocolate finish. Light and bright in flavor with a medium body and subtle fruity sweetness.’
Once again, a proper drinking-for-appreciation coffee.
Oh, and they always send beans, so you can grind fresh (very important). I wrote about grinders in my initial review, so I won’t bother to recap, but it’s reassuring that they know the importance of grinding your own coffee. And of course it’s extra pretentious coffee-lover points to grind your own.

This is a very tasteful look. I noticed immediately that Zabu has done a little rebranding. The box is still the same, but now the bag labels and tasting notes are coloured. I think it looks great, nice and bright, although to be honest the brown/cream/black palette of the previous incarnation was also perfectly fine.
The box is nice and sturdy, though Royal Mail would have to be pretty brutal to do any real damage to the contents. There’s a big logo on the front so you know exactly what’s in it.
The flat box, as I said, fits though the mailbox perfectly, which is a very useful thing. Because who wants to schlep to the sorting office? The bags are well sealed with a valve, so you can be sure the beans stay fresh. The bags reseal so you can keep them in the fridge, though to be honest one bag barely lasts a week in our house so no chance of them going stale.
Included in the box are tasting notes, which are usefully detailed but short enough to be actually read whilst waiting for the kettle to boil.

Well, if you like good coffee then this is great value at £13.98 per month. Sure, you can get a couple 200g bags of coffee from the supermarket for a fiver. But if you appreciate coffee, or want to learn more about it, then this is the way to go. Postage is included, so there’s none of that annoying ‘only pay this, then pay more to actually get it’ thing going on. I think that from a psychological point of view it’s better to include the postage in the price because it feels like it’s a better deal, even though of course you’re still paying for it.

I like that you get their House Blend plus one different coffee. Perhaps one thing I would like would be to once in a while to have beans that were aimed at espresso drinkers. Now, I know lots of people don’t have an espresso maker, or simply find it a bit strong, but I’d still be interested to know what their espresso options are like. Having said that, we’ve used their coffee is our espresso machine and it’s turned out just fine. So I’m just being picky.

On the website they list sixteen different coffees (with notes), all of which can be added to your order should you like to try something else. Otherwise they pick one each month to send out along with the House. I understand you can tailor your preferences somewhat, so it is always worth contacting them as they seem to be very efficient and friendly.
Oh, and they have Jamaican Blue Mountain listed, though it’s very rare and seldom available. Oh god, I’m drooling just thinking about it.

Anyway, overall a terrific product. And they have gift options too, for the caffeine addict in your life. Personally, getting a box of coffee though the mail certainly brightens up my week!