What 'Reorder When You're Ready' Means for Our Customers (and Why We Don't Push Subscriptions)

October 13, 2026

What 'Reorder When You're Ready' Means for Our Customers (and Why We Don't Push Subscriptions)

If you've ordered from us before, you've probably noticed that we don't push subscriptions. We don't have a "subscribe and save" button on the cart page. We don't send emails saying "your subscription is about to renew." We don't offer discounts for recurring orders.

The reason isn't that subscriptions are bad. The reason is that subscriptions don't fit the way most of our customers actually drink coffee, and pushing them would create more problems than it would solve.

This is the inside view of why we don't push subscriptions, what we do instead to make reordering easy, and the small business math behind subscription resistance.

How most of our customers actually drink coffee

We pay attention to how customers order. The data is messy (we're a small business, not a data company), but the patterns are clear:

Most orders are 1-2 bags. The average order is around 1.5 bags. Most customers aren't ordering enough to make a subscription worthwhile.
Order frequency is irregular. Customers order when they're running low, not on a fixed schedule. Some order every 2 weeks; some order every 6 weeks; some order seasonally.
Customers switch coffees. Customers don't always reorder the same coffee. Many rotate between origins, or buy different coffees for different purposes (one for morning, one for afternoon).
Customers buy gifts. A meaningful percentage of orders are gifts. Subscriptions don't work for gifts.

A subscription model assumes a customer wants the same coffee on a fixed schedule. That's not how most of our customers actually drink coffee.

Why subscriptions don't fit most of our customers

A few specific reasons subscriptions don't fit most of our customers:

Infrequent drinkers. A customer who drinks one cup a day might go through a 12-ounce bag in 3 weeks. A customer who drinks one cup every few days might go through it in 2 months. The subscription cadence doesn't match the actual consumption rate.
Rotators. Many of our customers drink different coffees at different times. They might buy a heavy Brazilian for morning, a light Ethiopian for afternoon, and rotate seasonally. A subscription forces them to pick one.
Gift buyers. Subscriptions don't work for gifts. The recipient might not want the same coffee every month, or might already have a coffee subscription from another roaster.
Travelers. Customers who travel for work or pleasure don't want coffee showing up while they're away. They want to order when they're home.
New customers. A new customer doesn't know yet whether they want recurring shipments. They want to try the coffee first.

Pushing subscriptions to all of these customers would create friction. The friction would cost more than the subscription revenue.

What we do instead

Instead of pushing subscriptions, we make reordering easy:

One-click reorder. From your account page, you can reorder your previous order with one click. We keep a record of your last 10 orders.
Reorder emails. When you place an order, we send a confirmation email with a reorder link. You can reorder from that email at any time.
Reorder reminders. If you haven't ordered in 6 weeks, we send a gentle reminder email. The reminder is opt-out, not opt-in, because most customers want the reminder.
No subscription discounts. We don't offer discounts for subscriptions because we don't offer subscriptions. The price is the price.
No subscription friction. Because we don't have subscriptions, customers don't have to remember to cancel or skip. They order when they want to.

The result is a model where customers order when they want to, not because a subscription is renewing. The reorder path is short and easy, but the customer is in control.

The small business math

The subscription math for a small roastery is:

Subscriptions reduce churn. Subscriptions create predictable recurring revenue, which reduces customer churn.
Subscriptions increase average order value. Customers who subscribe tend to order more per shipment because they're not as price-sensitive.
Subscriptions increase customer lifetime value. A subscribed customer is more valuable over time than a one-time customer.

But the subscription math also has costs:

Subscriptions require infrastructure. Subscription management, billing, dunning (failed payment recovery), customer service for subscription issues — all of this is operational overhead.
Subscriptions require inventory planning. Subscriptions require the roastery to forecast demand and plan inventory. The forecast has to be right, or the roastery ends up with too much or too little inventory.
Subscriptions create churn risk. Subscribed customers churn — they cancel, they skip, they don't reorder. The churn rate is higher than you might think, especially for coffee subscriptions where customers rotate.
Subscriptions create customer service load. Subscription customers generate more customer service inquiries than one-time customers, especially around billing, skipping, and cancellation.

For a large roastery with the operational capacity to handle subscriptions, the math often works. For a small roastery, the math is harder.

We're small. The operational overhead of subscriptions is more than we want to take on right now. We'd rather spend our time roasting good coffee and answering customer emails than managing a subscription billing system.

What we might do in the future

We haven't ruled out subscriptions forever. If we get bigger, or if the operational cost of subscriptions comes down, we might revisit.

If we add subscriptions, here's what we'd want them to look like:

No discounts. Subscriptions wouldn't be cheaper than one-time orders. The convenience would be the value.
Skip anytime. Customers could skip a shipment without canceling. The subscription would be flexible.
Swap anytime. Customers could swap coffees without canceling. The subscription would adapt to the customer's preferences.
Cancel anytime. Customers could cancel without contacting customer service. The subscription would be low-friction.
No "subscribe and save" defaults. Subscriptions wouldn't be the default option on the cart page. Customers would have to opt in.

We haven't built this yet. We're not sure when we will. The benefit isn't clear enough to justify the cost right now.

What we do offer

For customers who want a regular cadence:

Reorder reminders. We send a reminder email when you haven't ordered in 6 weeks. You can adjust the cadence from your account settings.
One-click reorder. From your account page or your confirmation email, you can reorder with one click.
No-friction returns. If a coffee isn't what you expected, we make returns easy. You don't have to keep coffee you don't like.
Multiple shipping addresses. You can ship to multiple addresses from the same account. Useful for gifts or for splitting between home and office.

We think this is the right model for us. The customer is in control of when and how they order. We make reordering easy, but we don't force a cadence on anyone.

What we'd recommend

If you're a coffee drinker trying to decide between one-time orders and a subscription:

Try the coffee first. Order a single bag. Drink it. Decide if you like it.
Reorder when you're ready. Don't commit to a subscription until you've decided you want the coffee regularly.
Consider your consumption rate. A subscription makes sense if you drink coffee at a predictable rate and want the convenience. It doesn't make sense if your consumption rate varies.
Consider your preferences. A subscription makes sense if you always want the same coffee. It doesn't make sense if you rotate.
Consider the roaster. Some roasters are great at subscriptions. Some aren't. We're not great at subscriptions yet, but we're great at one-time orders.

If you're a small roaster thinking about subscriptions, the math is different for every roaster. For us, the math doesn't work right now. For others, it does. The decision depends on your operational capacity, your customer base, and your strategic priorities.

Final thought

Subscriptions are a tool. Like any tool, they're useful in some contexts and not in others. For most of our customers, the subscription context doesn't apply. They'd rather reorder when they're ready.

We try to make that reordering as easy as possible. One click from your account page. One click from your confirmation email. A reminder when you've been gone a while.

That's the model. It works for us. It works for our customers. We'll keep doing it until it doesn't.