A few months ago, we published a list of New Year’s Resolutions for coffee. That list included the recommendation to try a coffee subscription service. There are a lot of options out there for folks who want to try a bunch of new coffees, including services from Trade, Atlas Coffee Club, and Bean Box. But recently, I’ve subscribed to a service that I think makes all the difference by letting you opt in, and that’s Fellow Drops.
Fellow Drops is the coffee subscription attached to the appliance manufacturer Fellow. We’ve already sung their praises on this site many times. We recommended and reviewed their Aidan Precision Brewer, and we also recommended their Atmos Vacuum Canister. Besides these two, Fellow makes a lot of acclaimed and popular coffee-making appliances, including an electric kettle, two grinder models, and, most recently, a home espresso machine. It’s no secret that we’re fond of the stuff they make.
Recently, I (Sam) started purchasing coffee beans through Drops. What follows are my impressions of the service after using it on and off for the last 3 months. Here you’ll find a breakdown of some of the coffees they offer, the perks of the opt-in model, and both the benefits and downsides that come with using Fellow gear with beans from Drops.
How It Works
Fellow Drops works like this. When you sign up, you get a text once a week, Tuesdays in my experience, telling you about a coffee that the tasters at Fellow really enjoy. This text includes a breakdown of the origin, process, variety and roast profile of the featured coffee. The text also includes a picture of the bag, a blurb about the roaster, a link to Fellow’s brew guide (more on that in a moment), and a price offering that includes both base cost and shipping.
At the end, Fellow instructs you to reply to the text with the number of bags you’d like to order. If you choose to reply with a number, a follow-up text will confirm your order and give you an hour-long window to cancel the order or update your shipping address.
Right off the bat, everything about the coffee is easy to follow. I have never been confused about the coffee’s flavor, its origin, or its price. The text is always clear and concise with minimal follow-up action necessary. The window of time to order is the perfect length, making it easy enough for me to reply and order. And when the window closes, the opportunity passes. (Side note: Fellow does make many, though not all, of these featured coffees available on their website after the Drop.)
Across about 3 months of use, I have never encountered an issue with ordering, save for the occasional shipping delay. Every coffee I’ve received has matched what I thought it would be based on the Drop. And there’s never been a coffee I didn’t like. The tasters at Fellow clearly have a keen sense for delicious coffee.
Minimal Customization
I really appreciate how straightforward Fellow Drops is. It’s one text a week for one coffee that you can either say yes or no to. If you don’t want it, you can just not reply. The window for ordering will pass, and you haven’t been charged a thing. I can’t express enough how much I appreciate a subscription service that has you opt in as opposed to opt out.
There are handful of ways you can customize your Drops experience. In addition to a weekly coffee, Fellow offers monthly tea drops, which include matcha offerings, as well as decaf drops. For those who are looking to really expand the kind of coffee and tea they make at home, having these options added on can be nice. But you can also set a preference for the weekly coffee only.
You can also set preferences for your roast level. As a general rule, the tasters at Fellow like to pick single-origin lighter roasts. But sometimes, the Drop text will include an option to see a darker, more traditionally roasted alternative. For those who want to dip their toe into specialty coffee without committing fully yet to more modern, brighter coffees, this is one way to ease yourself in.
All that said, the amount of customization possible is pretty minimal. The whole service revolves around the weekly Drop, and any changes you make to that experience are small tweaks.
Brew Guides & Fellow Gear
Each Drop includes a link to Fellow’s brew guide, where the tasters list out recipes for home brewing. Critically, each of these recipes is designed for Fellow’s own appliances. At the time of writing, each guide includes recipes for the Series 1 espresso machine, the Aidan brewer, and Fellow’s proprietary pour-over gear. In addition, the brew guides have grind setting recommendations for both the Ode and Opus.
If you happen to already own some of Fellow’s appliances, the brew guides are an immensely helpful way to get started making the coffee at home. The fact that there are instructions for manual pour-over, automatic brewing, and espresso means that you’ll have your bases pretty well covered for whatever brewing option you prefer.
The downside here is that is that if you don’t have Fellow gear, then you may have to do some tweaking to these recipes to get the result you want. The pour-over recipe is for Fellow’s Stagg drippers, despite the fact that home brewers are, on average, probably more familiar with something like the Hario V60 or Kalita Wave. Likewise, the espresso instructions are tailored to the Series 1. So if you’re using any other kind of espresso machine, you will be left to make a recipe on your own.
Of course, if making your own recipes is something you want to do anyway, then all power to you! But if you’re looking for brewing guidance for your Drops, know that Fellow expects you to be using their gear.
Conclusion
Lots of coffee subscription services, whether they’re from roasters (like us!) or third-party companies, offer great deals and great coffee. I certainly can’t promise to have tried every option out there. But when I found myself looking for a service that offers a wide array of great coffee with an opt-in model, Fellow Drops provided that service exactly. I’ve never been disappointed in a coffee I tried from them, and the setup is very easy to follow. If you’re looking for to do something similar with your coffee journey, then I would certainly recommend Fellow Drops.