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Cometeer Review: A Money-Saving Specialty Coffee Source?
My relationship with coffee has really evolved over the years. Like many people my age (presumably), my first experience with drinking coffee with any frequency came thanks to the Starbucks Carmel Macchiato. Yet, when I wasnāt drinking sickly sweet beverages like that, Iād drink my coffee black.
Somewhere along the way, I found myself gravitating more to simpler drinks, such as drip coffee or perhaps an Americano before then taking an interest in specialty coffees. The only problem? Single-origin, pour-over coffees in cafes can sometimes cost more than those over-the-top lattes! Thus, we started buying whole beans of roasts we liked and making pour-overs at homeā¦ which, while tasty, takes a bit of time and somehow always creates a bit of mess.
Enter Cometeer: a unique subscription service that delivers frozen specialty coffee extracts for easy consumption at home. It may sound crazy, but itās real ā and Iāve tried it for myself over the past year.
So how do Cometeerās coffees come to be, how do they taste, and how much does it all cost? Letās take a look at what you should know about Cometeer along with some of my thoughts as a subscriber.
What is Cometeer and How Does it Work?
What is Cometeer and How Does it Work?
The Cometeer process and packaging
Cometeer works with some of the best roasteries in the country to source their coffee. Using a proprietary method, they brew and extract these coffees before freezing them with liquid nitrogen at -321Ā°F. If all that sounds intense, the process is much simpler on the consumer end: all you need to do is pour the frozen contents into a cup, add 8 ounces of hot water, and stir.
As for how Cometeer coffees are packaged, each āpuckā (as they call them) is contained in what looks to be a standard K-Cup but is actually made of aluminum. This means that the capsules can be recycled afterward instead of being thrown into the trash like most pods. Also, in case you were wondering, Cometeer orders are shipped with dry ice, so that they arrive frozen and can then be placed into your freezer.
Roast and pack options
When you order Cometeer for the first time, youāll be presented with a (very) short quiz about how you prefer your coffee. This will help the site determine which of their roast options you should try first. However, you can always override their default pick by clicking āEdit your box.ā Youāll then be able to select from these options:
- Mixed Box (light, medium, and dark roasts)
- Light Box
- Light/Medium Box
- Medium Box
- Medium/Dark Box
- Dark Box
- Decaf Box
- Half-Caff Box
Each box will include four selections with 8 capsules each, for a total of 32 pods.
One great addition is that Cometeer now allows you to select boxes based on roaster instead (weāll talk about who all those roasters are in just a moment). The only potential downside here is that most roasters may only have two current offerings at a time, so you might end up doubling up instead of getting four different options. Luckily, the site will tell you that this is the case so you can decide whether thatās what you want to do.
Personally, I first tried the Light/Medium Box and ordered the Light Box afterward. Since then, Iāve moved to the roaster-specific boxes so that I can sample new brands.
Something I should note is that, while you may see example roasts in the photos, you wonāt see exactly which coffees youāre getting upfront. Instead, in my experience, this will only be displayed once your order is ready to ship. This is because Cometeer is regularly updating its offerings. So, while you might not know exactly which brews youāre getting, they will fit the description of what you ordered (light roast, medium roast, etc.).
Currently, the regular price for a subscription box is $64 + tax and $9.99 shipping.
Roasting partners
By the way, here are Cometeerās current roasting partners, as of July 2023:
- Counter Culture
- Bird Rock
- George Howell
- Equator
- Birch
- Joe Coffee
- Red Bay
- Go Get Em Tiger
- Klatch
- Onyx
- Square Mile
- Black & White
- Intelligentsia
Add-ons and special packs
While your Cometeer order will include 32 pods by default, you can add a fifth box (for a total of 40 pods) to any order for an additional $15. Previously, these $15 add-ons only featured Decaf or Half-Caff packs. However, Cometeer has since added a Baristaās Choice option, adding a fully-caffeinated selection to your box. Like with the rest of your order, you wonāt know exactly which roast this Baristaās Choice will be until it ships.
Looking outside of the regular Cometeer packs, the company has also experimented with offering limited-time specialty packs. For example, in 2022, Cometeer offered its Stellar Series featuring a number of Cup Of Excellence winners. Notably, this special edition pack came at a cost of $100 and only included 26 capsules instead of 32 (two packs of 5 and two packs of 8).
Iāve also seen the company offer special packs from George Howell, Square Mile, and, most recently, Black & White. So, if you really enjoy what youāre already getting with your Cometeer subscription, you may want to keep an eye out for those limited edition offerings as well.
Preparation method options
There are several different ways you can prepare your Cometeer coffee ā including various options for both iced and hot coffee. The first option (and the one I used most often) is to place my sealed pod under warm water until the puck is able to move around in the pod. Then, I put the puck into my mug, heat up water, and stir once the water is poured.
Alternatively, you can leave your Cometeer pods out to thaw, pour the liquid into your cup, and follow the same steps for hot coffee or simply add to cold/ice water for cold coffee. Meanwhile, the Cometeer pods can also fit into most Keurig machines, with the hot water provided by the machine doing the job for you.
Storage
As you might expect, the primary mode of storage for your Cometeer pods is in the freezer. There, the company says theyāll stay fresh for 14 months.
However, if youād like to pre-melt your pods, you can keep them fresh in the fridge for up to three days or leave them at room temperature for 24 hours. This offers a bit of flexibility, although youāll likely want to keep your pods in the freezer when possible.
Delivery schedule options (and skipping)
Something important to keep in mind is that Cometeer is a subscription service. However, you do have some flexibility when it comes to how often you receive deliveries. Here are the current delivery schedule options when you first sign up for Cometeer:
- Every week
- Every 2 weeks
- Every 4 weeks
Interestingly, while 4 weeks was the longest option initially offered, now when I go into my profile, Iām able to opt for an āevery 6 weeksā or āevery 8 weeksā schedule as well. I presume this discrepancy is just because Cometeer wants to encourage more frequent shipments at first but is willing to bend the rules later in order to keep customers.
Meanwhile, you can also adjust the date for your next order processing date. However, you can currently only select Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays for this. Still, this adds even more flexibility to what could have been a very rigid subscription product.
On that note, in some more good news, itās very easy to skip a Cometeer shipment if you need to. In my experience, Iāll get an email about an upcoming billing, giving me time to head to my profile and elect to skip. Iāve also skipped two in a row now without any issues.
Canceling
Finally, if you decide Cometeer isnāt for you or you donāt want to have to remember to skip shipments, you can cancel your membership. This option is found in Account Settings under Manage Subscription. Down at the bottom, right next to āSkip Shipment,ā youāll find āCancel Subscription.ā Obviously, I havenāt gone through with actually canceling yet, but I definitely appreciate that the option is easy to find.
Gift boxes
Whether you want to share Cometeer with a loved one or you donāt even like coffee but know someone who does, you may be happy to know that Cometeer now offers gift box options. Currently, these start at $79.00 for 32 capsules (meaning theyāre a bit pricier than a regular subscription box), but I have seen promos from time to time.
There are also a few ways to go about ordering your gift. First, if you know the personās address and what you want to get them, you can have it shipped like any other order. However, if you donāt know the address or want to give them more options, you can have Comeeter email them what is basically a gift card so that they can choose their roasts and such.
Whatās also kind of cool is that you can add coffee accessories to your gift to make it a set. For example, two Stagg tasting glasses are $40 while a Fellow electric kettle is $165.
Iāve actually used this option for a friend last year and was pretty pleased with it. Plus, considering that you donāt need to be a Cometeer subscriber to order gift boxes, this could even be a decent option for those looking to try the coffee without worrying about the commitment ā although, keep in mind, you will pay a premium given the higher price.
Referral
Iād be remiss if I didnāt mention that Cometeer currently offers a referral promotion as well. When you invite friends to try Cometeer, theyāll get $20 off their first two orders (for a total of $40) and youāll get two $20 credits off of a future order (only one credit to be used at a time, limit 10 credits total ā and it seems that these credits only work on regular subscription orders and not any specialty boxes you may order). If youāre interested, you can try my link as well.
My Experience with Cometeer (So Far)
My Experience with Cometeer (So Far)
The taste
Let me start by saying Iāve enjoyed the taste of every Cometeer cup of coffee Iāve had. Moreover, I can definitely taste a difference from the regular Keurig cups Iām accustomed to having on a mostly daily basis.
However, one thing that I was a little disappointed in at first was that I couldnāt really taste much of a difference between the different Cometeer brews nor pick up on the stated notes. To that point, I also felt like a lot of the listed notes for the picks in my initial delivery were fairly similar. Thus, I opted for a Light Box the second time around and indeed found a bit more variety.
Having now had several different Cometeer cups, I am finally starting to notice more of the differences between them. And, to be fair, Iāve never been great about tasting the notes the roasters say I should find in any cup of coffee, so itās more of an āI know what I likeā sort of thing for me. Because of this, Iām going to go ahead and blame my pedestrian pallet for this one. In any case, I definitely still enjoy the coffees Iāve had so far and do see them as a step up from the standard Keurig cups.
I will also add that one of my most recent orders from Cometeer ā most notably the Gamatui from Black & White ā is the best Iāve had from them so far. Plus, I also enjoyed the variety of the Intelligentsia roaster box I ordered delivered, including my first Cometeer dark roast experience. So, I definitely look forward to ordering from them in the future and continuing to try new roasts.
Price and serving size
The main reasons that weāve primarily relied on K-Cups for our morning coffee are that theyāre not only easy but also cheap. Thus, while Cometeer fits the convenience aspect, how do they compare on price?
Well, using some simple math, it breaks down to $2 per cup ($64 for 32 pods). Plus, in mid-2022, Cometeer announced that it would begin charging a flat rate of $9.99 for shipping, so itās really $74 for 32 pods, or about $2.31. Granted, since shipping is a flat rate, you can bring down the price per cup a bit with the $15 add-on ā a total of $89 for 40 pods, or $2.10 per cup before tax.
On the whole, thatās not so badā¦ but itās still far more than the $0.25 to $1 per cup youāll spend for regular Keurig pods.
Whatās more, Cometeerās pods are meant to be used with 8 ounces of water. While thatās fairly standard, I tend to get a bit more from the K-Cups I usually use. And although I could certainly dilute my Cometeers if needed, I notice much more of a taste difference between 8 ounces and 12 ounces with them than I do with other K-Cups. Thus, not only am I spending more, but Iām getting less.
On the other hand, if youāre comparing Cometeer to preparing a pour-over of specialty coffee, you might be in about the same ballpark ā depending on how expensive the beans youāre using are, of course. Still, in our case, Iād say that the pour-over comes in at a lower price point most of the time.
Of course, a cup of single-origin coffee at your local coffee shop will assuredly set you back more than $2.31. And, itās worth acknowledging that shipping must make up a huge portion of Cometeerās costs. Thus, while this might not save you money, I do see it as a nice in-between treat, somewhere above K-Cups but below cafe quality.
Delivery Schedule
For as much as Iāve enjoyed Cometeer, the truth is that I donāt need to be drinking their pricier cups of coffee every day. Thus, the four-week delivery schedule was proving too fast for me. Thatās where the skip shipment option has really come in handy ā along with the ability to extend to an 8-week schedule so Iām skipping even fewer deliveries.
While thereās still the chance that I could miss an email and end up with a delivery I donāt need, Iāve been able to keep good enough tabs on my subscription status that I donāt feel the need to cancel and can just let my reorders go through when Iām ready for a refill.
Storing my pods
Lastly, one slight downside with Cometeer in my book is the need to (mostly) keep them frozen. See, while my apartment has plenty of cabinet space, freezer space is a bit harder to come by at times. In fact, if they didnāt need to stay frozen, I suspect Iād actually be more inclined to let myself stock up on Cometeer instead of skipping.
With that said, perhaps itās actually better this way ā but, for those with similarly packed freezers, this might prove to be a major drawback to Cometeerās innovative product.
On the other hand, I have actually found some success traveling with Cometeer. According to Cometeerās site, the capsules are TSA-compliant, so you could technically take a few in your 3-1-1 bag if youāre flying.
However, in our case, we decided to take a pack with us when we drove up to Chicago. Luckily, the hotel we were in had a fridge, so we could store our pods and then use our electrical kettle to make our morning coffee. Honestly, I thought this worked quite wellā¦ although Iām still not sure Iād try taking too many on a plane.
On that note, with that ā72-hour in the fridgeā fresh rating, youāll likely only want to bring some pods along for a shorter trip. From there, Iād recommend that you supplement your coffee plan with an Aeropress.
Overall, I think Cometeer is a very interesting product and one Iāve enjoyed using so far. Compared to making traditional pour-overs ā which require me to grind the beans, measure them out, and then wait for the coffee to drip ā making coffee with Cometeer is much more convenient.
Alas, as people who donāt order coffee on-the-go daily and, instead, make K-Cups at home, weāre actually spending more to add Cometeer to our mix overall. Still, much in the way that EveryPlate meal kits have added some variety and a good āmiddle groundā to our dining budget, Cometeer is proving to be a nice once-in-a-while alternative to our other coffee options.
Of course, if you do subscribe, youāll want to be sure to keep an eye on your inbox so that you can skip shipments if needed. But, if youāre a coffee fan and want to try something different, I think itās worth giving Cometeer a shot.
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