Their goal is a worthy one, but initially, I was hesitant. I live five minutes away from Monmouth's Bermondsey outpost, and part of the fun of coffee-drinking is choosing my own coffee bean adventure. I didn't want to be tied down to the default frequency options, although you can skip as many deliveries as you like. Given the chance to switch to a monthly delivery and armed with a code for a free 100g sample bag, however, I hit the button. Actually, this wasn't entirely intentional; beautifully designed as the website is, it's also a little trigger-happy, so be careful where you click.
I was sort of hoping that the first batch wouldn't be any good — adequate for those who don't have easy access to London's wealth of premium coffee suppliers, perhaps, but not anything special. No such luck: the single-origin Brazilian Rodomunho beans I received were excellent: a light roast (AKA more caffeine) with the honey and milk chocolate notes promised by the description. I usually brew with an Aeropress for which I felt like the Rodomunho was a good match.
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| Rodomunho beans in the Pact package. |
My second batch, and first full-size bag, was from El Salvador. This variety is apparently particularly well suited for an Aeropress, but I actually preferred the Rodomunho. The coffee is still very good, but you can definitely taste the fruity acidity and I prefer my coffee a little smoother.
The packs come with the date of roasting, the name of the person who packed the coffee and a little feedback checkbox, where you can Tweet whether the coffee was "life changing," "smile inducing" or "not my cup of tea." A nice idea.
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| My first Aeropress brew with the Rodomunho coffee. Cup from Joe. |
I was even more pleased when I found out that the Pact office is just down the road from me, next to where I went bouldering. It's a lot harder to cancel a subscription when you have local loyalty to take into account! But I plan to keep my subscription active for now, although I might skip a month or two if I'm, say, going to New York and want to bring back my own beans. Even though I can get hold of good coffee easily, there are still weeks when I don't have time to go to stock up. Which is where Pact steps in. You usually get your coffee the day after ordering and the package fits through "90% of letterboxes" — unfortunately, not including mine, which is too narrow, although I usually get packages sent to my office.
If you're a coffee geek or just love great coffee, give Pact a try; you won't regret it.
