Try beans from 15 local roasters with all-Indianapolis coffee subscription box

For Zach Guthrie and Stephanie Poppe, 2019 is off to a strong start. 

On Jan. 1, the Indianapolis couple made their business official, filing the LLC for Indy Coffee Box.

"I woke up, and wanted to do it first thing," Guthrie said. "It was a way to take control of the new year."

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Indy Coffee Box is a coffee subscription company that showcases Indianapolis-area roasters. Each month, subscribers receive 12 or 24 ounces of specialty coffee beans, curated by the co-owners. The first box goes out in February, and will feature beans from Julian Coffee Roasters and Bee Coffee Roasters.

Guthrie, 32, currently works at JP Parker Flowers, and Poppe, 31, is a senior interaction designer at SEP. They both love coffee, and are members of Tinker Coffee Co.'s subscription service. Guthrie thought about how great it would be to have an all-Indianapolis coffee subscription box.

Poppe has worked with many start-ups and said she's always had the "entrepreneurial itch." She told Guthrie she wanted to make the idea a reality. 

"We wanted to create something that was scalable and sustainable, but also fueled our interests and passions," she said.

They quickly discovered how much coffee variety there is in the area. So far, 15 area roasters have signed on from Indianapolis, Zionsville and Noblesville. The list includes Tinker Coffee Co., Limelight Coffee Roasters, Circadian Coffee, Brickhouse Coffee Co., Porter Coffee and Indy Coffee Roasters.

"Roasters love the idea," Guthrie said. "We thought it might just be small roasters who are interested...but the big ones are just as excited."

A number of the roasters serve single-origin coffee, which means the beans are sourced from a single geographic region, sometimes a single producer or farm. Subscription holders might see beans from Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Peru, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala or Indonesia. Some roasters offer holiday blends and flavored coffee. 

Shipments go out the first week of each month, and the couple will hand deliver subscription boxes to subscribers who live in downtown Indianapolis, Broad Ripple, Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville, Plainfield, Greenwood and Southport. Shipping is extra for orders outside of the metro area. 

The subscription is $20 a month for 12 ounces, and $35 a month for 24 ounces. Poppe said that while it's not cheap, she knows there are a lot of coffee enthusiasts out there who would appreciate this curated concept.

"We're offering convenience," she said. "We guarantee quality, and we will not include coffee that we don't stand by."

She said coffee lovers can try many brands and varieties without having to drive to the different roasters. Poppe likened the experience to drinking wine in that everything from where the beans are grown, the type of soil and cultivation process can yield very different flavor profiles that go well beyond your average cup of grocery store joe. Since these are small-batch, local roasters, customers can count on fresh beans. Also, customers can cancel at any time.

Poppe designed the logo, which is a play on the Indiana flag with the torch flame and stars replaced by coffee beans, an homage to the hyper-locality of the brand and where she and Guthrie both grew up. 

Down the line, the couple wants to add educational elements to the subscription boxes that might include information about the cultivation and roasting processes, and different ways to brew and grind your coffee at home. They also want to host events such as coffee tastings, cupping classes, and other fun gatherings. 

But for now, they are just excited to get their first orders out to coffee lovers and open people's eyes to high quality, specialty coffee. 

Details: Subscribers can use the code BEANME to get $5 off their first box. indycoffeebox.com. 

Kellie Hwang is a reporter at IndyStar. You can email her at kellie.hwang@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @KellieHwang.