MistoBox Wants To Boost Your Morning Cup Of Joe With The “BirchBox of Coffee”

Have a good day off? Some of us will return to work Tuesday morning rested and ready to go. Others may have enjoyed the holiday a bit too much and will be paying the price for a long weekend of celebrating.

The good news is that when you wake up Tuesday morning, you don’t have to drink coffee that tastes like motor oil. Whether you’re peppy and so happy to be alive at 6 AM (I hate those people) or feel like Derek Jeter lodged a bat in your head last night, you can start your morning with new coffee.

A new monthly delivery service, MistoBox, describes itself as “the BirchBox of the micro roasted coffee industry.” The company delivers small batches of coffee to your doorstep once a month for $12.50 per month.

You can order larger, 12 oz. bags from your favorite roasters through MistoBox’s website, and earn “Misto Points,” which you can accumulate to earn free coffee, by sharing and shopping.

The company, which was founded by Connor Riley and Samantha Meis while in an entrepreneurship program at the University of Arizona, launched in June after just passing its Kickstarter goal of $9,000 in funding.

“Simply put, independent coffee roasters make a superior product, both in quality and flavor,” Meis says. “Once consumers experience how easy it can be to try and buy great coffee, there’s no turning back. Convenience is key.”

The company sent us some MistoBoxes to our TechCrunch HQ in San Francisco and I’m impressed by the quality. The box came with four two oz. packets of whole beans and a card explaining the different coffees and roasters.

Unfortunately, I learned that I do not have a future as a barista if this whole writing thing doesn’t work out, as I almost made Ryan Lawler vomit with my first cup from the French press. But after several trial runs, the coffee started coming out pretty delicious, rivaling the amazing Philz I usually make at home (with a Mr. Coffee that does all the work for me).

MistoBox says 20% of its customers come back online to purchase larger bags from the monthly sampler.

“We cover the cost of shipping on a featured bag of our subscribers favorite each month,” Riley says. “The idea is by offering free shipping it will entice our subscribers to be more active and purchase more coffee, so we can turn the 20% return sales into 50% or 60%.”