If you have not heard of Black Rifle Coffee Company then either you don't enjoy coffee and if so this post is probably not for you or you are just stuck in the same old rhythm and not exploring different options in the world. You go get your Starbucks, Folgers, Dunkin Donuts or god forbid, McDonald's and go about your day. TIme to wake up those taste buds, as a Starbucks reformist I can say that..
Black Rifle is hard to miss and harder to ignore, their incredible social media presence and YouTube channel alone makes them stand out in massive ways. If you like your coffee a little dark, edgey, full of attitude and pack with in your face patriotism then you have come to the right place!
I will let them describe themselves to be fair to everyone, this is from their "About Us" page.
"Black Rifle Coffee Company serves coffee and culture to people who love America! We develop our explosive roast profiles with the same mission focus we learned as military members serving this great country and are committed to supporting veterans, law enforcement, and first responders. With every purchase you make, we give back. Founded in 2014 by former U.S. Army Green Beret Evan Hafer, Black Rifle Coffee Company was built upon the mission to serve coffee and culture to people who love America. Black Rifle stands for more than high-quality coffee. We are a Veteran-founded business operated by principled men and women who honor those who protect, defend, and support our country. #10,000 Veterans
A large part of Black Rifle Coffee Company's success is due to the outstanding work ethic and discipline of our Veteran employees. As we grow, we're committed to hiring 10,000 Veterans to provide opportunities to the military community that helped build us.
As a Veteran-founded and operated company, Black Rifle Coffee also strives to help other service-members successfully transition from the military into entrepreneurship. We provide assistance to Veterans who seek to launch a business of their own, helping more companies like Black Rifle Coffee Company become a reality." (https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/pages/who-we-are)
Full Disclosure:
First thing first - This is a positive review but while I am not affiliated with Black Rifle in any way I will tell you I have been a member of their coffee club since 2016 and bought stock when they went public. I have no other connection to them and am not making any monetary gain by writing this.
Our Review
Black Rifle currently offers 17 different blends on their subscription service and even more than that on their sight. So I will break this into a couple sections and address one piece at a time.
The Packaging:
Each roast recently went through a face lift for their bag designs. I love the originals, but I understand every company grows and goes through variations in packaging. The designs are very attractive and speak to the personality of the blend. I can't fuss too much about the 12oz bags as almost every company has decided this is the size. I think Death Wish and Starbucks may be the only ones still selling in 1 pound bags. I am not sure why that is but it appears to be pretty common in most of the industry.
The boxes they ship in are custom branded and hold up to the shipping process well.
The Coffee:
I have tried over a dozen blends of their coffee which is pretty big for me, I am a dark roast guy and I like what I like. I order the same things at the same restaurants every time, I am not big into try ing new things. However I decided that I would try all of their dark roast, extra dark roast and even a few medium roast while I was finding my preferred blend. For all of you dark roast lovers like me, are you ready for a choice besides French Roast and Italian? That was a huge point for BRCC in their favor. As a dark roast drinker I have more than 2 or 3 options.
My wife loves medium roast and so every now and then we move from our standard fair to one of their medium roast ( I have found 2 that I will drink, but remember, I am strictly a dark roast guy.)
My appreciation for coffee has actually grown because i really can taste the different tasting notes of the roast since I switched of Starbucks burnt crap. Their stock changes around a lot as they try different roast and blends and come up with limited runs. Which ever roast you prefer, BRCC has multiple options for you. I have not had a bad cup of coffee from their blends yet, just a few that weren't to my preference roast wise.
They also offer multiple variations of Pre-Canned coffee that is now widely available from local gas stations to Wal-Mart that are really tasty on the go. I love a Mocha 300
The Buying Options:
You can piece meal it one at a time off their website. They are being carried at more and more retail chains at least with their pre-canned options. You can purchase them now at Bass Pro Stores and a few other retailers. I have some in my local area that stock it, so it is available for distribution to smaller stores that are wanting to offer it.
There are also bundles on the site available if you don't know what you like or do know what you like. Not all of their offerings are available in 5 pound bags but some of their main blends are if you want to buy big. Shipping is going to cost, but shipping is getting stupid everywhere.
The Coffee Club:
I wanted to separate this feature but also keep it in buying options.
Here is how this works.
You Pick
1. Ground, Whole Bean, Canned or Pods
2. What Roast
3. How Much (1 bag all the way to 4, 1 Box or more etc)
4. How often
5. Your Payment Method
You Get free shipping and they charge your card and send your coffee based on what you set up on the schedule you set. You get 2 email reminders incase you want to make a change or cancel. I have been getting my coffee like clock work like this for 6 years now.
It is also super simple to update it incase you need more or less. When I know I am going to have more company or need ore coffee I just go in and update my subscription by adding another bag. Then I go change it back after that next order or leave it for 2 orders to stock up. I have changed mine multiple times through the years. More or less coffee, no problem. Different roast, no problem! More often or less often (not sure who that applies to) No Problem! I love the coffee club because I don't have to worry about running out of coffee, that alone makes my world better.
The Company:
I love supporting veteran owned and focused companies and BRCC is all that. I have personally benefited from their buy one we donate one yearly drive. They send thousands of pounds of coffee to our military guys every year! I was not the recipient, but my Brother-in-laws unit was blessed with a generous pallet of coffee at a FOB. I will always get behind companies that prioritize our military and front line servants like the police and other first responders. Besides their, Buy One Give one program, as a company they are involved in several veteran charities helping our veterans.
As a company they are dedicated to hiring 10,000 veterans and I think that is an admirable goal as we have so many veterans that struggle when they come home. I enjoy their social media presence because it is a lot of military humor which I still love and it reaches the veteran community. Their culture is somewhere that veterans can feel comfortable as they adjust to life post service. I could write an entire blogs on "they dogs of BRCC) and that company culture, but you should check out their Instagram, it will put a smile on your face. https://www.instagram.com/dogsofblackrifle/
I feel very strongly about this so this is a no brainer for me.
The Controversy:
With any growing company there are always "issues" that surface. Some out of envy, some out of jealousy, some out of pettiness and some out of ignorance. We live in a world of cancel culture where everyone has an opinion and thinks we should give a crap. BRCC has certainly had it's share of controversy.
During the Kyle Rittenhouse and Kenosha WI events Mr Rittenhouse was wearing a BRCC t-shirt. BRCC caught a lot of hate for immediately distancing itself from any association just because he had on a shirt. They also said they did not agree with his actions.
IN MY OPINION: as a small business owner, they had to distance themselves unless they wanted to be burned to the ground figuratively. With how easy it is to litigate lies and non issues someone would have tried to sue them over "their alleged role in empowering Mr Rittenhouse's actions with their advertising and ideology" No business owner wants to see his work thrown on the alter of social ideology because you can't win.
During the Election cycle 2 political donations to democrat candidates were traced to one of the owners of BRCC. They addressed both and it fell on the def ears of the masses that just want to rage about something.
One was the man lost a bet and this was the worst thing they could think of to do to him. From a group that has tasered people, tattooed people and shaved people over bets in the past this action was incredibly hideous and heinous so that was the cost of losing and it was a small donation.
The second was because he wanted the best option of the democrat candidates to at least make it to the debates. To get to the debate stage they have to raise a certain amount of money and they were trying to close out Tulsi Gabbard before she could get there. The former senator was actually a really great candidate. Personally it is only her stance on gun control I didn't like. She was really sound on most of her other platforms. If you are going to have the who's who of stupid in the democratic primaries why not help someone who isn't a retard get there.
Both controversies have been answered by the team at BRCC and we are here to talk about coffee. There is such a thing as too far one way or another, neither side of the pendulum is ideal and it seemed to up set the far left and the far right. Those people are going to pissed about something anyway.
Final Thoughts:
I love great coffee, I love having options on roast, I love the ease of the coffee club, I love their mission with veterans and their media is hilarious. I love America and I love companies that celebrate being American, Patriotism and serve our veterans. The coffee is a no brainer for me. Great coffee with ease and options. A company that aligns with my beliefs is just a cherry on top.
Be better tomorrow because of what you do today!
- The Fallible Man
