Thieves Coffee Review (2023) – Discovering New Coffee Blends Every Month

Bored of the same old coffee every single day?

That’s probably why you’re checking out a coffee subscription. You’re in the right place. Thieves are one of the biggest names in Australia for delivering an exciting coffee experience every month.

I’ve taken the Thieves experience for a test drive and come to a conclusion on whether they’re worth the monthly subscription costs.

Let’s dive into this Thieves coffee subscription review.

Explore Thieves CoffeeSelect your coffee type - whole bean, ground, or capsule!

Who are Thieves Coffee?

Melbourne is known world-wide for the quality of its coffee, so it’s no surprise that the team behind Thieves are based in the Victorian capital.

They’ve been sourcing and shipping different blends from Australian roasters since 2014 having been founded by self-described coffee nut Athan Didaskalou who now runs exciting Australian luggage company, July.

Over the years, they’ve partnered with some of the most well-renowned artisanal roaster in Australia, including Rumble, Stitch, Five Senses, and Padre. With that track record, you know you’re in for something special.

What do Thieves offer?

The core of the Three Thousand Thieves business is a simple coffee discovery subscription that delivers coffee from a new Australian roaster each month.

If you find yourself like me who buys the same blend every time I’m at the supermarket, the idea of trying a new artisanal coffee every month is an alluring one.

Importantly, Thieves always support any way you are most comfortable making your coffee. That’s allowing you to buy:

• Whole Beans
• Ground
• Capsules

If you’re opting for the whole beans or ground coffee, you’ll also get a choice of Espresso Roast, Filter Roast, or Decaf.

Depending on the level of your coffee addiction, Thieves can deliver anything from 250g to 2kg of coffee. A 2kg bag is good for ~120 cups which should get any coffee enthusiast through the month.

Capsules are designed to work with Nespresso machines, but may not always work with Caffitaly, K-fee or ALDI machines.

How is it delivered?

Deliveries are made at the start of each month, with all of my boxes arriving between the 1^st and 3^rd.

Shipping is completely FREE to anywhere in Australia. Or, I prefer to say that it’s included in the price of your subscription. I definitely prefer that over being surprised by a $10+ delivery fee at checkout.

 Explore Thieves CoffeeSelect your coffee type - whole bean, ground, or capsule!

My Thieves Subscription Review Boxes

I tried a short 3-month subscription to Thieves to help understand whether they deliver an experience that lives up to their history and marketing material.

We’re a household addicted to a Nespresso machine, so it was great to see that Thieves can deliver a set of pods compatible with Nespresso machines.

Deliveries arrive in an unassuming carboard box, with a label that gives it a slightly premium feel.

At the start of this review, I mentioned some of the brands that Three Thousand Thieves (‘3tt’) have worked with. During my Thieves review period, I was able to try:

• St. Ali ‘Wide Awake’ Strong Espresso Blend from Brazil and El Salvador
• Proud Mary ‘Lazy Sunday’ from Brazil

Inside, you’ll find your coffee along with a large leaflet. These leaflets are one of the best parts of the Thieves experience! Let me share two examples.

First, the Thieves team will explain why they chose to partner with this specific roastery, with a bit of background about how they started their business.

Then, they split the leaflet into a couple of different parts that explain where the beans are sourced from for the different types of coffee. You’ll get some suggested brewing instructions and tasting notes that help put your experience into ‘industry terminology’.

I also love how the ‘back’ of the paper was printed with artwork reflecting the roastery and their brand. I won’t spoil these by sharing examples in this review, but I think it’s a great addition to the Thieves experience.

How was the coffee?

I won’t pretend to be a coffee aficionado. I’m definitely not.

However, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all the different blends that I’ve tried throughout my Thieves subscription. Whilst my palate isn’t very advanced, I can tell the difference between the richness and complexity of the artisanal roasts vs the standard Nespresso capsules we usually buy.

They’re good enough that I’d be happy paying a small premium to drink blends from the types of roastery that Thieves partner with. Which begs that exact question, how much is a Thieves subscription?

How much does a Three Thousand Thieves subscription cost?

With a Thieves subscription, there are two sets of prices to consider: Whole/Ground or Capsules. Then, prices vary depending on how much coffee you’re ordering.

These are the prices for whole or ground coffee beans:

Size	Cups	Price	Price per Cup
250g	15	$25	$1.67
500g	30	$45	$1.50
750g	45	$55	$1.20
1kg	60	$60	$1.00
1.5kg	90	$90	$1.00
2kg	120	$110	$0.92

The pricing structure is a little uneven, with the value significantly improving at the 1kg pack. The 2kg represents great comparative value with a cost of $0.92 per cup.

Here are the prices for capsules:

Capsules	Price	Price per Cup
20	$25	$1.25
30	$35	$1.17
60	$57	$0.95
90	$85.50	$0.95
120	$114	$0.95
160	$152	$0.95

The sweet spot here is clearly a 60 capsule subscription. If you’re partial to 2 cups of coffee a day (or 1 cup a day with 2 people!) then it’s a no-brainer to opt for the 60 capsule subscription and pay just $0.95 per cup.

Is Thieves good value?

To consider whether a price of just under a dollar per cup is good value, we need to compare the costs with purchasing from the roastery directly.

I’m comparing two of the coffees I received as part of my subscription:

Roastery	Pack	Direct Price	Thieves Price
St. Ali	60 Capsules	$65	$57
St. Ali	250g Ground Coffee Blend	$20	$25
St. Ali	1kg Ground Coffee Blend	$65	$60
St. Ali	2kg Ground Coffee Blend	$130	$110
Proud Mary	60 Capsules	Not Available	$57
Proud Mary	250g Whole Bean	$24	$25
Proud Mary	1kg Whole Bean	Not Available	$60

When wondering if a Thieves subscription is good value, you should consider the following factors:

• Thieves can deliver coffee cheaper (on average) than the roastery themselves.
• Thieves are delivering a totally new coffee experience to you every month.
• Thieves have access to quantities and blends that aren’t otherwise available.
• Thieves are delivering artisanal blends from passionate roasteries.

So, whilst $0.95 a cup of coffee might be more than you’ll get from the basic brands at Coles or Woollies, it’s a significantly improved flavour and experience.

Plus, you’ll still be saving a tonne of money compared to buying these from a café!

Other things you should consider

One really positive aspect of Thieves is that it’s incredibly easy to manage your subscription. If you want to skip a month because you’re away (or have too much coffee!) or if you want to cancel your subscription, it’s easily done through their website.

You can even change your shipment date in case you’re only away for a week during the delivery period.

Each month is charged around a week before your delivery. That’s normally the 25^th of each month, so you can change, skip or cancel at any point before then.

The last cool aspect of managing your subscription is adding additional coffee or chocolate as a one-time subscription. Very helpful if you know you have some thirsty family staying for a bit next month.

Thieves as a gift subscription

Thieves makes a great gift for the coffee lover in your life. Their gift subscriptions run for 3, 6, or 12 months and come in at the same price as a monthly subscription.

Your lucky recipient will then receive a new coffee blend to enjoy every month.

A nice bonus is that you can even personalise a greeting card.

If you don’t know whether they prefer whole beans, ground, or capsules then you can also send an e-gift card. Thieves do also offer physical gift cards that cost $15 and include some extra “goodies”.

Thieves at work

I love that the tagline for the Thieves office subscription starts with “Increase productivity”. Nobody would doubt the ability for coffee to give people a boost at work.

Just like their standard subscription model, Thieves will deliver a new coffee blend from one of their partners each month right to your office.

Might be worth nudging your boss about this one.

My Overall Thoughts on Thieves Coffee

Anyone who’s read the full article will have realised by now that my coffee knowledge is pretty basic. I’ll take a standard flat white or Espresso please.

That’s why I love the concept of Thieves. Expanding my understanding of different blends and roasting techniques by enjoying a new flavour profile every month. I don’t need to be an expert at picking the right blend because the team at Thieves have that part covered.

I love the detailed leaflets that come with each coffee, especially when delivered with free shipping and coming in cheaper than buying from the roasteries directly.

There’s really nothing negative to say about Thieves. It’s an awesome subscription, as long as you’re open to paying a bit extra to level up your daily coffee routine.

Explore Thieves CoffeeSelect your coffee type - whole bean, ground, or capsule!

I’d love to hear about other people’s experiences with Three Thousand Thieves – were they similar to mine? Did you find my Thieves review useful? Let me know in the comments section below!