Selling beverages online may not seem intuitive because drinks often are a consume-now product. But not every retailer aims to be like Starbucks with its more than 13.3 million Starbucks Rewards customers who regularly use its mobile app for orders and payments.

Just three retailers fall into the Coffee/Tea subspecialty under the Food/Drug category of the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 1000, which ranks North America’s leading online retailers.

Starbucks is one of those in the 2017 rankings (No. 462), but the company shuttered its e-commerce site on Oct. 1 to focus on its mobile app and loyalty program. Also included are Keurig Green Mountain Inc. (No. 100) and CoffeeForLess.com (No. 669). Combined, these three coffee and tea retailers generated online sales of $472.9 million in 2016, up 2.9% from $459.6 million in 2015, according to Internet Retailer estimates.

Other specialty retailers focus on liquid refreshment of the coffee or tea variety. These online merchants sell ready-to-brew beans or leaves or ready-to-pour beverages that can be shipped to customers’ doors.

Four such retailers, which are not ranked in the Top 1000, are featured in the Internet Retailer 2018 Hot 100, whether for their business model or website design. All have a unique, typically caffeinated, twist that helps them stand out.

Growth is no grind here

Freshness reigns supreme for the operators of online coffee retailer Bean Box, which sources beans from small-batch Seattle-area roasters and ships orders within 48 hours of roasting—most of them going to customers outside of Washington state.

Beanbox.co sells mostly from its site (80%) and on Amazon (20%), though during the holidays Amazon accounts for up to 40% of sales, co-founder Matthew Berk says. Customers can opt for monthly subscriptions that are tailored to their tastes, such as light, medium or dark roast beans; buy a sampler box for three months, six months or a year; or choose from a variety of single-origin beans, blends and other coffees.

“We used to have a lot of anxiety about those customers who bought like subscribers but were not on a plan,” Berk says. “For consumers, a subscription is just one way to get coffee. Even those who are no longer on a plan with us, they still come back and buy coffee and gifts on a regular basis.

“We had to expand our understanding of what it means to be a subscriber and a great customer,” he says. “A subscription can be a real distraction. The better question is, ‘Are your best customers returning to you?’” At Bean Box, they are: 70% of its business is subscriptions and 30% are classified as gifts.

Passionate about tea

With more than 150 types of tea to choose from, DavidsTea.com boasts offerings that satisfy every palate and every craving. And its site makes it simple to see how that may be the case.

Shoppers can search for their ideal tea based on the tea’s featured ingredients, certification, flavor profile and caffeine level. Once they select a tea, profile pages feature large, vivid images of the tea, along with a wealth of information, including steeping instructions for hot and iced tea.

Milking the brand

Milk and beverage brand Califia Farms decided to go direct-to-consumer and had to figure out a supply chain, how to ship perishable products and add transaction capabilities to its website.

But the brand should raise a (plant-based milk) glass to its success, as sales have increased double or triple digits month over month since its September 2016 launch, says Leonard Ortega, director of e-commerce.

Califiafarms.com has a sleek homepage showcasing its long-tail products that are not always sold in stores, such as a pumpkin spice latte cold brew coffee, a robust recipe blog and a speedy one-page checkout.

In your face

There’s no subtlety when it comes to Death Wish Coffee, which claims to be the world’s strongest coffee. And that’s apt given the straightforward product that it sells.

The retailer’s website features a simple, bold home page that also acts as a product page, which enables a shopper to quickly get in and out—even if he’s signing up for a weekly or monthly subscription.

To read more about these companies and other innovative online retailers, download the free issue of Internet Retailer’s 2018 Hot 100.