Coffee Cost, Coffee Quality

Coffee Cost, Coffee Quality

If you’re a big coffee person without a big budget, here’s a simple question — why don’t you start brewing your own coffee? You don’t need to head to inferior coffee chains to try to save a few bucks. Instead, get high-quality coffee without the high price tag by making it yourself.

Coffee is a near-necessity for a lot of us, and most of us aren’t looking to break the habit. But most of us also realize that you can save an impressive amount of money by making smart but fairly minor changes. So let’s talk about ways to do that without sacrificing the coffee experience.

Cheaper shops are still expensive

The idea of swapping our high-end coffee shop habits for cheaper coffees at fast food restaurants or gas stations is unappealing to most of us. It is also, frankly, not the most effective way to save money on coffee. A medium coffee at a big national chain costs about $2 and change, while coffee at a fast food restaurant costs a bit less — perhaps as little as $1 and change — so the savings are about $1 per day. That’s decent, but it pales in comparison to another option: brewing your own coffee.

Saving big by brewing your own coffee

Brewing your own coffee can result in a cup of coffee that costs you as little as 16 cents. Yeah, that’s cents — way less than a dollar a cup. Now your savings are much more impressive.

Don’t worry about losing quality. We’re not advocating for saving the maximum amount on home-brewed coffee by opting for big tubs of super-cheap coffee. You don’t need to. Even high-end coffee grounds can be much more cost-effective when you brew at home. Think about it: You could double, triple, or even quadruple or quintuple that 16-cent-per-coffee price before it even began to rival the price of the worst and cheapest fast-food coffee.

Other benefits of home brewing

Brewing your own coffee can also be convenient. You can set up overnight cold brewing or prepare your coffee maker in the evening so that enjoying a batch of coffee is as simple as pushing a button in the morning. Grab a cup on your way out the door and you’ll be all set — no need to stop at the coffee shop, which is sure to be crowded in the morning anyway. And you don’t even have to shop for your coffee in person, because you can sign up for a coffee subscription box instead.

None of this requires your being any less of a coffee snob. In fact, brewing your own coffee can give you more control over your coffee experience and introduce you to even more advanced coffee concepts. Take some time to pick out the best coffee subscription for you, and you’ll always have interesting and high-end coffee headed your way, delivered regularly enough that it’s always super-fresh. Look at your brewing options and you may find yourself cold-brewing in a French press, making espresso and Americanos with an espresso maker, or experimenting with pour-over techniques. You may decide that you want to grind your own beans (talk about fresh!). Who knows? You may end up so discerning that you decide that only you can touch your coffee.

You don’t have to give up your coffee habit to save money, and you don’t have to slum it with subpar coffee, either. Just cut down on your coffee shop visits by at least a little bit, and start looking for ways to pair your coffee snobbery with cost-effective home-brewing techniques. You might just fall in love with making your own coffee.