Seeking alternatives to buying coffee out at coffee shops

[Frugalmommy :)]

One of my splurges is coffee and hot chocolate out at coffee shops. I usually drink one a day, about 5 days a week. I only drink decaf. I can't seem to ever make coffee at home that tastes as good. I have tried many different coffees. I'm wondering if I should invest in one of the single serve coffee makers for my house. What is the average cost per cup using them? And range of prices for the machine? I could cut about 70% of my coffee drinking to made at home. Many of my work meetings arw at coffee shops and I have to buy to use the sitting space. But getting a better set up at home could dramatically cut my
Coffee money spending.

[scfr]

Have you tried Starbucks Via (the sleeves of instant coffee that don't require a special maker, just hot water)? I drink the regular version at work or when I'm home and DH is out-of-town and I just need a single cup. I really like it. I buy mine at Costco when they are running a coupon, and it costs about 50-cents per cup.

They make a decaf version, though you may have to pay a bit more since it is not as widely available at places like Costco. I'm sure if you try it and like it, you could buy at a discount someplace like Amazon or eBay.

[disneysteve]

I'm not a coffee drinker but my wife is. Over the years, she's used various methods. Currently, it is a Keurig. That costs under $.50/cup. Before that, she had a 1-cup coffee maker and usually bought fresh beans and ground them herself. I don't know what that cost but I'm sure it was a lot less than the Keurig. I know a lot of people also swear by a French press for their home coffee. Oh, and when we travel, she uses the instant stuff like Via or another brand that I can't think of at the moment.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

While I am not a picky coffee drinker, I did notice that everyone's coffee tasted better than my own. My sister and I bought the same coffee, the same day, the same store --we shopped together. But her coffee tasted better than mine. I figured out that my coffee maker was not dripping water through at the same temperature as hers. Though the water had to be boiled inside the machine before it dripped through the grounds, it evidently was cooling off too quickly as it came to the grounds, thus my coffee was missing elements of flavor. Got a new machine and my coffee tasted better.

[snafu]

Do you enjoy the coffee flavors from different types or combinations of beans from different countries? Does the flavor you seek come primarily from different counties or different combinations or from add ons like powdered or liquid creamers? We buy whole beans from Costco and grind enough to make a pot of 6 servings coffee each AM. That gives us two large mugs immediately, two large travel mugs to take with us out-the-door. There is usually enough for two smaller cups to heat and enjoy as we make dinner.

The Kirlkand brand tastes just like the higher priced Starbucks coffee. DH often adds a spoonful of instant hot chocolate to reheated coffee for a change. We have a couple of small containers of flavored instant coffee [French Vanilla, Orange Cappuccino] which improves the taste of any coffee...even burnt

[pretty cheap jewelry]

I have the answers!!

1. Order a 'short' if you are in Starbux. It is not even on the menu. A short is just a smaller cup (8 oz). House drip short is about $1.50 ; Hot choc short is about $1.50

2. Order a 'misto' if you are at Starbux. You know what a cafe au lait is? (half coffee, half milk). That is what they call a 'misto'. They steam the milk and it is yummy and good calcium for you. Get it non fat and calories are almost nothing!

3. Order a SHORT MISTO! of course!!

4. Bring your own mug and they will take another 5 or 10 cents off! I just did it today.

5. Secret to coffee house luxury in home made brews without a fancy steamer or machine. I just discovered this a few months ago: MICROWAVE the milk in your mug until it bubbles (just before scalding) and then put the mug under the drip and LET THE COFFEE GO RIGHT INTO THE MILK.

I used to pour cold milk into a cup of coffee but I had no idea this new method above would change the taste so much!! It keeps piping hot 10 times longer too (I used to repeatedly reheat my mug in the microwave but NEVERMORE).

Hope this helps.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

My DH has a senseo for himself since he's the only coffee drinker. He loves starbucks but this is good too. Better than K-cup

[edg126]

If you only drink one cup a day the keurigs aren't bad. I constantly drink so it's not cost effective. We registered for a fancy $90 coffee maker and didn't like it, the coffee wasn't hot enough so we returned it and continue to use the $15 Mr coffee maker. I also recommend a good travel mug. Don't use those cheepo plastic ones. Use one that keeps coffee hot for hours. I use a contigo mug and 3 hours later it's still incredibly hot.

[Wino]

I am also not a coffee drinker, but since the taste is off, I think you should look in to cleaning your coffee maker (run vinegar through it, but do it outside on the patio) and also use bottled or purified tap water.

The Nespresso (http://www.nespresso.com/us/en/home) is well-liked here in the UAE. It has one-cup cartridges. A quick check on Amazon shows that you can get the capsules for about $1 per cup.

[ProjectDebtRelief]

Yes a lot of this depends on what kind of coffee drinker you are.

The Starbucks instant is good for instant coffee, but for a serious coffee drinker it may not make the cut. They are cheaper than buying in-store but K-cups are still the cheapest high quality coffee I can find. QVC and HSN both sell Keurigs for slightly better prices than Sam's or Wal-mart.

[firehawkocean]

Buy a French press and get some coffee from Costco where you grind it right then, right there. The French press makes such good coffee and they cost next to nothing.

[gogirlanime]

buy either a coffee machine or outlet plug that will turn on your coffee machine to brew your coffee before you wake up. Buy your coffee whenever on sale and use coupons. I am a Starbucks barista (for 2 years) and almost everyday I am shocked by what people order, one of my regulars orders a $7.68 drink everyday, sometimes twice. Such a waste of money... Honestly the quality of Starbucks coffee is a huge lie to the public. AM PM coffee is just as good as Starbucks if not better. Starbucks over roasts their coffee leading you to believe that that strong burnt taste is quality and stronger coffee both in flavor and caffeine, truth is, all coffee beans have equal caffeine. Also an espresso shot only has 74mg of caffeine and a grande drink (16oz total fluid) has two shots 148mg caffeine. Drip coffee has 20mg of caffeine per ounce, a 16oz drip coffee has 320mg caffeine. Buy a short drip for $1.81 to get the same caffeine at 1/3 the price if you MUST get Starbucks.

I seriously don't understand why more Americans (seeing how expensive Starbucks is) doesn't bring a coffee carrier to work and drink a $0.25 32oz (over the course of the day) cup of coffee from home

you know why they don't? EGO, Starbucks also gives a false impression that if you order Starbucks you have a lot of money and are important. But here is the truth, people of every income and lifestyle (including the homeless) buy Starbucks coffee, it doesn't make your poo stink any less, in fact, coffee makes it stink more.

[dojo]

We have a coffee machine (not even an expensive one) and buy coffee from the supermarket. We like Dalmayr (I think it's in the US, too), so this is what we use. I personally don't drink it (and husband got off coffee too), but my MIL and anyone who's visiting drink it. Great coffee at a very small price. Starbucks is insanely expensive. With the price I'd pay for a CUP of latte there, I get an ounce of Dalmayr coffee from the store.

[soogar]

We have a coffee machine (not even an expensive one) and buy coffee from the supermarket. We like Dalmayr (I think it's in the US, too), so this is what we use. I personally don't drink it (and husband got off coffee too), but my MIL and anyone who's visiting drink it. Great coffee at a very small price. Starbucks is insanely expensive. With the price I'd pay for a CUP of latte there, I get an ounce of Dalmayr coffee from the store.

Dalmayr is a wonderful brand and you can often find it at Marshall's and TJ Maxx for $4.99 a brick. I just stocked up today.

Coffee is the only thing that I do not buy outside. I don't like Starbucks and many of the other convenience stores make the coffee too weak for my taste. So I always brew mine at home and put it in a to go cup.

[Frugalmommy :)]

Great ideas! I will try the steamed milk in my coffee. I ended up getting a mini keurig and love it! I have tried some kcups from amazon. Where do you find the best prices on kcups?