How to fit coffee into your budget

How to fit coffee into your budget

Test Drive: The Linea Micra Espresso Machine from La Marzocco

Ready to find out how La Marzocco’s Linea Micra measures up? Read on for our full Test Drive review!  BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Vasileia Fanarioti  The Linea Micra espresso machine by La Marzocco is the newest addition to their impressive line of home espresso machines. I was lucky to get my […]


4 Coffee Shops Worth a Visit in Madrid

In recent years, the Spanish capital has developed a vibrant specialty-coffee scene. Here are some cool cafés to visit for a caffeine fuel-up. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo by Jorge Fernández Salas via Unsplash The espresso bar at HanSo. HanSo Café, a Perfect Spot for Breakfast   In Chinese, HanSo roughly translates to “a […]


Book Review: From Nerd to Pro, by Patrik Rolf

From Nerd to Pro: A Coffee Journey is an autobiography by roaster, café operator, and coffee competitor Patrik Rolf sharing his coffee journey. BY TANYA NANETTI SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo by Tanya Nanetti I’ve read plenty of books on coffee over the years: manuals on how to brew great coffee at home, books on […]


New AFCA Director Gilbert Gatali on the 20th African Fine Coffees Conference

As the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) prepares for the 20th iteration of its flagship event, the African Fine Coffees Conference and Exhibition, the group is operating under new executive…

How to fit coffee into your budget

Design Details: Brewing Reinvented at ULA Café in Melbourne

Welcome to Design Details, an ongoing editorial feature in Daily Coffee News focused on individual examples of coffee shop architecture, interior design, packaging design or branding. If you are a coffee…


Congrats to the Top-Ranking Qualifiers at U.S. CoffeeChamps Denver

Dozens of coffee professionals competed at qualifiers this weekend in Colorado for coveted spots at the U.S. Coffee Championships next month. BY J. MARIE CARLANBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Cover photo by J. Marie Carlan For competitive coffee professionals in the USA, the U.S. Coffee Championships are the place to be. Over the weekend, the second USCC […]


4 Cool Cafés to Try Out in Bologna

Bologna, the Italian city home to the world’s oldest university, is traditionally famous for its food and drink—and it has some stellar specialty cafés. BY TANYA NANETTI SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo by Annie Spratt via Unsplash Bologna is home to the oldest university in the world and is the unofficial “capital“ of the porticos […]


The 2023 Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide Has Landed

The 2023 edition of the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide (SCTG) guide went live today, providing actors throughout the coffee chain a data-driven tool for green coffee price discovery. The full…

How to fit coffee into your budget

Ethos Agriculture’s Journey from Vision to Impact in Coffee Sustainability: Part Two

In the second half of this article, we discover how the Coffee Barometer attempts to bridge the gap between discourse and action, envisioning a sustainable…


Joven and Atucún Join Forces to Empower Young Farmers

The two brands have collaborated to create a unique coffee bar and support young farmers in the coffee and cacao industries. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE…


A Recap of The Barista League’s Mystery Coffee Vacation in Colombia

The Barista League’s Mystery Coffee Vacation in Colombia is over, and we’ve got the scoop on all the fun! BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Vasileia Fanarioti and Juan Henao During the last week of February, the 2022 Barista League champions gathered in Colombia for this year’s Mystery Coffee Vacation. It was an […]


Test Drive: The Linea Micra Espresso Machine from La Marzocco

Ready to find out how La Marzocco’s Linea Micra measures up? Read on for our full Test Drive review!  BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Vasileia Fanarioti  The Linea Micra espresso machine by La Marzocco is the newest addition to their impressive line of home espresso machines. I was lucky to get my […]

How to fit coffee into your budget

How to fit coffee into your budget

minimum dose size?

Jan 31, 2024 |

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

How to fit coffee into your budget

Is Making Coffee at Home Cheaper? 

Let’s just get it out there: Most office coffee is weak and terrible. How are you supposed to actually survive a day with your coworkers when your coffee is watered down, burnt—or even worse—decaf? You can’t. So what do you do instead? Wake up, get dressed, drive-thru, repeat. 

Throwing a few bucks at your drive-thru barista might not seem like a big deal at the time, but that habit is a costly one. With a cup of coffee averaging anywhere from $2 to $5, you could be spending at least $20 on coffee alone per week—and that’s not even including specialty drinks. In fact, more than one in three Americans spent more on coffee last year than they invested. Think about it: If you’re spending $20 a week on coffee, that’s more than $1,000 a year. 

So how can you supplement your caffeine addiction without dipping into your savings? Make it at home. You might be thinking “But I can never make good coffee at home!” WRONG. 

All you have to do is wake up a few minutes earlier to prep your coffee. Trust me, that extra five minutes in the morning makes a huge difference to your bank account. Here’s how you’ll save money by making coffee at home and why you should do it. 

1.  Investing in a coffee maker will save you in the long run

Okay, so my first step is telling you to spend money — but bear with me. If you invest in a coffee maker now, it’ll likely last you for years. You can find a basic coffee pot for as low as $20 — AKA, skip the drive-thru line for a WEEK and you’ll have enough for your basic coffee maker. 

There are tons of different brewing methods you could choose from — including Keurig brewers, french press, aero press, and the pour-over method. Each come with their own tastes and price points, but are sill cheaper than buying coffee every day. And remember — clean equipment is crucial to delicious coffee.

2. A pound of coffee goes a long way 

A pound of your average coffee can give you anywhere from 34 to 48 8-ounce cups of coffee. If you use K-Cups, you’re spending, on average, about 66 cents per cup. That’s hella cheap.

At Death Wish, one pound of coffee goes even further. According to our brewing recommendations using a high coffee to water ratio, one pound of Death Wish Coffee gives you about 72 servings of coffee per pound — meaning, our $19.99 bag of coffee yielding 72 servings means you’ll spend about 25 cents a cup. And, depending on how much coffee you drink, that bag can last you up to two weeks. 

3. Your brewing ratio is everything

Messing up your brewing ratio will essentially mean you’re dumping gross coffee — and money — down the drain. Most at-home brewing mistakes are made here because we don’t use enough coffee relative to the amount of water (this is why your office coffee sucks). Mike Brown, our owner, uses almost twice the “recommended” amount that is printed on most bags. For Death Wish Coffee, use 2.5 TBL for ever 6 ounces of water you use. 

4. Filtered water makes your coffee taste better

Filtered or bottled water should honestly be a requirement for brewing coffee at home. It makes your coffee tastes better and leaves out the chlorine and other minerals found in tap water, which affects the taste of your coffee and could cause build-up on your coffee maker, too — add it to the list of reasons why you should make sure you clean your coffee maker. It’ll keep you from having to replace it. 

5. Save those specialty drinks for special occasions

Your large caramel macchiato with an additional shot of espresso and extra whipped cream could cost you over $5 — save that for an occasional treat. It’ll save you money and calories — one of these bad boys has more than 300 calories. Black coffee has two.

So instead of putting your money toward coffee every single day, put it toward investments or a savings account instead. 

Related: 5 Tips for Strong Coffee

How to fit coffee into your budget

Perfect Little Beans

Chinmey Hill Coffee uses specialty-grade beans with zero primary defects (such as black beans or sour beans) and less than five secondary defects (such as broken beans). This is important because primary defects will greatly affect the taste of the coffee. Having zero defects allows the coffee to be the most optimal flavor.

Window for Optimal Flavor

Chimney Hill Coffee ships our coffee the same day it was roasted, so you will receive it before it enters the window of optimal flavor.  This means you’ll never miss the opportunity to enjoy the coffee’s peak flavor.

Coffee Ratings

Coffee undergoes many scoring processes by professionals who achieved their Q Grader certification. Coffee is first graded when it’s green. If there are defects the coffee is determined to be “not-specialty grade”. For those coffees that pass green grading, they are sample roasted and cupped. (Cupping is the official term for critically tasting and scoring coffees. The official cupping form is standard worldwide, and where the 100-point scoring system comes from.) A coffee’s dry fragrance, wet aroma, flavor, aftertaste, body, acidity, balance, and overall impression are taken into consideration while uniformity issues and defects, will lower the overall score.

Specialty Coffee

Specialty coffee, coined by Erna Knutsen in 1974, refers to a coffee that receives a quality grading score of 80 percent or higher. While “premium” or “gourmet” seem like they’re synonymous with “specialty,” they simply are marketing terms with no defined standards. Specialty coffees are grown in specific and ideal micro-climates, and have distinctive and unique flavor profiles, with little to no defects.

Third-Wave Coffee

We’re currently in the third wave of coffee. The first wave of American coffee put pre-ground, vacuum-sealed cans in kitchens across America. The second wave started with the late ‘60s introduction of Peet’s coffee (by Alfred Peet) through the proliferation of Starbucks. The third wave of coffee focuses on origin transparency, nuanced flavors, and artisan roasting. The term “third wave” is synonymous with specialty coffee.

How to fit coffee into your budget

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