Do you love your morning cup of coffee, but dread the idea of constantly rising prices? Welcome to the club – coffee price inflation has been crazy in the last year. Although it might be a bit aggravating to even think about, there are ways for price conscious consumers to still enjoy their favorite coffees without going completely broke. Whether you just want to save a few bucks or find more affordable alternatives altogether, this post will provide an insider’s look at how you can manage and even mitigate against coffee inflation. Let us show you everything from basic budgeting tips to more creative solutions so that getting your daily dose of caffeine doesn’t have to lead to feeling like an empty wallet.
There are a lot of ways you can stretch your coffee, such as reusing old grounds, or buying really cheap beans to mix in with your better beans, which both are terrible ideas, and should only be used in the zombie apocalypse. One of the things that are tough for people to do is: change. So, the first thing you do to find better deals on coffee is, to put it simply, be brand disloyal. Buy the best bean for your budget at the best price, and not just the ones that you’re familiar with.
The second tip I have for you can be even more difficult than the first, as it will ask you to mix up you brewing habits. You may need to change your brewing method. I know some of you may be loving the thicc coffee life, but a change in method could yield you fairly similar results, but with getting more coffee out of your coffee. For example, if you’re brewing with a 12:1 or even an astoundingly stout 10:1 water to coffee ratio, you can grind your coffee slightly finer and move to a simpler 15:1 and get close to what you had before. Maybe not quite a spoon melting levels, but flavor-wise you would be close, one caveat here, this won’t work for all brew methods, so consult your brewing guides.
My third tip, and this only applies to a few of you, but it’s just as important as the others. I want you to go over to where you store you coffee and if you see k-cups, or their equivalent, you seriously need to switch to beans now.
I know, I know, I know. Not an easy ask, but I’m serious, ditch those k-cups and get some beans or ground coffee up in there.
You’re going to go from an average of 70-55¢ a cup to close to 40¢ if you’re a getting your bags of coffee for around $12. That’s an enormous amount of money saved, but at the cost of some speed and ease, but trust me, it worth it. Better coffee, way less waste, and best of all, the smell of fresh coffee brewing. Sip on that, k-cups.
The final and perhaps the easiest is the subscription box (my dad does this and it’s pretty perfect for his needs). There are tons of these around, my current favorite being bean box, it includes free shipping, and has some of the best roasters out there. If you’re getting a weekly bag of coffee, then you’re only spending 55¢ a cup, delivered to your door.
But when it all comes down to savings, we all have our specific wants and needs, different equipment we own, and are just plain picky. Just because everything has gone up in price, see here, here, here, and here for reference, doesn’t mean you can’t have a great cup of coffee at a decent price.
