Coffee...

Nelliegrace

Aldi coffee beans, £2.29 for 227g, (£10.10 a kilo.) I grind them and make a coffee pot full of filter coffee using a cone and paper filters. It is very easy and easy to clean. The filter with the used coffee grounds goes into the compost caddy. I stocked up when filters were £1.20 for 40. I put leftover coffee straight into a warmed vacuum flask. We take a flask of coffee when we go out.

My school cookbook said to add a pinch of salt to improve the flavour. 

We like Aldi Colombian or Guatemalan ground coffee, £3.49, (£15.40 a kilo.)
As coffee pods the same coffee costs £1.85 for 6, (£37 a kilo.)

Our local supermarkets, Sainsbury's and M&S do good coffee beans and ground coffee. I look out for any on offer. 
I refuse to pay more just for a snobbish named brand. 

I re-read, Less: Stop Buying So Much Rubbish, by Patrick Grant. He recommended his old stainless steel, Bialetti stove top expresso coffee maker. They are about £30+ depending where you search. It looks stylish. 

itsthelittlethings

For quality coffee I don’t think you can fault a filter with papers. It is messy though!

JIL

born_again said:

Would echo the bean to cup machine. Got one in covid, as pods were getting far too expensive.

I have the 

De'Longhi Magnifica S, Automatic Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, Espresso and Cappuccino Maker, ECAM22.110.B, Black

 & it's still the same £299 on Amazon.

£212 on the delonghi ebay shop. With voucher code. 

It says refurbished but I am not convinced. I think it's over ordered stock. Still has a years guarantee.

https://ebay.us/m/TO2xqa

weenancyinAmerica

It is a bit unnerving to me to even contemplate spending those prices on a coffee maker. My entire food budget for three months is a little beyond me. Can't see that it is that MSE but I guess if you are rolling in money and can afford to have coffee out everyday, it could be money-saving. I just don't understand it though.

MattMattMattUK

[Deleted User] said:

I am used to a daily coffee shop flat white or portadown but soon I may need to cut down due to budget and buying a house. 
I am here to ask what's the next best thing to a coffee shop which saves a bit of money?
I have expensive taste so won't be using instant coffee just want to reduce from £4 a day. 
I also value convenience so things like the pods interest me.
Finally I'm slowly going towards less milk so happy to try a new habit of black coffee .
I know my sister has a nespresso and mother has a tassimo, are those the way to go and buy pods in bulk?
Or are there other ways which are just as easy? I really don't like mess and granules etc.

When you say you have "expensive taste" do you mean you only perceive quality based on the cost of something? Good quality instant is as good as pod coffee whilst being considerably cheaper. Freshly ground beans (or even pre-ground coffee) produce both considerably better coffee and are considerably cheaper than pods, not to mention both being vastly better for the environment. 

Ease is subjective, it takes me about 15-20 seconds to hand grind the beans for my morning coffee, maybe a minute in total to add to the espresso machine, tamp down, make the coffee and tap out after to empty. The alternative would be a bean to cup machine, similar quality and time, huge initial outlay for a good machine. You could use a cafetiere and will get good coffee but it will lack crema. If you want hot/foamed milk you could get a milk frother, the electric ones are easy to use (add milk, press button), slightly different texture to steamed milk but easier to operate and clean, especially if you do not know what you are doing when it comes to steaming the milk.

So in summary, go with instant or make it properly, pods are no better than instant whilst also being much more expensive, they are a costly gimmick. 

bouicca21

Gosh, how long would it take to recoup £4 a day by spending best part of £300 on a coffee maker? Doesn’t sound MSE to me.  I have a cafetière and indulge myself in coffee from Monmouth, which they grind for me.  I’m also a cup a day person so I reckon a 250g packet at around about £7 or £8 lasts a month.  That’s less than 30p a cup - a bit more if I have to pay postage instead of actually going to one of their shops.

-taff

Well, if you were the OP you would begine saving after about 3 ish months when your initial outlay on the machine. would now start to save you money. If you're spending nearly 1500 pounds a year on coffee, three hundred to start with is still saving you money...Although to be fair, taking out the weekends makes it just over a grand.

MattMattMattUK

bouicca21 said:

Gosh, how long would it take to recoup £4 a day by spending best part of £300 on a coffee maker? Doesn’t sound MSE to me.  I have a cafetière and indulge myself in coffee from Monmouth, which they grind for me.  I’m also a cup a day person so I reckon a 250g packet at around about £7 or £8 lasts a month.  That’s less than 30p a cup - a bit more if I have to pay postage instead of actually going to one of their shops.

One can get a reasonable espresso machine for £100, though of course they go into the thousands as well. Accounting for the coffee that would put break even at twenty six coffees. 

Nelliegrace

£4 a day on coffee.
£1,460 a year. 
£36,500 over a 25 year mortgage. 

JIL

The op specifically asked for the next best thing to a takeaway coffee and not instant.

We all have to have some simple pleasures in life and the initial outlay would soon be recouped as others have pointed out. 

It reminded me of a relative who some years ago said she wished she could afford to go abroad on holiday.  She smoked 20 cigarettes per day.  The obvious answer would be to give up smoking, but she didn't want to. Option number 2 was to go abroad and bring back enough cigarettes for the next six months, thus the saving would pay for the whole holiday (obviously this was prior to Brexit) The money saving skills learned on this site could mean using an interest free credit card to pay for them and the holiday, paid back over the next six months when there was no outlay for cigarettes.

The point I'm trying to make is, weigh up the options and do what's best for you. You dont always have to settle for second best.

Like someone else said, the coffee at home is better than takeaways. I agree completely and absolutely love my morning cup, nothing better to start the day.