Coffee...

PixelPound

vacheron said:

itsthelittlethings said:

They wanted convenience and no mess, I’m afraid a Nespresso machine seems like the answer to me.

Ah, I didn't spot the additional "I don't like mess" requirement as well. 
I don't like mess either.. which is why I just tidy up afterwards! 

They also said they want "the next best thing to a coffee shop", which, I'm afraid is what a prosumer coffee machine and good grinder like those above will achieve, and a Nespresso pod machine cannot.

Even before you drew my attention to the additional "I don't like mess" comment at I was already thinking that

"I want to save costs"  juxtaposed against:

"I have expensive tastes"
"I value convenience" and
"I want the next best thing to a coffee shop"

was already somewhat of a dichotomy !  

Agree, there is a cost somewhere along the line.

You pay money to a coffee shop money to get you a really good coffee how you like it

You pay in time and effort to make a your own good coffee from coffee beans

You compromise a bit on taste for the convenience of a pod machine (using reusable pods with good coffee can mitigate it a bit)

You completely compromise for the the convenience of instant coffee.

vacheron

Yes, that well used engineering phrase also applies to coffee.

“You can have it fast, cheap and high quality….…. choose two!” 😁

-taff

PixelPound said:

You pay money to a coffee shop money to get you a really good coffee how you like it

Dunno about really good. Adequate is what I'd say unless it was a speciality place...Any coffee shop in Italy, France, Switzerland or Germany would wee all over Costa and their ilk. We've become accusomted to pricey rubbish thanks to advertising and fashion.

Nelliegrace

I have been watching the new detective series, Department Q.
Apparently “Rocket,” means something different in Scotland.
£1,250 for coffee machine for the home. Rocket!

JIL

If I ever have instant coffee, I heat my milk in the cup in the microwave. Gives a much better taste in my opinion anyway.  
I do that with the bean to cup as well, it does have the milk steamer attachment, but it's a bit of a faff.

itsthelittlethings

£1250 for a coffee machine! That would take a year to pay back at the rate of one coffee a day and that’s without the cost of the coffee and cleaning items. I’m not sure it’s very money saving as I suspect I’d still end up grabbing a coffee on the go. I’ll stick with my filter.

subjecttocontract

You could go for decaf to help cut your habit.

vacheron

itsthelittlethings said:

£1250 for a coffee machine! That would take a year to pay back at the rate of one coffee a day and that’s without the cost of the coffee and cleaning items. I’m not sure it’s very money saving as I suspect I’d still end up grabbing a coffee on the go. I’ll stick with my filter.

While I'm certainly not advocating that the OP buy one in this case, you need to look at the total cost of ownership for these types of machines.

I bought the Rocket machine above in August 2011 for £1,100, so I have owned it for almost 14 years (4 years longer than I originally thought now I have actually checked!) and it still works and looks as good as new.
The photo I posted above was taken last year when it was 13 years old.

Before I bought this I owned a Gaggia Classic Evolution which was a "decent" consumer level machine which cost about £200 at the time (around 2005), but it was basically worn out after about 4-5 years.

Because these are prosumer grade, they are designed to last for decades. The parts inside will also be available for decades and they are both relatively easy and cheap to both diagnose and replace. Most of the initial cost is in the heavy duty construction of the body and brew head which are all made from stainless steel and marine grade brass, meaning these machines weigh about 25-30KG (55-65lb) BEFORE you fill them with water! 

Should I sell this machine today second hand I would get about £600-£700 for it. So lets use the low end and say £600. 

This means that the total cost of machine ownership (depreciation) over 14 years has been £1100-£600 = £500, or £35 per year, or 10p per day! I make 2 cups each day (for myself and my wife), so owning that machine has cost me 5p per cup! 

Yes I need to price in the cost of the coffee / grinder / and electricity etc, but even with this included, after about 1.5 years you are well beyond break even, and the gap just gets larger from there!   

Had I instead kept buying £200-£250 machines and using them daily with a 5 year average life before they were worn out, I could have spent £750-£1000 by now replacing them, so this is a pretty good example of boots theory.

flaneurs_lobster

subjecttocontract said:

You could go for decaf to help cut your habit.

Reported for use of the "D" word.

vacheron

Nelliegrace said:

I have been watching the new detective series, Department Q.
Apparently “Rocket,” means something different in Scotland.
£1,250 for coffee machine for the home. Rocket!

That wasn't very nice. 

But please take a look at the post I made just above and see if you still feel the same way once the maths has all been "mathed" in comparison to coffee shop prices.