We really do live in a Starbucks culture.
Or a Lofty Coffee, or Bird Rock, Better Buzz or whatever-coffee-shop-you-love kind of culture. Honestly, I love coffee shops too.
And there are many that I like much better than Starbucks.
I love the whole experience… a good ambiance or atmosphere, going out with a friend or two, and having someone else making a delicious coffee for me.
It’s a big part of American society.
And we all just get it! Don’t we?
It’s hard to not love it.
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On the other hand, 64% of Americans drink coffee every day, and 79% of them make their coffee at home.
Not only is making coffee pretty popular in USA, but making your coffee at home is also pretty popular. These numbers are from 2018, so if anything these percentages have probably only gone up since then.
They steadily grew throughout the 2010 decade.
Whether you love going to a coffee shop, brewing your coffee at home, or both, here are 4 reasons to brew coffee at home, and why it’s more than worth it to do that.
It’s Cheaper
The prices of lattes and tasty espresso drinks sure have gone up in recent years.
Maybe it’s just me but It seems like it wasn’t very long ago that flavored lattes were generally under $4 for a medium size. Now it’s almost hard to find one for under 5!
We pay for our convenience, and delicious drinks. And sometimes it’s just fun to do that.
Let’s take a look at just a cup of coffee though, because most people just make regular coffee at home, not flavored lattes or Frappuccinos or anything.
It costs about 16 to 18 cents to make a cup of coffee at home. That’s a good deal, especially if you make it good! Which isn’t that hard, and that’s what I’m here to show you.
A cup of coffee from a coffee shop can cost anywhere from $1 to $3. No, we’re not going to count gas station coffee in the equation, no matter how cheap it is. Let’s not go there…
That’s a pretty big difference. With prices ever-increasing at coffee shops, I don’t know one decent coffee shop where you can get a cup of brewed coffee for under $1.50.
That’s really pushing it. So let’s do some math.
Only simple arithmetic though because I really don’t like math.
If you were to drink just one cup of coffee a day for a year – brewing coffee at home at 18 cents per cup – you will spend only $65.70 per year on coffee.
If you make two cups of coffee a day for a year, that’s $131.40. If you make three, it’s $197.10 per year.
So, if you have one cup of coffee a day at a coffee shop for $2 every day of the year, you’ll spend $730 a year. If you have two coffees a day at the shop every day for a year, you’ll spend $1,460.
Whoa! We’re high-rollers now. And lastly, if you have three a day for a year, you’ll spend… drum roll please…… $2,190!
That’s more money than a lot of people make in a year.
Ok, yes I realize that most of us don’t do the same thing every day.
There’s not many people who only make coffee at home or only go to coffee shops.
Even I do both. This is simply to put things into perspective.
But to sum it all up, if you only made coffee at home and had three cups of coffee a day, you’d save a whopping $1,992.90 a year! It’s hard and fast math.
So Many Options
There’s something inside me that gets a little thrill every time I try a new brewing method or coffee maker.
Does that make me a coffee nerd? Maybe. There really are quite a few options out there when it comes to ways you can make coffee, or coffee makers and machines.
There’s really simple and really complex ones, cheap and expensive ones, and so many other categories you can maybe come up with that I just can’t think of now.
I try to talk a lot about different coffee brewing methods on this site.
This is because I want to help you choose the one that’s best for you!
There are so many others aside from just automatic drip makers.
There’s pour over, AeroPress, French press, Moka pot (stovetop espresso), cowboy coffee, Turkish coffee, automatic drip machines, espresso machines, single pod coffee makers, Vietnamese coffee, and more.
One of the wonderful things about it is that a lot of the best ways to brew your coffee are very inexpensive.
Learn New Skills
Learning new skills is always a good thing.
Knowing how to cook is a highly useful skill to have. Otherwise, it’s microwave meals and fast food.
Likewise, learning how to make coffee can not only give you more knowledge about nutrition, and maybe a slight little bit about chemistry, but also give you beverage and cuisine skills that could put tears of joy in any barista’s eyes.
There really is an art and a science to making good coffee.
I love that. And I am a firm believer that you don’t have to fit into any mold to be an awesome barista or coffee making person.
You don’t have to look like other people, dress like other people or whatnot; just make great coffee and love the coffee you brew!
Coffee really isn’t very hard to make.
If we’re honest here, it’s not nearly as hard as being a chef or making dishes that take hours and hours.
It’s a fairly easy skill that takes some knowledge and practice and has great payoffs the moment you take that first glorious sip.
It May Be Healthier
This one isn’t a 100% guarantee.
If all you ever drink is black coffee, it doesn’t matter if you get it from Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Espresso House, or make it at home.
No health difference whatsoever.
But when we go to a coffee shop, most of us don’t just get black coffee, right?
I usually don’t! I like espresso con panna, lattes, flavored lattes, or other espresso drinks that may or may not contain copious amounts of sugar and calories…
Making your coffee at home is only healthier if you don’t load on the tablespoons of sugar into your coffee.
I really won’t try to be too dogmatic or annoying about it, but I think that putting sugar in brewed coffee is a no go.
If you love sugar in your home-brewed coffee and can’t live without it, that’s ok and I’m not going to try to change your mind.
But in my home-brewed coffee, I think that sugar takes away the original taste of the coffee a bit too much; and it’s healthier without it.
If you do love sugar in your coffee, it could be a good idea to try slowly cutting back on it until you drink your coffee with just milk/cream or even black.
This will save you a little money, and it’ll be healthier. You could also try adding other ingredients to your coffee and see how you like that.
But if you just love sugar in your coffee too much to let it go, you can go ahead and keep it.
Make It Your Own
I am writing this article in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Countries and states are more locked down, airports are almost empty, many coffee shops are actually putting their business on pause, and many people are afraid.
These are interesting times the world is in.
I think we not only owe it to ourselves, but we owe it to our community to be as healthy as we can be. Another thing we need to do is to not be afraid.
We need to use much wisdom of course, but not be afraid in turbulent times.
While many people right now are spending much more time at home than usual, we definitely need to make the most of that! We can certainly find the good in it.
Now is as good a time as ever for making better coffee right at home and learning more about it! I happen to think it’s the perfect time to practice.
So go for it, and make it your own, and have FUN. Coffee cheers!
Were there any reasons I missed? I hope this article was helpful and fun to read. You can also check out other articles on the site for coffee tips and tricks to be the best barista you can be in your own kitchen.
Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks for reading!
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