I'm about to make a lot of Starbucks fans very angry.
In short, you're getting taken, had, fleeced....ripped off. Does anyone really...I mean REALLY need to pay $3 or more for one cup of coffee? I like flavored coffee drinks as much as the next guy, but between the high prices, too-strong coffee, waiters calling themselves "baristas" and the annoying names Starbucks uses in places of "small", "medium" and "large", I have to admit...I really don't get what the big deal is.
I have had a couple of specialty drinks from Starbucks over maybe the last year or so. That's about it. Some people that work with me in my office drink this stuff every day. They grab a cup on the way to work, and they stop at Starbucks again on the way home. That's six dollars every work day!
Let's do the math. There are 52 weeks in a year. Each week, there are five work days. We'll subtract four of these weeks for holidays, days off, sick days, etc. That's 48 weeks, times 5 days a week, for a total of 240 work days. If you were to spend $6 a day at Starbucks every workday, you are spending $1,440 a year....on coffee.
My son used to drink at Starbucks almost every day. One day, he asked me for some money. "Didn't you just get paid?" I asked.
"Well, yeah...but my money is already gone," he replied.
What did he spend it on? I asked him this question. He thought about it for a couple of minutes and then finally said "I have taken my girlfriend to Starbucks a few times this week." My 17 year old son was flat broke...because he bought his girls some coffee.
Now he knows better. He makes the coffee at home and uses flavored creamers to get the drinks he wants. But what if you want something fancier, more impressive, something more like....well, Starbucks?
Luckily, there are a ton of great coffee recipe webs sites online. Some of these recipes produce drinks every bit as good...if not better...than Starbucks. My new personal favorite is I Need Coffee. The great thing about this sites is that a lot of the recipes found here are submitted by people who make coffee drinks for a living.
Sure, you won't have a barista making you your coffee...but making it is half the fun, right?
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I like high-test coffee in the morning so my wife bought a French Press, hotpot, and a bag of Whole Bean, French Roast coffee from SAMs.
The coffee, ~ $11 for 2.5 lb bag, lasts me about 45 days.
I have always wanted a French press coffee pot. I heard they make awesome coffee!
Right now, I'm making due with the good ol' Mr. Coffee and the four-pound back of whole beans I purchase from a discount store for $5. The bags last about three months in my house, and we buy inexpensive flavored creamers at Big Lots. The bag of coffee beans cost about as much as one premium Starbucks drink.
I got hooked on really great coffee when I was working in downtown Tulsa. When I became a home office worker, I was sure I would be stuck drinking Folgers.
However, a bit of Google searching turned up instructions for roasting your own coffee beans using cheap Hot Air Popcorn Poppers. Now, I buy green coffee beans in bulk from Tulsa-based Java Dave's once a year.
This allows me to enjoy top notch Costa Rican coffee that has been roasted only a day or two before.