My wife and I go through about 4lbs a month using mainly Chemex and Areopress. Used to get (decent) crummy coffee at Aldi and Grocery Outlet, occasionally splurging for local roasts at the coffee shops. Still, I calculate that’s about $35 or so a month on beans, Chemex filters should probably be calculated with how pricey they can be - napkin maths say $11 roughly for a months supply.

$46USD ain’t bad compared to my other vices 😪

Curious to hear if I’m around the average spender or how it tracks! Maybe you have some tips on cheap but amazing coffee? I wouldn’t know unless I asked y’all

  • Sundial@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    I have an espresso machine, so I just buy a bag of beans that I grind myself for about $15 Canadian. A bag lasts me at least a month, usually more. The only other expense is I do use more milk than usual since I make lattes.

    • mbp@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
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      3 months ago

      One 12oz bag? Wow, that’s efficient. Maybe that’ll help me justify forking over the initial cost for a decent espresso machine.

      • Sundial@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        To be fair, it’s only me drinking it and I typically make it only during work days. But yeah it’s pretty nice to have. I’ve been getting syrups to flavour the lattes which makes it even better.

        Edit: The bags I get are about 1kg which is about 32oz.

      • manualoverride@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Just had this conversation with my partner who wanted to get a Nespresso (no idea why). I also have an espresso machine and have 2 large coffees a day, a 1kg bag of beans is £10 ( $13) and lasts over a month. Espresso machine and a grinder is the most eco and pocket friendly way.

        • Mr_Blott@feddit.uk
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          3 months ago

          Beko make a bean to cup espresso machine for about €250, it’s a tank

          Needs cleaning every month but makes amazing coffee with good beans

          • manualoverride@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            I’m an advocate for separate grinder and espresso machines, just seems like an unnecessary complication, and the combo machines seem to take up more space than both the dedicated ones.

            If you are looking at the lower end of the market, spare parts and repairability are often nonexistent or afterthoughts at best. If combo machine breaks you now have to get another combo or buy the separates, and even the best value combo is more $ than comparable separates.

        • mbp@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
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          3 months ago

          That’s solid. I figured I’d need a new setup to make the most of it - doubt my cuisinart burr grinder would be able to pull a really mean americano let alone a late. I’ll keep that in mind for the next few huge Chemex filters I toss. Thanks!

  • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    I buy 20 lb bags of green for 80-120 once a year or so, roast a batch once a week or so in a modified popcorn maker, and make espresso, pour over, or french press depending on how it turns out.

    I probably don’t save any money when you calculate power, and even if I did, it would take a decade to pay for the grinder/espresso machine.

    • mbp@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
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      3 months ago

      Realistic take but it sounds like you’re enjoying the best coffee in your city regardless of how much you spent initially. $120 is a hell of a steal for a whole year of joe, IMO

      • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
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        3 months ago

        it sounds like you’re enjoying the best coffee in your city

        Nah, the roasts aren’t very consistent so most of the time it’s kinda mid. Sometimes it’s so good it demands 3 more shots.

      • 0xD@infosec.pub
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        3 months ago

        You most probably won’t reach the coffee quality of a professional roaster at home. It just depends on how much you’re interested in the process or how much the taste is worth it to you.

  • aport@programming.dev
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    3 months ago

    I spend about $30/mo on whole beans from a local roaster. Cheap Hario hand grinder, French press. KISS

  • talentedkiwi@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    $32 USD a month for 2 lbs (0.9 kg) from a local roaster. Not the most economical, but they do a decent job of roasting.

    I do pour over iced coffee (aka Japanese Iced Coffee) using a Hario V60. 35g coffee and 300g water brewed over ice (dilutes the rest of the way and chills the coffee) and I’m good to go.

      • talentedkiwi@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        I just fill my insulated tumbler all the way to the top with ice and I get a perfect amount of coffee. It stops right where the lid goes on top.

        However, if you were going to do it the normal way it would indeed be about 300g of ice. Then you’d put that over fresh ice (bigger pieces so it doesn’t dilute as much?).

        I’m just lazy and also don’t want to use a second container so I just do it my way.

  • tasho@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    3 months ago

    $24 AUD ($16.30 USD) for 500 grams of coffee a month. I drink a cup a day and it’s enough for me and my partner to get through. I use a stovetop moka pot and get beans from the local markets here in melbourne :-)

  • RegalPotoo@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    ~2kg/month, currently spending ~$60NZD/kg - anywhere between 1 and 4 espressos a day for me depending on if I’m going into the office or not, and my wife drinks a jug of cold brew every ~week

    • mbp@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
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      3 months ago

      I’m no coffee snob but jfc, I swear they get Folgers and CFoN just to fuck with us lol

  • grrgyle@slrpnk.net
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    3 months ago

    I drink tea, like the standard orange pekoe stuff. 1 to two bags a day… About $8 for a box of 72… So I dunno less than $5/mo anyway

    EDIT pardon me I just saw that this was a coffee community. No hard feelings meant! I still enjoy a social coffee every now and again! May the coarse bean with you or whatever it is coffee drinkers say eachother 😅

    • mbp@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
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      3 months ago

      Any good coffee drinker can appreciate tea the same. It’s all delicious plant water one way or another 🤩

  • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
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    3 months ago

    About 75 €/month at most, but that would require drinking only specialty coffee. Normally I also have a bag of cheap supermarket coffee, which I use for experiments and training. Really good specially coffee costs about 80…100 €/kg, while good light roasted fresh supermarket coffee costs about 14 €/kg, so that can easily bring that monthly expense down.

    Since I drink a little bit of both, I think the overall cost is somewhere around 30…40 €/month.

    AP filers are really cheap, so they contribute only cents to the monthly sum. Can you really taste the difference between two filter types? If so, can Chemex really justify the higher cost?

    • mbp@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
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      3 months ago

      Chemex is preferred when I’m sharing a pot with my wife/company since we can make 3 cups at once. I know you can make AeroPress for two cups at a time but it seems like it’s better when pulling singles. It’s nice having the coffee warm for everyone to enjoy at once but I’m now thinking a V60 might be a cheaper alternative for that situation.

      • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
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        3 months ago

        You can also do americano style with the AP. If I’m brewing to 3 people at once, I make the coffee very strong, and then dilute it with milk or water to make it just right.

  • specialseaweed@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    My wife and I split a pot a day, brewed on a Moccamaster. We buy bulk from a local grocery store a lb at a time and go thru about 3 lbs a month. At $12/lb, we’re at around $40 a month.

    During the winter months I go to a coffee shop down by the Seattle waterfront. I do it because they’re starving in the winter and I want them to stay open. Couple times a week, $5 with tip for a drip.

    • threeduck@aussie.zone
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      3 months ago

      $5USD for a coffee, is that normal? Is that inclusive of a tip? Here in Australia Id leave the register if they tried charging me more than $3USD, and we don’t have a tipping culture (thank god).

      • rutrum@lm.paradisus.day
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        3 months ago

        You could probably find $3, but no less. And if you went to a nice coffee shop, that did a pour over or something, I’d expect $5-$7.

      • mbp@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
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        3 months ago

        I’d say $3.50 is about the cheapest pour over house coffee here in PNW US. You can find cheaper stuff at like 7-Eleven and other convenience stores - about $1-$2 but the quality is usually lacking. McDonald’s was my cheapest/most convenient/tastiest go-to back in Florida. I think it was around $2

        • threeduck@aussie.zone
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          3 months ago

          PNW?

          Damn, $3.50USD gets you a flat white/cappuccino/latte here, I don’t know if you’d find pour over coffee. And people here are upset at THAT cost, with home espresso machines taking off accordingly. I’m surprised Americans drink so much coffee at that price.

          • mbp@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
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            3 months ago

            My local sit-in cafe near Portland has V60 and chemex for about $3.50 but the ones I really love is the whole milk 16oz latte from the tiny 4x12 coffee house but they’re like $4

            The sit in place, I tip in but the coffee house doesn’t even ask for one if I use my card.

            Lots of coffee here so I’ve found $8 lattes at places and that makes me retch

  • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
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    3 months ago

    My wife likes instant coffee. I use a french press and pre-ground coffee. I go through probably about a kilo a month so something like 800 to 1000 JPY

    • mbp@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
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      3 months ago

      Instant coffee occasionally becomes my habit if I happen to find a good looking box at the supermarket. Super hit and miss here in the 'States but I find the most luck at the Japanese supermarket in town!