Mar

28

Before work I drink two double espressos. I wouldn't have the courage to leave the house otherwise and go to work. I just rely on jitters to move me uncontrollably and eventually I bounce out the door. An espresso around my house/work costs approximately $3.00. That's $6.00 a day. I drink these on weekends as well, so, that would be around $42 a week and there are two of us in the house. $84 a week. We go through around $10 beans per week. We also need to factor in cleaner for the machine, but I bought industrial bulk cleaner for $20…it'll last a year or two even with weekly double cleans. We also give others a coffee when they come around. I'll ignore that, however.

I bought the coffee machine for around $800 on special and it makes a very tasty cup. We've had it since late 2007. So, we've been drinking $4,368 per year for four years, so $17,472 for the life of the machine. Only $2,080 for the beans over four years. All up, I think we're ahead. There are power costs and so on, but, they're minor. We've probably saved, conservatively, around $13,000 in the last four years.

Here is a good article reviewing the best home coffee machines.

Jeff Watson writes:

I drink a lot of Cuban Coffee, which is espresso, and is very sweet. My pot cost $12 at Target and I've had mine for at least 15 years.

I buy Cafe Pilon which is priced at 4 bricks for $22 and that's a 2 month supply, figuring 4 cups a day.

It takes less than 5 minutes to knock out the coffee.

Dylan Distasio writes: 

My company recently eliminated the free Green Mountain brewed coffee as part of a bean counter initiative and switched over to Flavia packets which is a very poor substitute. I have been going downstairs to buy a large cup of coffee a day for $2.67 but am looking for a cheaper alternative.

I am about to order one of these aeropresses based on the reviews I've read of the device and the coffee it makes. It is essentially a gentle one cup espresso maker which can then be turned in a cup of Americano if desired simply by adding additional hot water.

Update:

So I got my Aeropress and wanted to report back my coffee findings to the group. I am a huge fan of this device and believes it consistently brews a delicious cup of coffee quickly and easily. The only downside I see is that it can only brew one cup at a time. For me, this is a non-issue though since I am using it at work and not for a group. Even if I used it at home (I am considering getting a 2nd one for that purpose), my wife does not drink coffee. I have a Keurig I had bought for convenience at home in case I wanted a quick cup of joe on the weekends. There is no comparison between the two not surprisingly; the Aeropress blows the Keurig with its k-cups out of the water.

Just a little additional background on my coffee habits…I drink my coffee black with a few exceptions…I generally don't like SBUX brew. I am with the folks who call them Charbucks. I prefer McDonald's or Dunkin Donuts coffee, but will drink the SBUX Blonde or an Americano (espresso plus hot water) there under duress. I am not a coffee snob (at least not yet) so you will not be hearing me talk about brewing beans picked out of civet droppings or $1000 burr grinders.

I picked up a bag of whole bean Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee from Costco for my first brews with the Aeropress. I am using a burr grinder versus a bladed one but it is a relatively inexpensive Mr Coffee one I bought years ago when I was experimenting with a Braun Espresso maker. I am grinding relatively fine somewhere between espresso and french press.

Once the coffee is ground, it is a very quick, simple process to brew a tremendous cup of coffee. The Aeropress comes with a measuring scoop which I use to scoop around 2 - 3 scoopfuls into the device after placing a fresh filter disc at the bottom. I then pour relatively hot water obtained from the dreaded Flavia machine onto the grounds and stir with an included stirrer for approximately 30 seconds (they recommend 10 seconds). I then insert the plunger piece into the waiting grounds and with some elbow grease slowly press the coffee down through the filter leaving the grounds behind. After that, I add additional hot water to my coffee mug to craft an Americano. I have tasted it undiluted and it is also delicious. I'm not really sure it would replace an expensive espresso machine since it is not applying the same pressure, but for me, it is a nice cup of what the Aeropress folks call espresso.

Clean up is simple. You just unlock the piece that holds the filter in place, and plunge the grounds into the trash. After that, it's a breeze to rinse off.

One of these would also be great for travel and camping/backpacking. It is pretty small and easy to carry.

In case you didn't notice, I am sold on the Aeropress. I'd highly recommend checking it out if it sounds like a good fit for your purposes. I'm looking forward to experimenting with the grind settings and some different coffee beans in it.

Just to continue this discussion, does anyone have any whole bean coffee recommendations to try?

For those of you interested in debating how many angels can dance on a java bean, check out coffeegeek.com also. The minutiae available for coffee lovers there may blow your mind.


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