Brewing vs. Buying: A straightforward Cost Analysis

As we near the end of January we often do a quick self evaluation of our year thus far. One month down, eleven to go! With any luck we will have made progress, or at least shifted towards better habits. Maybe you’re learning to do less and slow down, or work smarter, not harder, or maybe you’re changing your routine! Whatever goal you’re working towards, we’re here to help!

One thing that this time of year brings about is the awareness of spending. December is full of gifting and giving in whatever ways we can for those we love and strangers in need. This naturally means that January comes as a time to save money and be a smart consumer. By brewing coffee at home, you can do less running in your day, you can work smarter and prepare your coffee routine for the week ahead without even going out (shout out to Coffee Club and Neighborly deliveries), and you can save money! Plus you get really delicious coffee whenever you want or need it. And you definitely need it Monday mornings, and Tuesday, and Wednesday. . . Don’t get us wrong, we love serving you coffee at the cafe, but we also understand that sometimes you want to save. We believe you should be able to save money while also enjoying excellent coffee.

To show you what we mean we have written up a little comparison: “brewing coffee at home vs. buying coffee out”.

Check it out:

Drip coffee with Ruca house blend:

1 12oz bag of Ruca house blend: $15

12oz (340g) coffee yields: ~20 8oz servings of coffee (found using 100g coffee to 1500g water)

This means if you are using a 15:1 water to coffee ratio on an automatic drip as suggested by our brew guide, one bag of Ruca will yield you approximately 20 cups of coffee! Comparatively, if you were to buy 20 8oz cups of coffee at the cafe it would cost you $55.20 (20x$2.76=$55.20). That is a savings of $40.20 for 20 cups of coffee! If you brewed coffee at home everyday for a year your total savings would add up to $733.65!!! Coffee at home for a year: $273.75. Going out for a year: $1007.40.

Pour over with a single origin (SO) coffee:

1 12oz bag of SO (average price): $20

12oz (340g) coffee yields: ~13 12oz servings of coffee (340g/25g=13.6)

This means if you are using a 16:1 water to coffee ratio on pour over as suggested by our brew guide, one bag of SO will yield you approximately 13 cups of coffee. That is $20 for 13 cups of coffee made loving at home! It would cost you $57.46 to buy 13 pour overs at the cafe (13x$4.42=$57.46). That is a savings of $37.46 for almost two weeks worth of coffee if you have a mug a day. If you brewed coffee at home everyday for a year your total savings would add up to $1,051.77!!! Coffee at home for a year: $561.53. Going out for a year: $1613.30.

As your local coffee shop we try to provide you with everything you may need to do what we do in your own home. There is something special about a barista pouring a rosetta on your vanilla latte and handing it over the bar to you, but don’t sell yourself short, you can even make delicious lattes at home! All you need is the Amoret espresso blend (the one that is going on sale!), your favorite Tala syrups- bourbon vanilla or lavender, and your milk of choice! If you have an espresso machine at home and want to start ripping shots and making delicious homemade lattes come and talk to us, we’re always happy and ready to give some advice and point you in the right direction!

We are grateful and humbled that part of visiting a local shop is for the experience, for the connection, and for the ease of being served delicious coffee! We also know how everything adds up and there are times to spend and times to save. The good news is there is no wrong way to have your morning coffee, whether it be at home or visiting the cafe! We’re here to help in anyway we can, whether that is serving you your daily coffee over the counter or helping you figure out the perfect set up for your home! Just ask us in person or email your questions to hello@talacoffee.com. 😊