Evil, evil coffee

[ritchie70]

  Not a coffee snob, never liked Starbucks, yet I do not intend to give it up.  I drink very few soda's now as I first reach for coffee.  Diet soda is not an option as I am allergic to aspartame.  And I sure don't put a dozen spoons of sugar in a cup of coffee. 
  If it works for you, great.  I am the dissenting opinion.

I'm dissenting with you. I'm happy with my coffee, and I can't imagine how people can spend a lot of money on it.

I'd sure rather drink coffee or tea than soda or even juice - no calories in coffee and tea, and mankind has been drinking both for centuries with no real ill effects.

I get buy whatever's cheapest and unflavored whole bean at Sam's Club, grind it right before I make the coffee, and drink it black. Lately it's been Eight O'Clock original, but before that it was house brand (Members Mark or whatever.)

Or if I'm at work that day, I drink theirs for free. There's been a lot of work from home days lately, so my coffee spending has gone up to maybe $10 - $15 a month? That's making a pot a day and drinking about 2/3 of it myself.

Yes, I have the monkey on my back, but for me, it's a friendly monkey.

[happy]

in my past I have been a huge coffee addict.  As I got older I couldn't drink so much: it would keep me awake. I've quit quite a few times - and feel better without it once the withdrawl is over.  I finally quit a year ago or so.  I don't keep coffee at home. I drink  the odd good coffee if I'm having a meal out, a one cup only sometimes at work (good coffee and cheap - <50c/cup).  But I don't crave it in between. My tea consumption has however dramatically increased in its place.

[ichangedmyname]

My husband and I are big coffee drinkers (him more than me) and for Christmas last year my mother-in-law gave him the Starbucks Verissimo machine. It's pretty cool. At first. It uses special cups, not like the Keurig cups which are on sale and just cheaper than the Starbucks cups. He was spending ridiculous money on coffee. He liked convenience but I told him it's for  people who like 1 cup of coffee and that's it. For someone like him who loves coffee he just needs to make 1 big pot using the regular coffee maker. He finally saw the light about 6 months later (palm meet face) and found a latte maker on clearance at Walmart for $60 that uses regular ground coffee and milk, no pods, no special cups.

It's working out great money-wise since we just buy bulk coffee beans at Costco and regular milk.

But now my mother-in-law is upset that he doesn't use her "present" anymore. He's spending like 25% of what he used to spend with the Verissimo. I am proud of him.

[RMD]

I gave up coffee when pregnant and after pregnancy found that I could no longer drink it without sugar!  I always drank my coffee black.  I am trying to wean myself off of the sugar, but it isn't working too well.

My work has free coffee...but they just switched providers and the new stuff is AWFUL.  I am not a coffee snob.  I was raised on Folgers and Maxwell House and those do just fine by me.  This new stuff...someone forgot what roasting meant and burned the beans.  It's awful and, for me, undrinkable...which might be the goal of work, to get us to drink less and to drop the free coffee as a (pardon the pun) perk.

At home...I am ashamed to say...I bought one of the Cafe Valet machines ($12)...the kind in hotels.  I have a lot of friends who travel and they bring me back the packets so I rarely have to purchase them.  I drink a cup a day or so.  Sometimes I'll skip a day and sometimes I'll have two in the morning.  I'm the only one in my house who drinks coffee, though, so making a pot doesn't work too well.

[No Name Guy]

I guess in reading this thread I don't get the OP. 

OP - pray tell, how could you spend $100 / month on coffee (with the milk, etc being ON TOP of this)?

In coffee crazed Seattle, good, 100% Arabica beans can be had for the order of $10-$15 / lb. and pretty fair for somewhat less.

Unless you're drinking the cat crap coffee ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak) I'd find it hard to drink enough to spend a $100 / month on beans.  I rarely go through more than a 4 pounds a month, and that's for 2 of us. 

The "correct" amount is 21 grams per 8 ounce cup of drip.
http://stumptowncoffee.com/a-scale-is-not-just-for-coffee-geeks/
21 grams (to the first order) is 3/4 of an ounce.  So, per pound, that's about 21 cups of coffee.

The "correct" amount for a double shot of espresso is 16-20 grams.
http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-guide-dose-distribute-tamp.html
For an "order of magnitude" calculation, use 20 grams, 454 grams / lb yields 22+ double shot pulls per pound.

Say one allots themselves 2 cups per day, that would be about 10 days per pound, or about 3 lbs / month, for drip.  At $10 / lb - only $30.
If one were a latte drinker, 2 double shot latte's per day would yield 11 days per pound, or a bit under 3 lbs / month, so a bit under $30.

One fact folks may not know:  Good coffee (e.g. Arabica, the bean type used exclusively in all speciality coffee) has about 1/2 the caffeine of the crap coffee (Robusta, the bean type used in mass market pre-ground canned coffee). 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee   

The two most common sources of coffee beans are the highly regarded Coffea arabica, and the "robusta" form of the hardier Coffea canephora. The latter is resistant to the coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix), but has a more bitter taste.

Note:  I have to admit that several years ago, I went to these guys
http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/
And bought a double boiler, semi-automatic, one group espresso machine, with a related proper grinder.  All in cost, about $1,500 (more or less, the lowest cost "real" espresso machine for home use - 110v and water tank, in lieu of plumbed in and 220v).  Its used every morning just about (unless on days like today when a pot of drip is made).  Typically I'm making a latte for myself and another for the SO every work morning, and sometimes on weekends as well.  Call the utilization about 10 lattes / week.  See the thread where I've started making my own Torrani type syrups (just whipped up a batch last night.)

[steveo]

I read an article today stating that drinking coffee reduces your risk of heart disease as well as having some other health benefits. I drink it black with no sugar so I figure it has to be healthy for me. I also very rarely buy coffee as a single drink from a cafe or whatever.

So to me it is healthy and cheap.

I fail to see anything but positive benefits from drinking coffee assuming you aren't buying triple cream flavored coffees (they should probably be called milkshakes) from Starbucks or something similar.

[Appletree]

I gave regular coffee a while ago but I'm now drinking decaff. I grind mine from beans and it's pretty cheap. 20$ gives me coffee for 3 months.

I had horrible problems because I was drinking coffee in every client meeting. And it's offered everywhere. It was something like 15 cups I was drinking during  worst days.

[HappierAtHome]

I'm trying to muster up the balls (bad image there!) to join this challenge.

Been a coffee addict since 12. It would make me feel incredibly powerful to beat my addiction.

[worms]

The "correct" amount is...

When my son was about 6 years old, he came home from school and told me that Beethoven had insisted that the perfect cup of coffee was made with 60 beans.  That sounded a lot to me, so we counted out 60 beans, ground them and placed the grounds in the 1-cup coffee maker. 

Beethoven was spot-on!

[a2]

If you're getting off the coffee but find that tea doesn't quite satisfy, you might try one (o more) of several barley-based instant hot drinks. The Germans make one called Pero; a very tasty US brand is OSKRI. Some have chicory and roasted beets in the mix, some are straight up roasted barley, and all are many times easier on the the stomach in terms of acid production.  I suppose they are a bit of an acquired taste, but what I love about them is that they have a "mouth feel,"  roasted flavor, and soothing warmth similar to those I associate with coffee, especially when you add a little milk. These "barley coffees" come in powder form, so it's easy to put some in a baggie and stash in an office drawer for convenient use or to take some to a restaurant and ask for hot water at the table so that you can enjoy an after-dinner "coffee" that won't keep you up or require Previcid. You may pay $8 for a jar of it, but that will give you many more cups (mileage may vary depending on taste) than you would get for $8 worth of coffee, even home-brewed.  Budget wins, health wins, and you still get to enjoy a cuppa in the morning.

[dragoncar]

Glorious coffee... Teacher, mother, secret lover

[FuckRx]

Glorious coffee... Teacher, mother, secret lover

awesome! :)
the world would be a darker place without her!

[RMD]

Glorious coffee... Teacher, mother, secret lover

T-shirt.  Needs to be on a t-shirt...

[basd]

Glorious coffee... Teacher, mother, secret lover

T-shirt.  Needs to be on a t-shirt...

www.cafepress.com

Now there's an appropriate URL.

[grantmeaname]

Coffee is not a diuretic if consumed in moderation.

[FunkyStickman]

Coffee is not a diuretic if consumed in moderation.

What is this "moderation" you speak of?

[grantmeaname]

No more than five cups an hour.

[HappierAtHome]

Day two without coffee. I'm surviving.

[grantmeaname]

But is it really living?

*I'm off to make myself a pot of coffee...

[HappierAtHome]

But is it really living?

Yeah. I asked myself that. But I know I'm addicted, and that scares me. Once I'm sure I've broken my addiction, I'll be able to have coffee a few times a week, the same way I can have a glass of wine on the weekend and consider that a good thing but would immediately stop and reassess if I realised I was drinking wine every day.

[clutchy]

I just got a hand crank ceramic burr grinder and a French press and I'm in heaven :-)

[Ashcons]

Congratulations to you. I, however, will not be giving up my coffee addiction! I spend about $12/month on 12-12/oz of beans locally roasted either at the fancy pants organic co-op or at the coffee shop our church runs (profits go to orphan care in Guatemala; my taste runs towards espresso roasted Guatemalan or Brazilian beans with smooth, chocolaty flavor. I use the aeropress to make my coffee - with a small amount of whole milk and honey to round it out. On the weekends, I probably drink 2-3 mugs and one every other day during the week. It's a small luxury I am not ready to sacrifice.

[RetiredAt63]

I had to give it up to get off of stomach medications (I had persistent GERD that I was permanently on prilosec for).  Giving up coffee was a requirement to get off the meds, and yes I am living just fine without the coffee now.

I had serious GERD (was on Nexium for a few years) and when I went low-carb, for other reasons,  the GERD went away.  It comes back when I eat quite a bit of sugar or a little bit of wheat.   Coffee consumption seems to have no effect.  A lot of milk in my coffee does (too much lactose, I think) but cream is fine.

My sister has the fancy machines, and I am still fine with my Melitta filters and making my coffee one cup at a time.  The paper filters are said to remove some of the acids.  I can taste the difference when I use one of the permanent mesh filters without paper.

For the record - caffeine is an alkaloid poison that the plants use to keep seed predators from eating their seeds.  Fortunately for us, most of the poison is destroyed when the beans are roasted.   Of course ethanol (the alcohol we drink) is also a toxin.   Life is full of interesting tidbits of info when you are a biologist ;-)

[DrSweden]

I have been addicted to coffee on and off since i was 19. It helped me through medschool and now during my residency. However I have been off it sometimes many months in a stretch. I think it is time again to reduce and quit my addiction. My teeths are turning brown, headaches and slow thinking in the morning without it. On top of that I buy about 1/2 kg / week = 5 $. So I could save 20 $ a month quiting. I will do it. Has anyone quit and been off it for years? Often it seems people quit and then start in a couple of weeks or months again.

[dude]

I avoided coffee consumption when I was in the Navy, where EVERYONE around me drank the stuff like water (most Navy Chief Petty Officers' arms are permanently crooked from carrying their coffee cup around all day long!  ;-)).  Avoided it in college, to, but in law school, I started drinking it to stay awake for all-night study sessions (and the occasional dreaded, awful take-home exam). Been a regular drinker ever since, but noticed in the past few years that I would have bouts of unsettled stomach/loose bowel movements from drinking it.  Usually, I'd avoid it for a week or two, in favor of tea, and come back without problem, at least until the next bout.  Recently (about 2 months now) quit it entirely as those bouts just seemed to get more frequent.  I do miss coffee though -- I love the smell and taste of it.

[Kansas Beachbum]

Coffee not evil, coffee good. 

That said, I haven't been in a Starbucks in years...I don't even like their coffee, over-roasted IMO.  Buy mine from a roasterie in NOLA called Community Coffee...been there for decades apparently.  The house we stayed in down there a couple years ago stocked it, very good, only slightly more than the major store brands (Folgers, Max House, etc.).

[Kansas Beachbum]

Glorious coffee... Teacher, mother, secret lover

T-shirt.  Needs to be on a t-shirt...

Ditto!

[Rickk]

If you're getting off the coffee but find that tea doesn't quite satisfy, you might try one (o more) of several barley-based instant hot drinks. The Germans make one called Pero; a very tasty US brand is OSKRI. Some have chicory and roasted beets in the mix, some are straight up roasted barley, and all are many times easier on the the stomach in terms of acid production.  I suppose they are a bit of an acquired taste, but what I love about them is that they have a "mouth feel,"  roasted flavor, and soothing warmth similar to those I associate with coffee, especially when you add a little milk. These "barley coffees" come in powder form, so it's easy to put some in a baggie and stash in an office drawer for convenient use or to take some to a restaurant and ask for hot water at the table so that you can enjoy an after-dinner "coffee" that won't keep you up or require Previcid. You may pay $8 for a jar of it, but that will give you many more cups (mileage may vary depending on taste) than you would get for $8 worth of coffee, even home-brewed.  Budget wins, health wins, and you still get to enjoy a cuppa in the morning.

+1 on this - due to stomach issues I gave up coffee. 

A little review here (all available from Amazon):
Pero Regular - powdery - sweeter and almost mocha like in it's flavor
Pero Extra - crystals - more roasted flavor - more bold
Caffix - crystals - very roasted flavor - almost burnt - If you like a lot of milk or cream then this holds up the best.  This almost reminds me of instant coffee, or coffee that sat in a pot too long.

I currently drink a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of Pero and Pero Extra as a good blend.
You are not going to mistake these for coffee - but it is a surprisingly good substitute.

[Bob W]

+1,  a year or so ago I converted to tea.  Now spend less than $1 a month on cheap tea bags and run them through the coffee maker.   I like the buzz better and never shaky.  Plus tea has lots of fluoride so it is good for the teeth.  I'm shooting for less than $100 for all my tea, water and vodka this year. 

[happy]

So I could save 20 $ a month quiting. I will do it. Has anyone quit and been off it for years? Often it seems people quit and then start in a couple of weeks or months again.

Yes. Previously a total addict/ worshipper. I've been off it for several years. I have a good quality cup of coffee every now and then i.e. <once a week. I have it when I choose I'll enjoy it and the probability of a good cup is high. Strangely now as long as I keep it to less than once a week, a single cup doesn't bring back all the cravings and get me started all over again.

[vern]

"Coffee's for closers only."

[UnleashHell]

I'm eating proper food, prepared at home, not eating out for dinner lunch or any other time. no coffee shops etc.
I've just bought a bike and serviced it my self and have ridden a few times this week.
I'm losing weight.
I'm planning out FI and taking an active stance on my debt and net worth.

I gave up smoking three days ago and haven't killed anyone yet.

Give up coffee too? Get the fuck out... theres limits and lines in life and you've crossed it....

[SingleMomDebt]

I kicked buying coffee from Starbucks and such. Saved me bundles of cash!

But give up coffee entirely? Would never happen.

I now make fancy coffee at home. The Vitamix makes great frappaccinos. Instant coffee + Dunkin Donuts creamer. Or Iced coffee via Instant. Instant Coffee is majorly in my friend since I'm the only one that drinks it at home. :)

[solon]

I'm eating proper food, prepared at home, not eating out for dinner lunch or any other time. no coffee shops etc.
I've just bought a bike and serviced it my self and have ridden a few times this week.
I'm losing weight.
I'm planning out FI and taking an active stance on my debt and net worth.

I gave up smoking three days ago and haven't killed anyone yet.

Give up coffee too? Get the fuck out... theres limits and lines in life and you've crossed it....

I LOLed! My coworkers are wondering what on earth kind of code I'm writing that could be so funny.

[Penny Lane]

I'll never give up my 2 cups of black coffee a day ( no sugar!).  It prevents gallstones, depression,improves thinking and now is an antioxidant!  You are not "addicted" to coffee when you have withdrawal as you have not needed to do anything illegal to obtain it;  you are tolerant and dependent!  My MIL tried to do away with me once by giving me decaf for 3 days-- dreadful!

[UnleashHell]

I'm not addicted to coffee.
Addicts go to meetings.

[apfroggy0408]

I stopped drinking coffee for a few months because I started drinking a shit ton of green tea.

Roommate bought some coffee to start brewing and now here I am buying 12 oz a week!!

[dragoncar]

I'm not addicted to coffee.
Addicts go to meetings.

Crap, I go to meetings all day

[thedayisbrave]

I drink coffee for the taste.  I must be one of those fast caffeine metabolizers because I used to only drink coffee at night to relax... But after living with roommates I've picked up the coffee-in-the-morning habit.  I only can drink one cup before I get tired of the taste.  It's strange though, because I think after a while my body gets used to having it.  Once I get "that feeling" (grogginess even after getting enough sleep) I lay off coffee for a day or two and then I'm usually fine.

Though I don't brew with cinnamon, I fix my coffee then sprinkle cinnamon on top.  Given that I am very liberal with my sugar and milk, it tastes like dessert & that's just how I like it :) I often look forward to having something sweet in the morning to kick start my day, and I've heard this is a very French phenomenon (pain au chocolat anyone?)

[basd]

I often look forward to having something sweet in the morning to kick start my day, and I've heard this is a very French phenomenon (pain au chocolat anyone?)

Italians do this too, so that might make you feel even more suave. Their breakfast cornetti (what the French call croissants) are usually pretty sweet (mostly too sweet for my taste, tbh).

[TomTX]

Um, congratulations. That was an expensive coffee habit.

I buy a $10 bag of beans from Costco once every 4-6 weeks. The only other add is milk, which I would drink anyway.

Edit: Oops. I do add cinnamon. It's like $2 for a big-ass container that would last me 2 years if that's all we used it for.

[Zoe]

I've given up coffee several times. I go back each time. I did recently find out I have a heart condition/defect kinda thing. Wolff Parkinson White. It's not a serious condition or anything. Just an extra pathway I was born with. My heart will get excited faster than a normal persons and generally beats a little faster. Anyway, it's advisable for people with WPW to give up caffeine. I've scaled back to a few times per week. I have to be careful though. If I have coffee for too many days in a row (16oz per day) and I lay off, then I'll get the caffeine withdraw headache. UGH.

[Elderwood17]

I drink free coffee at work(they buy Starbucks bags) during the week....way too much...but very rarely pay for it.  However, if they stopped providing it I will start making it at home and drink it on the way to work because I just enjoy it too much to give it up.

[WESTOFTHEHUDSON]

I have quit off/on for a few pregnancies and for dental reasons. this last pregnancy made the thought of coffee repulsing. I've deen drinking hot water with lemon and a dash of honey in it sometimes. It is healthier, cheaper and satisfies my desire for a warm beverage in the morning. With young kids around, my coffee would often get cold and reheating with cream already in was pretty gross. it's easy to re-heat the water.

Congrats on the big savings (and pending baby)!

[Jellyfish]

In addition to cutting spending I am trying to de-clutter my life. In addition to eliminating Starbucks I got rid of the big coffee maker that used to take up space on my kitchen counter.  I use a small french press to make my coffee at home and it is delicious.

[Zoe]

French press coffee tastes so much better! I've been using a french press for years now!

[Dr. Doom]

I don't think I'll ever give up coffee (or some caffeine delivery system) while I have a day job. 

The reason might sound weird.  I don't need coffee for energy, exactly.  My issue is that I'm way too relaxed without it.  Not tired, mind you.  Just relaxed.

So relaxed, in fact, that I feel absolutely no need to do anything at all.  I'm happy just doing nothing.

The caffeine gives me this slight edge of anxiety that makes tasks that I know perfectly well are inconsequential and meaningless somehow seem important enough to do.  I've stopped drinking coffee for periods and the result is that I want to just lay around and enjoy being alive.  This is all well and good if you're at home or hanging around friends and family but terrible if you're in the office with a bunch of less than awesome work to process.  I drink it black which makes the health impact very small, btw.  Average 2 cups a day. 

Still, contrats to you on the savings, that's cool.   Good for you.

[YK-Phil]

Good for you. I could not do it. I am not a big coffee drinker but I value quality over quantity, and I need my espresso every morning. It is an important ritual for my wife and I. Once a week, we roast our coffee beans the old fashion way in a cast iron pan, and grind the beans every morning with a Kyocera hand grinder before brewing two cups of velvety espresso in my old and trusted Gaggia espresso maker. She drinks cappuccino, I drink macchiato. Before taking the first sip, we click our cups together and say "cin cin". The result is pure happiness.

[Ambergris]

Good for you (pat on back).

I had to give it up to get off of stomach medications (I had persistent GERD that I was permanently on prilosec for).  Giving up coffee was a requirement to get off the meds, and yes I am living just fine without the coffee now.
And yes - it is quite a savings (although I still occasionally drink rooibos tea - which tastes a lot like regular tea but doesn't mess with my stomach - and does not have caffeine). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos

I gave up all caffeine a while back when I discovered it doesn't sit well with some medications I take. I'm British, so the tea part was harder than the coffee. I am also a happy drinker of rooibos - I highly recommend it. It doesn't take exactly like tea, but it does have a similar "character" if that makes sense. I know Twinings sells it now, and so you can get it here even at the local "cheapie" supermarket. It's low tannin, caffeine free, and antioxidant rich.

[Bristlingblackmustache]

http://lifehacker.com/5986506/the-science-behind-coffee-and-why-its-actually-good-for-your-health
"Outranks fruits and veges as source of antioxidants"