That £3 a day coffee shop habit can get expensive. A daily trip to your local barista adds up to over £750 per year, and a savings calculator will tell you that over 10 years this equates to well-over £8,000 if invested at the current interest rate! The 12 mugs of unbridled joy provided by a bag of fresh and delicious Cannonball Coffee equates to as little around 60p per serving. That’s quite a saving!
We’re not knocking coffee shops, many of them are great places. However we passionately believe you can make amazing coffee for yourself in your kitchen, office or wherever you may be. There are a number of brilliant and cheap coffee makers out there which are super easy to use and make great coffee. All you need are beans and hot water. What’s more the process of making your own coffee can be quite therapeutic!
Here are a few of our favourites:
The AeroPress
The AeroPress uses hand pressure to force the water through the ground beans. Coffee is steeped for 10-50 seconds depending on the method you use. The result is a really full-bodied smooth taste that extracts maximum flavour from the beans. You can then just pop the used grinds straight into the bin making the AeroPress really easy to clean.
V60 Pour-Over
The V60 pour-over takes a little longer than the AeroPress but is even more simple - slowly pour hot water over ground coffee in a filter paper. The coffee tastes really clean and balanced. You can have fun experimenting with different amounts of water, temperature, coarseness of grind and the height you pour from. The V60 is really easy to clean after use - pop the filter paper in the bin and rinse the device. At £7.50 it's also really cheap.
Espro Travel Press
The Espro works like a traditional cafetiere/french press. Coffee is left to steep and then a filter is plunged through, pushing the grinds to the bottom and leaving brewed coffee. The difference here is there are two ultra-fine filters and a vacuum seal, so the ground beans are completely separated from the water. You get a perfectly brewed coffee and no grit. The double-insulated flask keeps the coffee warm for up to 6 hours and you can drink straight from it. When you're finished just empty the coffee into a bin and rinse.
Making great coffee for yourself is easy, satisfying and best of all will save you a load of money. If you're not doing it already give it a go!