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I purchase unroasted coffee beans and roast them myself. It isn't rocket surgery.
Unroasted coffee beans are called "green coffee beans", although technically they are not a bean - they are a seed. There are many sources on the internet. Personally, I buy from Sweet Maria's Home Coffee Roasting Supplies - Sweet Maria's although there are many others.
To roast them at home, just get a hot air popcorn popper from Goodwill for $5. It takes about 6 to 7 mins to roast a level measuring cup of coffee. Let it sit for a couple days (flavors develop) and then you're off to the races.
Think of the quality of green coffee beans being on a "bell curve." The wholesale price tends to reflect the quality, and large volume players such as Starbucks end up buying beans in the middle of the curve, commercial brands such as Yuban & Folgers tend to buy a bit less expensive beans, and stuff you're served in a coffee shop at a truck stop tend to be from the bottom.
There just are not enough of the top quality beans to supply large volume players like Starbucks, Costco or Wal-Mart.
Top quality beans tend to go to specialty roasters and are available to the public through the internet. So, for $6 to $8 per pound unroasted, you get the best quality beans. Roast them yourself - they will lose a bit of their weight due to moisture loss during roasting, but still it tastes better AND costs less than the stuff you buy in stores.
thank you for this brilliant suggestion! what seems obvious sometimes people never think of. i can't wait to try this out! you can probably experiment with roasting to your own liking as well!
I have an espresso/cappucino maker, and I really have only used it about twice in the past five years. I guess it would be a good thing to garage sale. It's not that I don't like espresso and cappuccino and lattes, but it's another appliance for the counter, and it's a hassle to clean out.
I have had fancy electric espresso makers, and I have had the simple aluminum stovetop espresso makers. I much prefer the stovetop and it is small and easy to put away, easy to clean.
They last forever too, at most you have to replace the rubber gaskets but those are dirt cheap via Amazon.
If you want foam and you have a stovetop espresso pot you can just briefly warm the half & half or milk, put it in an airtight container (anything that closes tight, like a Rubbermaid reusable drinking bottle or cup or a food storage container, etc) and then shake it like crazy. We used to get all serious about making foam with the electric machine, and then using a separate device that you insert into the cup. Then we figured out that shaking it like mad pretty much gives the same results. Good enough results anyway. You're not going to make latte art in it but whatever.
I'm fascinated by the idea of roasting it at home in a popcorn popper! Sounds like fun!
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradykp
thank you for this brilliant suggestion! what seems obvious sometimes people never think of. i can't wait to try this out! you can probably experiment with roasting to your own liking as well!
If you think about, 150 years ago, not only was there no Starbucks, there was no Maxwell House. It was common for Great-Great-Great Grandma to purchase 20 pounds of unroasted coffee in bulk, and she roasted it in a skillet on the stove. She probably produced better tasting coffee than we get today by going to Costco or Wal-Mart.
I buy the big can of Great Value Dark Roast at Walmart - $6.98 per. Lasts me a good few weeks.
I used to to be a serious Cafe Bustelo person but it is just too expensive now and this is a reasonably good alternative.
I use it with a drip coffee maker that I've had for eight or nine years that still works well enough that I can't talk myself into buying a new one.
I work in medicine, and my crazy early start times and no time to sit and enjoy coffee to start the day led to me stopping at Starbucks at 5:30am daily. Because life has changed, I stopped paying for coffee and feel better about stopping that waste.
But my father got all of us hooked on the Kcups. Yeah, bad.... Still a lot cheaper from Starbucks though, especially since I drink only one per day.
My Dad bought our machines (gifts) on deep discount at Kohls 2 years ago. But buying the kcups is rough of course.
For those of you who have my weakness, what is your source for cheap(er) k-cups?
Most recently we found a Kirkland dark blend at Costco that is very good. Otherwise I sometimes get a box at Kohl's on sale or Bed & Bath with a 20% coupon. Still too pricey though...
We have parallel lives! A couple of years ago I was drinking Starbucks every day. I didn't stop because of the money, but I was starting to get worried that drinking a latte every day was going to make me gain weight. Still, I drank them.
My brother bought me a Keurig for Christmas in 2010. That changed everything. No, it's not the same as a Starbucks latte, but it's pretty good. And I, too, buy K-cups at Costco. I either get the Donut House light blend or the Kirkland breakfast blend because I don't like mine quite so strong. It's $47-ish or so for 100 K-cups of the Kirkland brand and about the same price for 80 or 90 (don't remember exact count) of the Donut House brand.
I figure if I made a whole pot of coffee I'd be wasting coffee because I wouldn't drink it all. So really it's probably more frugal for me to use K-cups.
I buy the big can of Great Value Dark Roast at Walmart - $6.98 per. Lasts me a good few weeks.
I used to to be a serious Cafe Bustelo person but it is just too expensive now and this is a reasonably good alternative.
I use it with a drip coffee maker that I've had for eight or nine years that still works well enough that I can't talk myself into buying a new one.
I tried to be frugal and bought a big can of Essential French Roast at Acme, a supermarket chain here. Essential is their store brand.
I'm not as picky about coffee as a lot of you on here, but this stuff was just awful. It had this weird taste that I can't identify.
All my friends laugh and say we drink brown water. We like Columbian coffee, but we make a twelve cup Mr Coffee pot and use 4 flat scoops and 1 heaping scoop of coffee. (Coffee measure is 2 tablespoons).
If you are going to roast your own coffee, turn the smoke detectors off first. - just sayin'. Put a layer of beans in a black cast iron skillet and on medium high heat, stirring frequently. The beans should be a very dark brown, almost but not quite black and when you hear the first few "pop" sounds, scatter them out onto a flat baking sheet so they can cool down quickly and not scorch.
When in frugal mode, we pick the coffee cherry from the coffee trees in the gulches around here as well as the trees in the back yard of our rental house. Then ya gotta pulp the coffee cherries, soak them, rinse them, dry them and then get the husk and the paper off of them. Which can be done by the local coffee processing plant if you happen to have a five gallon bucket of beans, that's about the smallest batch they'll process. For a bit more, they'll roast it for you, but it keeps longer as green beans. It's not Kona since that district is on the other side of the island, it's Hamakua which is a sweet brew indeed. Ka'u isn't too bad, either, but Kona will do, I suppose.
Otherwise we buy a case or two of Yuban when it's on sale and make it in the French press. A dash of cinnamon helps the flavor. The French press is a thirty year old insulated stainless steel one, it still works great. The house sitters from our last vacation couldn't figure out how to make it work, though, and got a "Mr. Coffee". However, since we put a big photovoltaic system on the house and electricity is essentially free, we now use the Mr. Coffee to make the hot water for the French press instead of the gas stove.
I need about 3 cups in the morning for me. I went out and bought a keurig machine and the filter for using my own brand of coffee. no more pot for me I got sick of burnt coffee after it has been sitting
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