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September 1st, 2006 at 3:30 pm
Cutting down on Starbucks coffee
Posted by The Foo in Life through my eyes

With my Starbucks coffee drinking “addiction”, I figured that I spend at least $25-30 a week on “freshly made in-the-store” coffee. That averages out to approx. $1200 a year just on the darn Venti (Large) Mocha Coffee. That is also not including the cakes/pastries and my wife’s tea/coffee purchases in the store too. So in total, I’m spending in excess of $2000 a year on just Starbucks alone. (Can I put that down on my taxes?)

I know, I should be much smarter than that. Well, I finally came to my senses and did get a new coffee maker yesterday. My wife went to the store to get a recommended coffee flavor by Seattle’s Best called Javanilla. This may sound funny but it was my first time making coffee myself ever! I did set up the coffee maker last night, and turned on the automatic timer to coincide with my wife getting up in the morning. I even went out to buy a Starbucks coffee mug which “looked” like a venti coffee paper cup to appease myself. ;-)

The verdict: Coffee was a little too strong (even though I followed the instructions). Sorry wife, if you are bouncing off the walls in class today and have the extreme caffeine jitters. I did make it again later in the afternoon and halved my coffee portion which made it perfect. I guess one learns from past “mistakes”. I am happy that I’ll save myself at least $1200 and more from not spending time at Starbucks as much. Next step, try the Starbucks brands.

Happy Labor day weekend!


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  • Whole beans stay fresh longer than grounds. Also, the smell of them freshly ground is almost completely worth it! Hmm, I just realised we've never cleaned our coffee grinder, woops! You'd think after working at Starbucks I'd remember that needs to be done every now and again (or everyday at the store).
  • Ground vs. whole bean -- in our case, it's sheer laziness (and the fact that our coffee grinder makes a *horrible* noise and is stuck in our coffee machine for some reason that only God alone seems to know).

    I could break out the Mr. Coffee grinder that is separate from the Mr. Coffee coffee pot (with grinder), but I'm just too damn lazy to clean the thing every day. (That, and my biggest excuse is that the god-awful sound of the grinder would certainly wake Jon from his peaceful dreams -- terrible way to be awakened!)
  • i love dunkin donuts! espcially the frosted/glazed donuts.

    yes the first time making coffee. i've always been lucky enough to have coffee already made in the coffee room at college, even at work. if there wasn't any there, I'll buy it from the cafeteria or machine. ;-)

    by the way, anyone know why you would buy ungrounded coffee over grounded coffee? Starbucks actually sells ungrounded coffee packs only. So cream huh? I am not used to putting cream on my coffee, may have to try it once.
  • Robin ~ Oh, how I miss Dunkin' Donuts. The agony.

    Foo ~ the secret is cream. Real cream. It can make *almost* any pot of coffee taste yummy. (Buy some Hershey's syrup for the mocha flavor.)

    As a Starbucks addict myself, I found that the only way to stop donating most of my disposable income to that fine company was to add real whipping cream (not that half-and-half crap) to my coffee, along with two heaping spoonfuls of sugar, in the morning.

    If your coffee is too strong, just throw more water in the coffee maker to water it down -- only takes a second.

    And the FIRST TIME you've ever made coffee? Unbelievable. How did you make it through college?!
  • As I sit here with my iced mocha latte from Dunkin Donuts...I hear ya.
  • i call her a lot of different names ;-) ... wife, wifey, my other half, the Mrs, love, lady of the house, boss ... to name some. hehe. doesn't your wife allow you to call her "wife"?
  • Do you often call your wife "wife"? And if so, can you teach me how to get away with that?
  • Hello there! You're my blog renter for the week and I just wanted to say hi. I like your blog. I also want to say I usually make coffee at home. Of course, it's better when you get it at some cafe as you find all these tempting cakes and brownies and...

    Anyway, take care :-)
  • You said it right, man! They are all so tempting sitting down there waving at you as you walk pass. :)
  • Paddy: Yes it is bad when they tempt you with the yummy cakes (that are bad for you) at these places.

    Kris: I have to try that Antiqua coffee. I did see that at Starbucks when I went there yesterday to checkout their ground coffee. I also saw specially packaged ground coffee from plantations of poor planters in Indonesia - proceeds from the sale of that will go to them and their village. I'll have to buy a few, and try it out ... if it doesn't taste good, at least it's for a good cause.
  • When I was working in Suntec City, Singapore I used to patronize this Coffee Bean cafe everyday. It costs me around $4 with the Ice Blended Mocha and sometimes with a piece of its chocolate cake.

    The wallet gets thinner, the stomach gets rounder.
  • I love coffee! I don't make it at home that often, I guess 'cause our machine makes it a bit weak - funny that yours was too strong! Then again I think the coffee in america is pretty darkly roasted. I don't know if Starbucks in the US sells it, but when I worked there my Dad loved getting Guatemala Antigua (sp?). Do you get cards stamped when you get coffee? If you buy it regularly it's so nice to get a free one every now and again.
  • I've never had Seattle's Best Coffee, or Seattle anything come to think of it. But I do LOVE me some good vanilla coffee so if it's sold around here, I should give it a try.

    Thanks for the bid on my blog. These decisions are always so tough:( I hope you swing by and bid again!:)
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