This post is part of a series of posts as I move toward a Food Budget Challenge 2018 in September.
Let's talk about my first love. Her name is Coffee. I am an admitted coffee snob. The hubs is not. I don't like coffee that has been sitting more than 30 minutes in the pot. I refuse to drink it reheated in the microwave. And, don't even ask me to drink yesterday's coffee, I will hurt you.
Are you a coffee connoisseur?
Having said that, coffee is an expense I probably could curb if I had to. Most coffee drinkers like to change up their blend. This may surprise you but I buy Yuban sometimes. Folger's even tastes good when a change is needed. We keep a can of cheaper coffee on hand for those times when a) we run out of fresh beans, and b) when we need a change in flavor.
The blend I've been buying lately are the house beans at WinCo. I don't know where they come from but I've discovered two blends that are perfect for my palate. The one I love the most is an organic from Peru. If the blend is smooth enough, I can drink it straight up with no creamer. If it's a little bolder, I need half & half to cut the acidity. In the morning, I just need the caffeine, so if I'm out of creamer (like I am today), I enjoy the total flavor of this nectar of the gods.
When road traveling, I try to carry a big thermos of coffee. We'd go broke and never make it to our destination (for the many coffee stops) if we didn't carry bean juice with us. In the instance where we've hit the road on a whim, we usually stop at McDonald's for senior coffee (that's whole 'nother blog post) which is $1 a cup and admittedly a really great cup of joe.
Right now, I'm spending about $9 for a bag of beans that lasts us about 10 days. When we were in Fairbanks last month, my sister-in-law served us coffee she makes in a cold brew process. You add about 1/3 of cold brew to a cup of boiling water and it's as fresh as any cup I've ever made. She makes it this way for two reasons: expense and ease. Two very good reasons!
In a perfect world, I'd quit drinking coffee. Not because of the dollars spent on it, but I am a total slave to caffeine. I quit once for about 6 weeks. It hurt my head a lot. I'm not sure I'll ever try that again.
When my imagination is running wild, I dream of retirement days where I visit various coffee houses in search of the perfect cup of coffee. I know it's out there. I need help, I know.
love, susan
Yes I am a Coffee Snob..right up there with you. But age has gotten to me with my BP and when I do have a cup I make it count. I dream of drinking coffee..I smell the coffee. I don't drink old coffee or nuke it. Fresh or nothing. I will travel with you to find the best coffee and even the smell will trigger my brain and give me a high.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I love the smell of fresh brewed coffee. Yes, we shall seek the finest coffee for those days when we can just sit and visit.
DeleteWe're a bit snobbish about our coffee too! We usually pick it up from the bulk section at the grocery store at about $9-10/lb. When your son goes out of town, I make cold brew as well. Whatever I can do to ease the pain of doing all of the morning stuff on my own. Otherwise, he makes french press coffee in the mornings.
ReplyDeleteYou should talk to your son about caffeine though. He's cut out coffee after 1 PM. It's going to be an interesting few weeks.
I have a French press but haven't used it in awhile. Lately, it doesn't make enough coffee for how much it takes to get me going.
DeleteI don't drink coffee after 1pm, I suffer headaches. Yeah, I drink too much coffee, for sure.