I love coffee – like love, love, love it! My boyfriend also loves coffee, so we’d be spending $12 EVERY DAY that we went to Starbies. To some of you, that may be nothing, but seriously, the $12 a day begins to add up, and sometimes we’d want coffee in the morning and evening! This was a problem we had to fix, and all it took was a one-time purchase, of an espresso machine!
Espresso machines are the ones that you need coffee beans for, not your typical coffee machine that you just pop a little cup into and it automatically makes it. This machine requires effort, but it just depends on how you make your coffee (iced, vanilla, shaken, etc.) The machine I got was not that expensive for two reasons: I got it on sale and it doesn’t have the grinder installed. So, if the one you get doesn’t have a grinder either, then just know that you’re going to have to buy a grinder. I’m going to link my espresso machine here because it’s easy to use, affordable, and makes delicious coffee: Casabrews Espresso Machine.
Anyway, I have my favorite coffee: an iced brown sugar-shaken espresso. Little did I know it was so easy to make! (I may have changed the steps a bit and made it my own, but seriously I am obsessed.) To make my coffee, I make two shots of espresso, pour it into my cup, and add two-ish scoops of brown sugar. I then grab my frother and mix that together because I found that using a frother is much more time-saving than actually shaking the coffee in a mixer cup. Next, I add my milk (oat milk if I am rich girly, normal milk if I am broke girly) and froth it one last time, add a shake of cinnamon, fill the cup with ice, and boom, yummiest coffee ever.
I make my boyfriend and I coffee nearly every day because we buy them nearly every day. So, we really have saved so much money by not buying Starbucks anymore and I can’t even remember the last time I’ve gone to one. I’ve even learned how to make my matcha latte, but that’s a story for another time. If you need to save money and love coffee as much as me, I highly encourage you to get yourself an espresso machine or at least look into it. It truly is life-changing!
Here’s a list of additional items you’ll have to purchase if you go through with this idea, aside from coffee beans and whatever ingredients you pick. Some are needed, and others are optional, it’s really just up to you. A lot of these things can be bought at Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, and HomeGoods to save money!
- Espresso Mugs
- Milk Frother
- Milk Frothing Pitcher
- Grinder (if your machine doesn’t automatically do this.)
- Reusable/Disposable Coffee Cups! (I got plastic ones to take them on the go as if I had gone to a coffee shop. I know, bad for the environment, but I do recycle them!)