Monday 15th June 2026
The Mouthy Money Podcast
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I love coffee as much as the next guy; there’s nothing like a good cup of joe to kickstart your day, or to enjoy over a chat with a friend. But how much do you really need to spend on coffee?
I took three old Starbucks cards (which I found in a drawer) into one of their shops the other day and asked how much they had on them. I had over £30 across three cards! Of course, I used some of the cash there and then to get a drink and something to eat, but it got me thinking about the amount of money I used to throw at these huge corporations during my daily grind. I don’t like instant coffee (snob!), and when I used to work in the city, I’d pick up a coffee from Starbucks at least every other day. Occasionally, it was every day, sometimes even twice a day! Whilst it was a way to wake me up on the way to the office, or an excuse to get away from the desk, these drinks were at least £2 each!
Starbucks allow you to take the empty coffee bag into one of their shops and exchange it for a tall latte!
Here, I want to show you how to spend less and still enjoy your java. If you haven’t got one, buy a three-cup cafetiere from Tesco for £5. If you need your coffee on the go, a cafetiere mug is about £10. Whilst you’re there, grab a 227g of Tesco’s ground coffee for £2. If you really need your coffee to be from a brand, supermarkets sell 200g of Costa & Starbucks ground coffee for about £3.50.
Let’s be a little bit posh and use the Starbucks ground coffee for this. It’s useful to note that Starbucks allow you to take the empty bag into one of their coffee shops and exchange it for a tall latte! Extra perks!
For a French press coffee, the experts recommend that you to use 7g of coffee per cup. That’s just over 28 cups in one bag, making your cup of black coffee 12.5p – that;s excluding the price of water, electricity, and the cafetiere (which is an investment purchase that you will continue to use again and again). If you paid for 28 coffees at Starbucks you’d be paying around £56 – that’s grounds for divorce! So, even if you need to purchase a cafetiere for £5, you’re getting 28 cups of coffee for only £8.50. It’s even cheaper if you choose Tesco’s own-brand coffee!
I love indie shops and always try to go to one of them rather than a corporate chain!
Your ‘set up cost’ of £8.50 makes each of the 28 cups of coffee 30p each, which is an absolute bargain especially when compared with coffee shop prices. One bag of coffee provides one cup a day for four weeks – making a giant saving. What could you put that extra money towards?
Of course, I’m not trying to be anti-social or put independent coffee shops out of business – I love indie shops and always try to go to one of them rather than a corporate chain! This is also just based on black coffee – if you love a latte or crave a cappuccino, you’d need to look into the price of those sachets or pods for machines. However, if you want to save money pretty easily, follow these steps and you can still have a tasty black coffee, without paying the expensive prices. Give it a shot! It will also make those coffee shop visits that little bit more special. By the way, you can get a coffee from Wetherspoons for only 99p! Let’s also be thankful we don’t live in Dubai of Hong Kong as they come top of the expensive coffee table!
Jot down how often you grab a coffee from a hipster barista and a total of how much you spend. You’ll be amazed at the amount you could save by making it yourself. Go on, brew can do it!
Joseph Seager
This Thrifty Chap is a frugal Yorkshire boy, now living in Lancashire. Tweeting and blogging to help you save a bit of cash here and there. Average photographer. Aspiring superhero.