Budgeting for Coffee

I designed the Coffee Matrix as an XY graph with Quality and Effort on the two axes. I think these are definitely the most important considerations, but budget will ultimately dictate what products you buy. You can buy quality with either money or effort! There is no cheap, super delicious, no-effort option.

That being said, you can make amazing coffee for well under $100 of initial investment, or you can pay more and have a machine(s) automate more of the process. So what is the cheapest (in $) Super Delicious option?

If you already know your budget, you can try starting here, or read on for more information.

Cheapest Great Coffee Option

A cheap scale ($14), French press ($20), and great coffee ground at a coffee shop (this will only stay super flavorful for a few days). You would boil water in a sauce pan or tea kettle on your stove, but the coffee will be pretty good for an outlay of less than $35 plus beans. If you splurge on the beans at $20 per 12/oz., your $55 bought you roughly 17 cups of coffee, which is just over $3 each, but your next bag of coffee, and each subsequent one, will run you a bit more than $1 per cup for beans. That makes it very easy to justify if you are currently buying coffee at coffee shops, which would be the default way to get great coffee if you have no equipment.

Unfortunately, your beans will not be flavorful for very long once they are ground, so to extend their life, you would need to get a grinder. I would not recommend a drip machine to replace the French Press because drip machines are more sensitive to grind, and you won’t be able to adjust your grind to get great extraction in your drip machine. With French Press, you can always adjust time to find your perfect extraction, but not so with a drip machine.

Next Level, Add a Grinder

Adding a grinder is essential to getting the most out of your coffee, unless you are always getting fresh beans ground at a coffee shop and using them very quickly. For any immersion method, you can more easily get away with mediocre grind quality, so it would be possible to use a spinning blade ($15-20) and work to try to make the grind as even as possible. Unfortunately, you will never be able to grind as consistently as a professional grinder like the one in the coffee shop (or grocery store). I am of the opinion that it’s better to buy equipment that you will use for a long time, even though it more expensive. With all the money you are saving NOT going to coffee shops, you can save up and get a burr grinder. Again, you can choose to work (hand-grinder) or have an electric grinder work for you. The difference is not that large at the entry level, but my recommendations are the Timemore C2 at $80, or the Baratza Encore at $170 (Baratza does post refurbs on their website and those are an even better deal). Again, these are a considerable expense, but if you continue to drink coffee, they will be invaluable and last for years.

A Good Grinder Makes Percolation Possible, So Consider a Drip Machine or Pour-over

If you are getting a good burr grinder, it also opens up the possibility of doing a good job brewing with percolation methods, so a drip machine or pour-over can replace the French Press. On the plus side, a cheap drip machine like the Black and Decker 8-Cup (~$20) can be had for about the same price as a French press, and will simplify your brewing set up and cleanup. Generally, really cheap drip brewers don’t get the water heated up to ideal brewing temps (over 200 degrees F). They may take a little work in dialing in, including pulling the carafe out at the beginning so you have a pseudo-immersion brew, or even adding preheated water to make sure you are up to temperature.

A pour-over setup is also a good option here. There are quite a few designs and materials. Most of them will benefit from a gooseneck kettle, as that will give you maximum control over the speed and location that you are pouring into. If you are going in stages and already have a tea kettle, you can get by with just the pour-over cone and filters, planning to add the gooseneck later.

Pour-over cones can be pretty cheap. Melitta makes a cone that is in a lot of grocery and hardware stores and costs about $5. The Hario V60 is also very common and costs about $9. Other options include the Kalita Wave ($25) and the Clever, which also gives the option to brew as an immersion method ($35).

Step Up to a Better Drip Machine

If you have a good grinder, a scale, and good beans, one of the simplest options is to use a high-end drip brewer to mimic a pour-over with the automation of a machine. Once you figure out the machine, they should be able to produce delicious coffee repeatedly with very little work. The price-tag will be higher, but they will deliver more in terms of heat for proper extraction and durability. Many will also offer features like a pause to let the coffee bloom, temperature control, and programmability. A great place to start is the Bonavita BV1901TS ($149). It is a very simple machine, featuring just one button, but it is consistently noted for making extremely good coffee for the price. Another popular machine is the Technivorm Moccamaster, which is the gold standard for durability and quality. Many people also really like the design. There are many varieties of this machine, but expect to pay about $330 and pass it on to your children!

OK, what if I just want to skip the work and spend some money?

If you want to max out convenience and quality, you need to look at a Super-automatic machine. These will feature an decent internal grinder and a brewer in one machine. For the most part, you only have to add water to a tank, and beans to a hopper and then press some buttons. You do have to spend some money to get a machine that is reliable. I would recommend something from Jura or Miele.