Sit for a moment and calculate – how much do you spend every month on coffee? $50? $100? $300? I know I’m not the only one getting tired of the references to tough economic times, but coffee is where many of us will draw the line at cutting back, even when times are bad. But instead of giving up coffee, how about rethinking how you buy the stuff? That cup or two a day habit from the local chain can end up costing $20 to $30 a week, and that’s if you stick to a plain cup of Joe. Since cooking at home is cool again, why not consider dusting off that coffee maker and brewing up a pot each morning?
Of course, grocery store coffee can be kind of yucky and preroasted beans are expensive (averaging $12 to $20 a pound). There’s also the question of freshness. Coffee purists insist that coffee must be consumed within five days after roasting, three hours of grinding, and fifteen minutes of brewing. When you also consider that much of the world’s coffee still comes from plantations where pesticide use is the norm and farmers don’t make a living wage, sourcing out organic fair trade products is also important.
The next logical step then, if you love coffee and care about how it is grown, and want to save cash – is to roast it yourself.
