5.16 /// Coffee Craze: A Costly Habit or Essential Indulgence?

Ever found yourself questioning if that daily latte is a justified luxury or a sneaky budget breaker? Join me as we embark on a caffeinated journey through my coffee adventures, from the humble beginnings of freeze-dried college brews to the utterly rewarding purchase of my first espresso machine while financially floored...We'll unravel the curious habit of frequenting big-name coffee chains like Starbucks, Nero, and Costa, exploring why we just can't seem to resist their allure despite the rising costs. So grab your cup of joe, and let's ponder how coffee has more than just a grip on our mornings—it's become an essential part of our lives.

We'll weigh the financial implications of our caffeine cravings, crunching the numbers between homemade brews and those tempting takeaway options. Are you paying for the coffee or the experience? With insights from coffee experts and personal anecdotes, we'll question if the flavor and atmosphere justify the hefty price tags, or if there's more satisfaction in a simple cup from a local café or your own kitchen. Let's explore the art of coffee appreciation, and discover where the true value lies in every sip.

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Chapters

• 0:01 Coffee Culture and Spending Habits
• 11:57 Comparing Coffee Shop Prices
• 18:42 The Cost of Coffee Experiences

Transcript

Stephen: 0:01

Hello and welcome to another episode of Infinite Prattle, formerly Stephen speak, just want to make sure that's clear Now called Infinite Prattle in case you didn't know. Anyway, today's episode is about coffee and takeaway coffees. Is it a frivolous experience or a nice little bit of luxury?

Stephen: 0:19

Hello, and welcome to Infinite Prattle, unscrubbed, unedited prattle, on everything Hosted by me, stephen, listen, like, share, subscribe and enjoy the show.

Stephen: 0:40

Welcome, welcome, welcome. Thank you very much for joining me on another episode of Infinite Prattle.

Stephen: 0:44

Infinite Prattle.

Stephen: 0:46

Um, as I say it in the intro, that's really annoying. Sorry, I didn't mean to do that again.

Stephen: 0:50

Well, annoying I say it's annoying.

Stephen: 0:51

It's annoying coming from me because I did the intro in the first place. Um, didn't really need to say it again, did I? Anyway, I have had a coffee. Um, so enjoy this episode. Um, so the intro probably didn't really say it properly.

Stephen: 1:07

I don't think, I don't know, did it? I don't know, is going for a coffee a frivolous experience or a nice little luxury we can enjoy every so often? And I say that in the main part because it's gone bloody dear to go for a coffee, like these coffee shops that pop up everywhere, namely the big chains I'm not really talking about the smaller ones, because I kind of understand why sometimes they may be a bit more expensive than you expect, they don't have the buying power, etc. But some places like Starbucks, nero, Costa, coffee, they're quite expensive, they're quite expensive. So I'm going to be looking at today, um, you know the reasoning behind why people still shop there. Because I still do.

Stephen: 1:51

I'm guilty for it. I have just ordered a coffee machine, though, because I used to always make myself coffee. So a bit of a backstory here. I'll actually try and do it in some sort of order and um kind of get some uh, semblance of order. Yeah, I've always liked coffee, from probably being an adult, really, when I got into it, I think when I was a kid it's something you don't really drink, isn't it? And then I think I just started drinking it, probably when I was at college. We had a vending machine in the college like kind of breakout area. I hate that. Why did I say that? Breakout? That's what workplaces call break areas now breakout.

Stephen: 2:28

It does make sound like you're in prison during the working day. Uh yeah, during, like in the canteen area, like the common room area, we had like a little vendor machine that dished out cheap, basically freeze-dried coffee with more than likely I would say, probably dried milk, powdered milk and water, and that's probably what got me into coffee. So it's probably not the best experience to get me into coffee, but that's where it started. And then I started like drinking coffee at home because it does pep you up. You know you don't really need it too much when you're a kid, but you know, when you're a young adult you seem to have energy from everywhere. I mean, I don't know how I did some of the things I'm only 41, but you know, sometimes you look back and you think, christ, I could. I was like a Duracell bunny. It could go forever, but coffee just helped.

Stephen: 3:13

So I used to have the odd coffee and, yeah, I've always enjoyed it. I've always enjoyed it various ways. I've changed my tastes over the years, like when I first started to enjoy, I used to have it really sweet, really milky, and then I started going through a phase where I wouldn't have any sugar at all and just started to appreciate the flavor of the coffee, probably when I was kind of getting into the taste of it, rather than just a, this is a sweet, sweet, bitter drink that I can perk myself up with. And then I started drinking it when I got when I got a proper coffee machine I was about 22, 23 bought myself a proper espresso machine, a pressure special sound like Sean Connery, um, an espresso machine. Um, there's a weird story behind that.

Stephen: 3:56

Actually, I I got myself a bit in money problems because I moved into my own house same money problems I've just been spending frivolously, so I was really watching what I was spending, got myself in a bit of an overdraft. Um, it was one of the things. I was just spending money here and here, there and everywhere, going out too much, etc. So I just cancelled a lot of things, like cancelled my sky tv, anything that wasn't necessary cancelled, and I'd really wanted this coffee machine.

Stephen: 4:16

I've been looking at it in argos, which is like a, a catalog um retail shop in england. Uh, well, in the uk I I would say I don't know what you compare it with. Around the world really, they have shops on the high street, or they used to, and a lot of them are moving into other stores now. But you basically go and fill out a ticket and you take it to the desk and they bring you your items. And I've been looking in there for this coffee machine and they had it for ages and it was like £150, so quite expensive at the time. Uh, this is like 20 years ago, like uh I don't have the money.

Stephen: 4:49

I can't justify it. So every so often I was treating myself to a little coffee in the coffee shop um, because I used to go out for a little latte every so often. Um, and weirdly enough, they'd reduced it in this big massive sale to 40 pound, because I'm guessing the new one was coming out or they weren't selling them, or whatever, and it was like £40 or £45. And I was amazed. I was like that's so much money off? That's ridiculous. But I didn't have the money and I was like I had to make the hard decision not to buy the coffee machine.

Stephen: 5:21

I was telling this story the other day at work and then the most bizarre thing happened. I woke up the next day and I was a bit depressed about it, you know, because I'd been trying I'd been for a couple months trying to really tie my belt, like I was still going out with my friends but I was drinking like water and stuff like that and going to the bar and asking for like a shot of cordial, like fruit cordial, in a pint glass. It's quite depressing paying 20p for it. That's how much it was at the time. I don't know what it would be now, probably like a quid. So I was just drinking blackcurrant pints and still having a good time, because I've always been the sort of person that didn't need to get drunk to have a good time. But it's just not nice when you're watching your pennies. But all these things teach you something. Anyway. I got up the next morning I was kicking my heels a bit. I was thinking, oh god, I'm going to miss out on that coffee machine. It's really annoying because I've looked at it for like a year and hummed and hard, and hummed and hard. But you've got yourself in this situation, so you know.

Stephen: 6:13

And then I went to go out. I was going to walk into town just to have a, just to get out the house, you know, get some fresh air. I think I had to the doormat and there was, um, a white envelope on the doormat. This is nothing to do with the actual episode. Now I'm off on a tangent here. Well, it's supposed to do with coffee, uh, and there was a white envelope on the, on the on the doormat, and I thought, what's this? So no name on the front? Um, felt like there was something inside of it and when I opened it up, there was £45 on it or £40, whatever it was the exact amount for the coffee machine. If it was £40 or £45, I can't quite remember now, but I remember it being the exact amount for the coffee machine and I was thinking what the?

Stephen: 7:01

hell. I opened the door straight away to see if anyone was in the street and I was thinking who's put this through my door? Because I'd told my mum that I wanted this coffee machine ages ago, but I'd not told anyone that it had been suddenly reduced in price. I'd not told anyone I was going through some money problems. I told a couple of my best mates, saying I'm just trying to tighten my belt to save up, and not even really got into it. Then, know, I'd been a bit of an idiot and just spent too much on random crap. Um, so it was really weird. So I was like right, this is money I didn't know I was gonna have. I've really. You know, I've tied my belt in. I've got everything covered this month, done my shopping, just need to go and get some bits. The money's there for that. This is, this is like a. This is, this is. This is karma. This is karma. Surely this is karma, surely this is karma.

Stephen: 7:47

And I phoned my mum and didn't really explicitly say to her did you send me some money or did you get someone to put some money through the door? And I spoke to my dad before I went and spent it. And I went now to the Argos store in Crewe and I bought that coffee machine and lugged it home because I didn't realise how big the bloody box would be. I think I called my dad in the end and saying, can you come and give me a lift home? I bought someone it's huge and, um, I think, ironically, he treated me to a coffee um before, before going to get it, uh, because I think I left it in the Argos to pick up later. I think that's what I did in the end. Anyway, that's not really important, isn't it? But I bought this coffee machine.

Stephen: 8:20

That was my first experience in my actually making my own espresso coffee from scratch, and what it was? It was actually a percolator on the left hand side, uh, in the center it was a, an espresso machine, so proper, like um, pressurized, um, oh god, what do they call the bloody thing where, how you, you know, you put the coffee in yourself and you, you tamp it down and all that on the right hand side was a milk foam and it came with all the bits and bobs, a little milk foam in a little metal jug, the glass jug for your filter coffee, and I used the actual glass bit for filter tea. I used to put tea leaves in it and filter my own tea, make them look like a pot of tea. It worked really well actually. So I never really used that for coffee at all. That was like a pot of tea. It worked really well actually. So I never really used that for coffee at all. That was like a tea percolator for me.

Stephen: 9:08

And that was my first experience and that got me really into coffee then and I started going to coffee shops a bit more often and I think I've had a previous episode of my Cafe Nervosa, which was a place called Riminis in Crete and that's where I used to frequent quite a lot with my friends and go for lunch and coffee and I'd probably grab a couple of coffees from there a week but it didn't really break the bank too much. Like a coffee was like I think a latte was like £1.80, £1.70, something like that. So a few times a week, you know, didn't really break the bank and I could account for that. Nowadays not so much Like I don't know like my wage has gone up since then and I'm probably in a better place financially but I kind of I don't know. Money goes up like inflation, blah, blah, blah, blah, but the price of the price of coffee now just seems exceptionally dear, and I am. I am buying into it because I went to Starbucks today. I had a freebie, so I went to Starbucks today and I've been coughed for a couple of times this week and I do spend probably too much money and that's why I've ordered this new coffee machine, because I decided enough is enough.

Stephen: 10:17

I've ordered a new coffee machine and it's like an espresso pod and I know the environmental impact, blah, blah, blah. You can recycle them now. They're all recyclable, so it's not an issue and I'm going to recycle. Um, so fear not people, but I've ordered this thinking. You know, the coffee machine itself was on Black Friday sale. It was 45 pound for the coffee machine, got great reviews and it takes the law.

Stephen: 10:39

Coffee pods and espresso coffee pods from all the different brands and I ordered some Amazon Basics coffee pods and I got 100, so that's 100 drinks, 100 shots of coffee. So yes, I have to have my own milk if I want to make a latte, but I buy milk anyway for like £13 or £14, so that's insane to me, like I mean, I know it's only like one little shot. It's not a proper espresso. The coffee's probably not, maybe as good, but I'm going to be paying like 13p for a cup of coffee, like minus the cost of heating the water up. Yes, yes, yes. But even if you say with milk and the coffee, maybe even £1, £1.50 I'm spending per drink. That's a damn sight less than going to Costa Nero Starbucks, even a local coffee shop, and buying a coffee.

Stephen: 11:33

And it does make you think that the prices of the coffees in there nowadays and I'll go through some in a minute and I think it'll shock you and it really really irks me now because when I go in, I think it's literally hot water, a shot of coffee or some foamed milk, um, and a shot of coffee, and you're really really paying. Paying that much because the experience isn't even there anymore. I think these places have gone too generic. So I'll go into that in a minute. But, yeah, so I'm going to be when it, when it arrives, um, I'm going to be literally 13p a day, um, for a coffee, and I can make it at home, I can put it straight in my takeaway cup, get it straight to work and not have to make a bypass journey on the way. I can do it myself whenever I want. Yeah, so I'm really pleased.

Stephen: 12:19

So like over a space of a week, that's like going to cost me. So like 13p times 7 is that's not right? Maths has never been my strong point. Yeah, so like, yeah, it's not even a pound, is it? No, like 91p.

Stephen: 12:38

So I'm paying a pound a week for the pods and then say I say I get through like three pints of milk, four pints of milk. Milk in the uk at the moment for a liter. Uh, like four pints is like about 150 to 180. So you're talking I can make seven coffees. How much? How much is in? How much is in a liter?

Stephen: 12:59

So okay, so take it five days a week for working. So five days of a week, four pints, one litre, so 200ml in each cup about. So I can make five coffees for £1.55. And if each one costs me 13p for five days, so this is for my weekday coffees for going to work, this is for my weekday coffees for going to work. It's going to cost me basically £2.20 for my five weekday coffees for work and commuting and then I'll drink shit coffee when I get there if I want, if I want another perk up, but £2.20 for five days of coffee and then if I want one at the weekend or whatever, I'm trying to cut down on the lattes and I'm trying to move back to Americanos and just black coffee with maybe a little sugar in, because I'm trying to cut down on the calories.

Stephen: 13:50

I'm trying to lose some weight. I sound like jack black on the tenacious d album there. Um, yes, I'm trying to lose some weight, so I probably will even eliminate that. 1 pound 55, so it's a quid if I use them for seven days without milk and you're probably talking at the most. Three quid, three pound fifty if I have milk every day in an espresso shot and like I'll just go through some of the prices in the uk right now.

Stephen: 14:10

So I I don't go starbucks as much anymore, namely because there's not many in crew, uh, that are accessible on the way to work. Costra is normally the one that I'll go to because they're just a bit closer on the way and if I I'm honest with you, you get better service there. Like in general the staff are nicer and and I'm not saying that they're all bad in Starbucks around my area, but that's just my experience that generally the cost of staff are a little bit more engaging, and even if they're putting it on a little bit to be nice, then it's nice that they're trying to be nice, whereas I've been in Starbucks a few times recently and the service is just like what do you want? There's the money, take the money. Here's your receipt, here's your receipt, here's your drink. And it's just like, wow, just paid a lot of money for that drink. He could have at least smiled at me. So yeah, so a latte in Costa Coffee which is probably using about 200, 250 mils of milk for a medium.

Stephen: 15:11

In fact.

Stephen: 15:11

I think this one might be for a small. It's £4.40 per drink £4.40. So one drink is more than what I would spend in an entire week if I make them myself, which is insane. And a cappuccino is £4.40. And these prices are coming off costapricescouk. So this is where I'm getting the information. These seem reasonably up to date. From my visits recently, I know these can vary as well, because obviously you have franchises and you have motorway services that are a little bit more expensive. But an Americano is £3.80. So just literally a black coffee, so made with espresso, yes, fair enough. But then, topped up with hot water, is £3.80. And that would literally cost me 13p to make it myself, maybe double it to boil the water, whatever it is to boil the water, um, but crumbs that's. It's a shocking difference. So the three places I mainly frequent are Costa, nero and Starbucks and Nero. I do like Neroero's coffee. Costa's alright, it's very strong.

Stephen: 16:17

I was watching James Hoffman. I've mentioned him before. Great, great, great great YouTube channel. If you like coffee, he reviews coffee stuff. He reviews machines, techniques and everything. So if you like coffee, go and give him a check out. He's not going to thank me because he doesn't know me. It's not like an affiliated. He's asked me just to say to you because I'm no one, but I just enjoy his channel. Go and check out if you like coffee. Um, and he did a thing where he tested caffeine. Caffeine in costas is very high and I think that's why I like it. It is a bit addictive though, and I do notice if I don't have a costa it does. It does kick my heart a bit. Um so nero.

Stephen: 16:56

This website is called menu pricecouk. It doesn't really say when the prices are from. It kind of hints on the on the google search that it is from like november this year or september maybe, and the prices again seem seem reasonably accurate. So again, a grand latte is £4.40. Um, flat white is £4.15. A mocha regular size is £4.25. A regular latte is £4.10. So slightly cheaper than costa, I think. Is that, yeah, so a little bit cheaper, the kind of like middle of the road prices, because I think they only have two sizes.

Stephen: 17:34

And then then we get onto Starbucks, and Starbucks are kind of a different entity in pricing. They have a lot of speciality coffees, like you know, like the gingerbread ones and such things, and it can be quite shocking to to see the difference in prices and to see the actual um you know, to see the actual when you see it in front of you, thinking that's, that's what I'm paying for a drink. And then when you compare it to what I've just said about like how much um you can do it for at home if you buy a machine, fair enough, there's a bit of an out expense, but, like them, machines are quite clean because it's literally you put your coffee pot in, you press a button and it does it, and then it ejects the pot and there's really no mess. It doesn't like get the coffee grounds everywhere and all you have to do is every so often, just like run, run some um cleaner through the machine so it doesn't get all all uh crystallized up um from like hard water and stuff. What's it called? What's it called when you get Happens in kettles as well? Oh, I can't think of the word. You know what I'm on about, though. You know what I'm on about, but yeah.

Stephen: 18:42

So the difference here is a cafe latte in Starbucks is £4.55, which is insane. It is insane. A white chocolate mocha £5.70. I think these are the small ones. So I was in, I was in Starbucks today and one of the drinks was uh, oh, there it is. Uh, caramelized, a macadamia oak latte £6.65. And some of the drinks that were like in the £5 area were just either the small or the lot or the medium ones, not even even the large ones. Some of the large drinks were like six, nearly seven pounds. And to put that into perspective for my American friends, let's see what Like what, was it £5.85 for a cream Frappiato? We have a converter now, don't we? On the Apple calendar, what are we doing for currency? Let's see what we're doing for currency. Let's see. So, currency pound I'm sure this is riveting for you hearing me search British pound to dollar, american dollar, australian, dollaradian dollar, where's? Oh, it'll be under the us, okay. So five pound 85 is 7.33. Now, is that how much you pay for a caramel cream frappiato?

Stephen: 20:11

I don't know, I don't know, uh, would you pay four pound 4545 for a latte which is £5.58 or $5.58? It just seems like a lot. It just seems, it seems like a lot. And listen, I've told you I'm guilty. I go these places, I still purchase drinks. It irks me, but I like the taste of them, but I'm not getting the experience. I don't think I don't think I'm getting the experience. Like I sit down, sometimes they're really busy, they're sometimes full of kids and I love kids. But you know my, my idea is a coffee experience is to it should be a relaxing experience. It should be about the taste of the coffee, um, the the texture of the milk. I sound like a right bozo, um, but that's what it should be. The experience in my head. Like seven years ago I was in morocco and I was drinking really good filter coffee or, surprisingly, espresso coffee, surprisingly good for my hotel and having fresh donuts and I was sat on a little pavilion like a little like seating cafe area where they did the evening meals. But during the day it was like a cafe area, just looking out, watching the birds, reading a book, not even having headphones in because it was quiet and just enjoying the coffee black coffee at that and just eating a donut and it was just bliss. That's. That's what my coffee experience is.

Stephen: 21:30

You go to nero costa starbucks and they're just packed and very rarely do you see them empty. Now, like, especially the ones in my area, like I don't live in, like I don't consider my area to be like an affluent, affluent area I do live in Cheshire, but I just think where are people getting the money? Like, where? And it's like, like for me, I'll go in sometimes I'll have like a toasty in the morning. I'd treat myself in the morning, have a toasty and a coffee. I'm trying to do it less and less and less. Now it'll be like seven or eight pounds for that and you see people going as a whole family and they're all ordering fancy coffees, large ones, medium ones, sandwiches.

Stephen: 22:04

Um, I mean, I really like the beyond meat breakfast bap from starbucks, from you know, vegan, uh, vegan cheese, the vegan patty I think it's vegan the Beyond Meat stuff in a little roll and they are now, I think, £6.80. £6.80 for one and they're not even that big. They are delicious. I really enjoy the flavour of them and they are delicious and I would buy them a lot more if they were cheaper, um, and that that kind of wraps me up really is they're obviously not lowering the prices because people are still buying stuff from there. So and it's like everything in life, isn't it? Unless people boycott something or stop doing it as often, things that are never going to change.

Stephen: 22:53

And I just would like to know the profit margins on these coffees? Really would love to know. And on these sandwiches, like I know that beyond meat stuff's a little bit more expensive. Vegan cheese a bit more expensive. Vegan eggs probably more expensive, um, is it six pound 80s worth of expense, like I just feel like that sandwich just costs like maybe 1.50 max to make. And if they sold it for three quid you know I'm not a businessman Even if they sold it for £4.50, they're still making 100% profit. It just mind-blows me that they get away with that.

Stephen: 23:30

But I am buying into the system, but no longer. It will be a treat for me going forward, and only if I'm going to get the experience out of it. I think that's the thing. Where I'm going to leave it there is it'll be a treat unless I'm going to get the experience, because when I go in they're really busy and I have to kind of shut off and I can't hear what my wife's saying or my friend's saying, and that's not the experience for me. I want to go to I might start going to like local, quiet cafes that have something about them and have speciality coffee rather than mass-produced stuff. Yes, I'm gonna leave it there because I've rambled on far too long about coffee, but I like coffee. It's too dear. I bought my own coffee machine. I'm gonna try and use it also. Try and lose a bit of weight by not having milk every day.

Stephen: 24:12

And you know what do you do, though. Do you buy? Do you buy into the system? Do you think it's worth getting a five pound coffee, because not everyone has a coffee machine at home that can recreate that or is it a little treat for you? Is it something you go in? Go ask my treat for going to the gym this week, or, um, you know you've done something in your life, and? Or it's a treat to go meet your friend in there and and have a chat and and do you tolerate the old, the noises and everything that are going on there? Is that acceptable to you? Do you mind that? Am I just a moaning old bastard? Anyway, thanks for joining me, this has been Infinite Prattle. Have a great week and I'll speak to you next time you've been listening to Infinite Prattle.

Stephen: 24:56

Thanks for listening. If you liked this episode, go back and listen. You've been listening to Infinite Dreadhull. Thanks for listening. If you liked this episode, go back and listen to some others and please continue to listen. Your support is much appreciated. Please like, share, comment and subscribe, and I'll speak to you all again soon. Take care.